Tom Curran • E-mail

It appears my column after the Masters’ final round touched a nerve with the golfing public. I received more than 80 emails after writing that Tiger’s failure to win siphons much of the drama from the 2008 golfing season. Emails were running about 80-something to nothing calling me “idiot” “a hole” and worse. Here are some of the greatest hits that came my way. 

Mr. Curran,
The inane ramblings of writers such as you have made TRUE golf fans sick and tired of the continued slanted media coverage. You talk about a ‘letdown’ and how it affected the ‘average’ golf fan when their appointed God came up short yesterday. Folks like you need to take a look at the real statistics. I am a golfer that lives in Denver but has already played 28 rounds of golf in 2008. I played early yesterday so I could be back in front of my HDTV to watch the final round of the Masters as I have done for 40 years. I have watched the improbable, the inspirational, the glory of one more moment in the sun for the great and the pain and suffering of the great who have failed the Sunday test. I had to turn the TV off when Norman came a part at the seams and squandered certain victory- no real golfer wants to see another have that experience.  I left a clubhouse yesterday that was packed with people watching the last round of what most of us feel is the highlight of the golf season. These ‘real’ fans of golf were happy to see Immelman come of age and show the grit it takes to get to that level. Thank you for your attention.
Art Cudworth

Tom,
Count me as one of the few who didn't mind Tiger losing the Masters, because I thought it showed why I didn't think he would win the Grand Slam (when you play a sport that is subject to 30+ mph winds that you have to hit your ball into, all bets are off) and why golf is unique among the major sports. At the end of the day, golf isn't about Tiger versus Phil or Vijay or, on Sunday, Trevor Immelman – it's about Tiger versus the course, the weather and himself. And sometimes, conventional wisdom – if somebody gave me “Tiger at -5 going into Sunday,’ I'd say he was going to win. That goes out the window when a player not named Tiger Woods ambushes the field by posting high 60s for three straight days. Sometimes a relative unknown like Trevor Immelman plays the best four rounds of his life and walks away an improbable champion. And that's pretty cool too.
Regards
Barry Armstrong

Tom,
You are right.  It is probably not the finish that the AVERAGE golf fan wanted, but the finish was fantastic for a REAL golf fan.  The average golf fans know little more than the word "Tiger" about golf.  The media, yourself included, just makes it worse.  Although Tiger is by far the best player out there, all of you seem to overlook that all of these players are great. Maybe when you and your peers start to acknowledge this more "average" golf fans will truly start to understand the beauty of this game and how great it is for the Zach Johnsons and the Trevor Immelmans of the sport to come out and play like a champion and win a major.  Especially when Tiger claims a grand slam is easily within reach.”
Bill

The 72nd Masters Trevor Immelman wins green jacket First major for Immelman  |  Scores  |  Discuss   Video: Immelman, Tiger talk about outcome Slideshows: Tiger  |  Tournament Opinion: Winner a most worthy role model Curran: Golf fans not feeling grand now Opinion: Back nine was less than Master-ful Tears say it all about Snedeker’s collapse Curran's sights, sounds, tidbits Blog: Curran goes inside the ropes at Augusta What if ... Tiger's top round  |  Tracking Tiger Top moments  |  The course  |   Past champs

Tom,
You summed up in your article why I root against Woods every time he tees it up.  Well, that and the fact that he sounds like a sailor out there.  And the fact I have to point at him and explain to my 10 year old that isn't how you act when you hit a bad shot.  The class Woods shows off the course pretty much disappears when he is on it. You acting like the golf season is over because he didn't win is pretty sad. I consider myself an average golf fan.  You elitists in the media that fawn all over Woods should maybe get in touch with more average fans like myself.  I assure you there are more of us than you know.
Brad

Tom,
Good grief.  Are we so jaded that golf (or any other sport) becomes a big  letdown if someone doesn’t achieve a Grand Slam (or its equivalent)?  Give the new champ some credit.  He did what he had to do, and his career and family got a big boost.  Tiger will still win his share over the coming years. I think you had your Grand Slam story already written and you are peeved that you couldn’t publish it.  Get real.
Wes Attaway

Hey, buddy boy,
Did you also write the headline,"Dewey Defeats Truman"?  Maybe your grandpa did.  I guess you were wrong.  Do you still have to go tomorrow to kiss Tiger's feet? Next time, why don't you try a little objectivity, and you won't look so foolish.
Carrie

Dear Tom,
There is no possibility that Tiger Woods will ever win the Grand Slam. There are 2 reasons. First, Woods' success has been based largely on his putting, and his putting has begun to desert him. Woods began to lose his putting already last year. It wasn't overwhelmingly obvious, but if you looked hard, you could see it. Woods has much more competition than earlier in his career. Woods, like his friend Roger Federer, fed for years on fourth rate competition, but now for the first time he has to compete against real stars. First, there are the long-time underachievers who are older than Woods but who are now just getting going: Mickelson, Els, and Westwood. Then again others are emerging: K.J. Choi, Baddelely, Scott, Ogilvy, Garcia, O'Hair. And don't forget Jim Furyk, now a perennial US Open contender.
Take care,
Chris Condon

Dear Mr. Curran,
Sorry to disappoint you, but as the "average" golf fan, I was thrilled that Tiger Woods' did not win the 2008 Masters.  Your columns "proclaiming" Tiger would win were sickening, and you cannot even give credit to Trevor Immelman, who played a very good Masters and is a most and just deserving champion. I am so tired of the news media "anointing" Tiger Woods as a god, and that "everyone" has to be a Tiger fan and wants to see his face plastered on TV week after week.  There are plenty of good golfers out there I'd much prefer to see, one's that don't utter the F-word on national TV like Tiger does. I actually turn the TV off most tournaments that Tiger plays in....because the coverage is so biased to him, which practically ignores the rest of the field.  I love the tournaments in which Tiger doesn't enter, it’s a breath of fresh air not having the media fawn all over him and ignoring every one else, as in many cases the actual winners of various tournaments. So please don't speak for every fan out there, I for one am thrilled that Tiger lost.
Sincerely,
Jennifer Mosher

Tom,
As an American I was offended by your artcle on the Masters. Your article is one of the most jingoistic "journalism" pieces I have read for a long time.
Shame on you!
Theo Meyer

Tom,
My only disappointment with this year’s Masters tournament was reading your opinion. Do you really want Tiger to win EVERYTHING? All four majors this year and for good measure, why not every other tournament he plays in? Trevor went through a hell of a year last year, and played better than anyone else this week. He deserved to win and deserves the respect that you're not giving him as Masters Champion. So the rest of the golf season as a major letdown for you. Enjoy the tennis buddy, maybe Federer will win everything this year and you can have some joy in your weekend sports.
Bob Margolis

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