Mendoza: Rooting for Tiger to the very end

IT is the second day today, Saturday, of the Masters. I wish Tiger Woods is the leader, if not among those in the leaderboard?

I guess you know by now that I’m a Woods fan to the core.

Well, as I’ve said here a thousand and one times, I had practically followed his career since he was a skinny nine-year-old playing in the World Juniors in San Diego, California.

I was right there when he birdied the last hole of the Presidio Hills in old San Diego town, erasing a 2-shot lead painstakingly built by Martin Valdes to win by one.

I cried with Martin, our lone Filipino bet in the division for 10-year-old kids and below.

I cried with Gabby, Martin’s father, who was so overtaken by emotion himself that he didn’t know what to do when Martin refused to accept the runner-up trophy.

But the organizers understood and became too kind enough to allow Gabby and Martin to gather themselves before they finally held the awarding ceremony.

Grudgingly, Martin received his trophy, lips pouted, sobbing, wiping tears streaming down his cheeks.

So bitter and grief-stricken was Martin that he left the game—completely.

“I can’t blame him,” said Gabby of his son.

Well, it might have done Martin good?

Tiger would come back the following year in San Diego to win the 10-12, and then again the 13-15 the year next, and, finally, the 15-17 in his fourth year for a rare sweep of all age divisions in the World Juniors.

I’ve seen Tiger win all four junior crowns—an experience I will treasure forever.

When he marched on to the big league, that’s when I stopped covering him, following him.

In 1996, I’ve covered him for the last time in the World Team Golf Championship in Versailles, France. From there, he was due to play in Manila for the 1998 World Team edition.

But he turned pro the year before that. A $1-million signing fee dangled him by Nike to turn pro was just too hard to resist, forcing him to leave Stanford University in his freshman year.

Hopefully tonight, I could watch him in the TV Masters replay after our Bravo Golf Media Cup today in Dumaguete City.

I’m sure Bert “Mr. Benevolent” Bravo, our gracious host, will relent and he might just join the boys watch the replay—and have fun afterwards clinking glasses for a nightcap.