AUGUST, Ga. – Tiger Woods and his regenerated foot held up another day at the Masters, surging through nine disastrous fronts to take the lead and enter the weekend with a nine-shot lead. To see him Friday, in pain but still stoic, is to watch someone fight… of course, the wind, himself. Across the country in California, a retired golf pro recognized this bravery and thought of his old friend Earl Woods.
“He would be so proud,” Joe Grohman said Friday. “For the physical ailments Tiger went through, and all the other nonsense, Earl would be out of his mind by now.”
Most who follow golf know the story of Earl Woods, the Green Beret and a veteran who raised the best golfer in the world. Although Earl has been dead for almost 16 years, those who knew him couldn’t help but think of him as they watched Tiger play against Augusta National this week. Earl would have loved the struggle, knowing in his bones that a middle-aged man who got injured completing two rounds of golf represented greater grandeur than running away from the fields in his youth days and magic is gone.
Earl and Grohman have long bonded through their brutal days on the course, meeting at the Seal Beach Navy Golf Course near Woods’ home in Cypress, California. One day, while hitting the ball, Earl turned pro.
“Joe, have you met my son before?” he asks.
Tiger stood at the far end of the range, alone and refusing to look up, as Earl explained to his friend, “When he’s on tour, he’s going to have to play through.”
Earl likes to make noise to try to oust Tiger, and not long after meeting Tiger, Joe asks him, “Does he really do that every time he shoots?”
“I don’t know,” Tiger replied. “I haven’t heard anything in two years.”
That’s when Joe knew. They were up against a player who has been in his generation.
Earl and Tiger spent every day together at the Navy course, playing circles and batting, and Grohman was their near-constant companion through those years, starting when Tiger was 13 and continuing for until he turned pro.
They usually add one of Earl’s old military friends as a fourth and only burn in daylight. The group would convene at the bar to go around, the men order drinks and Tiger sat there with his Coke. Sometimes Joe and Tiger were the only two at the club, where there wasn’t much traffic because the military base in the area was closed. They’ll play cross country from corner to corner of the block, or maybe just camp at number 8 for hours and hit fast. He recalls Tiger, about 15 or 16 years old, from landing 20 yards behind Grohman until two weeks later, 20 yards ahead.
“Frustrates me,” Grohman said with a laugh.
He felt close to something powerful, the future of golf was with him, and then one day, it disappeared. During Tiger’s development, he left a lot of people behind.
“He didn’t tell me he was moving to Florida and it broke my heart,” Grohman said. “I think I was really close to my family. I couldn’t say goodbye to him. It’s over. I miss that kid. Those were fun days.”
Grohman had a friend who mourned a lot during that time. His friend Earl struggled a lot when his son also ran away from home into the world to become Tiger Woods. “I’ll stop by and see them,” said Grohman. “You can feel it. There’s a sense of loss. Someone’s lost. It’s bittersweet: ‘God, we miss him.” We’ve drained all of his energy. “
He paused and thought back to Earl.
“I wish he lived longer,” he said.
Earlier this week, Grohman traveled to Augusta to host the annual golf event for veterans. On Monday, he visited the course and followed Tiger around his practice round. Grohman watched a short game that looked like the good old days, and he was worried when Tiger couldn’t really turn his driver around, causing him to have to spray the ball. He loves seeing support from galleries.
“I think the excitement level is back to normal,” he said.
On Tuesday, he found Tiger at practice, working on his short game and hitting the putt. Woods didn’t know Joe was there, just a few dozen feet away. They haven’t spoken in years. The last time was when Earl woke up. I asked Joe if he was trying to get Tiger’s attention.
“I’m not ready yet,” he said.
He laughs at himself. For many who have given Tiger a little help along the way, their interactions with him remain the most important part of their lives. Tiger’s resurgence, overcoming notoriety and back injuries and a potentially fatal car crash, has them all remembered forever.
On Friday, I spoke on the phone with a Vietnamese immigrant in Tacoma, Washington named Phuoc Vuong. His father was a decorated soldier who saved Earl Woods’ life in Vietnam. People used to call Wang’s father “Tiger”. His name is Tiger Woods. A little while ago, Vuong said, he was reported by the press about a golf tournament in the Pacific Northwest and went to see a press conference of Tiger. Vuong sat in the second row and didn’t raise his hand or introduce himself. He just wanted to be close at least once to the man who now brought his father’s name to life.
Tiger never knew he was there, just as he never knew one of the many faces in the Augusta gallery on Monday and Tuesday belonged to his mentor and old friend.
Grohman is now retired and has moved to Florida, just a mile or so from the Medal Winners’ Club, Tiger’s home ground. Right now he is watching the Masters and packing the boxes. He thinks enough time has passed, and he should find a way to reach out, just to laugh about the past, toast to Earl, and let all the old pain go away. They were all different people from the ones they had returned to the Naval School.
Over the past two days, Grohman has watched the 46-year-old break and rebuild whom he first met as a 13-year-old prodigy. He saw Tiger bogey four of the first five holes. He’s shot 39 out of nine today, seemingly without a shot at play over the weekend, only to slowly claw back those hits. After a long day, he finished two round pass and one tournament pass. He left the field and went inside. Someone asked him how he felt.
“Welcome,” he said, extending the word.
He laughed and fumbled for a minute.
“I don’t feel as good as I would like,” he said.
Tiger said he needed a lightbulb moment, something he’s been able to find since he passed Grohman in Cypress. Grohman as well as anyone understands where Tiger’s strange adventure begins, because he’s seen it in the first place. So seeing him continue it, a broken but determined vessel, delighted him. Two more brutal, painful days await Woods and everyone who cared about him. It’s not even certain that Tiger can finish this tournament, even if he believes he can win it for the sixth time.
Grohman’s voice rose on Friday as he looked ahead to the weekend.
“We don’t even know if he can hold on and here he is now,” he said. “This is bigger than Bobby Jones. If he wins this it will be the biggest golf story ever.”
