Tiger's Apology: David Loftus

That’s right, Bob, there have been rumors that Tiger has been in secret training for this competition for the entire past two and a half months. It’s not an event he’s shown any strength in before, so there’s been a lot of anticipation and some bets that he’ll fall flat on the course. In any case, we’re finally going to see the results of all that prepping. We haven’t heard whether he designed his entire routine himself or had the assistance of a past pro, but there’s no doubt he wants to make a bold statement, score high, and not just win a place on the winners’ stand but go for the gold.

Well, I have to say he did not come out of the gate fast. Tiger seems to be pacing himself for a long run. We’ve also heard rumors he could break 10 minutes, possibly even 12. Okay, he’s apologized to the journalists gathered in the room as well as his wife, family, and fans, which is not something we heard from Sanford, Edwards, Clinton, or -- going back a few Games -- even Gary Hart, so that should be worth extra points. On the other hand, he’s repeating himself and drawing it out, which could cost him, especially with the German and Russian judges, though this tends to go over well with the Japanese.

Wow, he held off on “I need help and am in therapy” until after the 7-minute mark! A lot of politicians tend to make that move much sooner, following the lead of televangelists and movie actors, so that’s a classy decision on Tiger’s part. And, more amazingly, he didn’t mention his religious faith until after 10 elapsed minutes, which may be a reflection on the sect -- Christians tend to flash their spirituality much sooner in a routine like this. On the other hand, Buddhism also tends to be regarded with suspicion as “trendy” and “not really a religion” among some judges and with the greater sports-watching public, so that makes it a dicey move on the star athlete’s part.

And that’s it! Tiger came in at almost 13:30, which has to be a new record in the sport. Gotta give him points just for endurance. It looks like most of the judges are awarding 8s and 8.5s, which is a pretty good performance in a new event for the longtime golfer, but we’re still waiting for the numbers from the Swedish judge. There seems to be a glitch in her scoring mechanism. We’ll send it back to Bob Costas while we await the final results.