Pitarresi: Tiger Woods and the Pope

 

You’d think the Pope was on the way.

 

That’s how big Tiger Woods is.

 

The announcement today that the world’s number one golfer, one of the most recognizable people on the planet, will play in the Notah Begay III Foundation Challenge August 24 was greeted with elation in Central New York.

 

Begay and Oneida Indian Nation chairman Ray Halbritter made the announcement at the Turning Stone Resort with a big crowd of media in attendance, along with scores of casino employees and patrons. It was big news that Wood will play in Begay’s fundraiser, along with PGA stars Mike Weir and Camilo Villegas. Woods might be, after all, the biggest star in any sport to have visited Central New York in many years. In fact, you might have to go all the way back to Babe Ruth’s barnstorming days in the 1920s to find a more significant athlete who passed through, and that includes all the great baseball stars who have been coming to Cooperstown for 70 years.

 

All of which makes me feel like maybe we’re all a bunch of rubes, like a group of farm kids from Iowa visiting New York City for the first time, craning their necks in wonder at all the tall buildings. I mean, the guy’s a golfer, right?

 

Right, but Tiger Woods is not just any golfer. With his 14 major championships and 67 PGA Tour victories, he has a solid claim on being the best golfer of all time, and, anyway, he long since has transcended the sport. Many millions of people who have no interest at all in golf are well aware of who Tiger Woods is.

 

The big thing here is how Woods’ presence will impact Turning Stone, and the Atunyote Golf Club, site of the Turning Stone Resort Championship, a stop on the PGA Tour. Certainly, he will give even more legitimacy to the course, which has been highly praised by professionals who’ve played there the last few years. And, if ever can make time to play in the championship itself – it’s Sept. 28-Oct. 4 this year – the impact could be tremendous. Begay said he said the chances are better than 50-50 that Woods would return for the skins game next year, but he said that scheduling would have to be worked out in a special way for the superstar to play in the TSRC somewhere down the line.

 

So, yeah, Tiger isn’t the Pope, but he is a big deal, and if we’re a bunch of rubes, so be it.