Darn It – Just When Everyone Wants to Continue to Dislike Tiger Woods Something Like This Comes Along

Something Always Ruins a Good Mood of Disgust

This Forum does not think very much of the professional golfer Tiger Woods.  Through a combination of very hard work and extreme talent Mr. Woods has made himself into what will probably turn out to be the most successful golfer the world has or will ever know.  But as a person Mr. Woods is arrogant, self-entitled and lacks the basic decency with respect to his marriage and his family. 

But now it turns out that Mr. Woods charitable activities are admirable indeed.  He sponsors and helps fund the Tiger Woods Learning Centers, which provide education resources for some of the most deserving but under-served young men and women in the country.

Along with the original TWLC in Orange County, there are two campuses in the Washington, D.C., area, one in Philadelphia and another in south Florida.

The foundation says 100,000 kids have attended TWLC programs, and that 73 percent of TWLC students have a higher GPA that their school district's average.

And because of Mr. Woods’s egregious personal shortcoming, his funding raising efforts through his world challenge golf tournament have lost some of their corporate sponsors.  And in response

When the tournament lost its title sponsor last year, and a deal with a major company unexpectedly fell through at the last minute in early September, Woods spent what is believed to be about $4 million of his own money to join presenting sponsor Northwestern Mutual in covering the operating costs.

"We're going to be doing everything we can to keep the tournament going and keep all our programs going," Woods said.

There are some incredibly decent athletes playing professional golf, Phil Mickelson being the best example.  And maybe Mr. Woods is not as bad a person as he has come to be portrayed.  And maybe he will get better.  But the downside of that is that this Forum and others may have to admit our earlier dislike of the man was partially misplaced, or at least rendered temporarily inoperative.