THE DIGEST TOUR TALES THE DIGEST & TRUE XXXX

bare, I wonder just how many different requests for, and of his time were contained within those dozens of envelopes. Perhaps appeals for attention, almost certainly money, maybe involvement in charity projects. Mothers offering their daughters hands in marriage, daughters imploring him to call. Swing advice, no doubt, from backyard gurus and even well-meaning instructors looking to hitch their caboose to the Tiger train. Admirers, and haters too, all anticipating a response. A portent of things to come, this scene is but a brief, early-days snapshot of the impossible demands on Woods. Only 21, and deified as a rock star in a world of folk singers, the energy and mystique surrounding him drew followers like moths to a flame. At the same time, the nexus of unbridled ambition, extraordinary privilege and the enormity of the golfing worlds expectations were already pulling in different directions. I didnt see Tiger in the locker room that week. Nor do I recall if, or when the letters made their way to their target. But I did end up with a note in my locker, a heartfelt encouragement from a friend in Australia wishing me well. All things being equal, and relative to the circumstances, it qualified as making it in my book.

Tiger Woods fan mail overwhleming and, at times, misplaced as Grant Dodd discovered.

RETURNTOSENDER
YouknowyouvemadeitwhenyouvegotTigersmail. BY GRANTDODD
but the understanding soon arrived this was a monument to my ascension to the big time. Pushing the pile to one side, I opened the locker, deposited my shoes and balls, and then turned my attention to the people that really mattered my fans. Fans, quite frankly, that I never knew I had, but people who obviously thought highly enough of me to sit down, put pen to paper, and paper into stamped envelope, all to ensure that their well wishes arrived on the west coast of Scotland before I teed off in the worlds most important golf championship. It would have been quite a humbling moment, but for the fact that professional golfers are by and large more prone to hubris than humility. I started to sift It was the moment when I knew Id made it. A passing millisecond in time, no more, but long enough for the knowledge gained to bring the understanding that I had graduated to the mythical next level. I had just walked into the changing room at Royal Troon during the 1997 Open Championship. It was my first major. Locker key at the ready, Id begun searching the rows of ancient wooden lockers for my number. When it came into view, the sight that greeted was unexpected. A volcanic eruption of envelopes and letters were stacked haphazardly in front of the door, overflowing into the space around my nominal area. From the other side of the room, it took a little time to absorb the implications,
22 / SEPTEMBER 2012

through the congestion. The first letter had the wrong addressee. It was for Tiger Woods. The one underneath mysteriously had his name on it as well. Suspiciously, as my ongoing search began to reveal, every other letter in the pile appeared to be for him. As it turned out, our lockers were side by side. If there was a letter for me in there somewhere, I didnt find it. Nonetheless, the pile remained a feature of our shared space, seemingly morphing and evolving as the days passed. Tidied into a neat stack at times by the locker room attendants, it invariably collapsed under the force of its own weight as new arrivals altered its equilibrium. Today, and with the knowledge of Tigers life laid

AGD0912p015-038digest.indd 22

31/07/12 11:58 AM

DOM FURORE

ToaskGranta Granta question,e-mail on,e-mail usatgolfdig@ golfdig@ newslifemedia. femedia. com.au