Missing Tiger

A buddy and I stopped by Belle Acres for the Wachovia Championship media night and were surprised by the light crowd. The food was great (as you can tell by the line of people in the photograph), but there were fewer people than last year. We wondered if the absence of Tiger brought less media folks out this year or were reporters chasing reaction about the passing of Tiger's dad, Earl.

Speaking of which, a couple of co-workers and I got into a heated debate about the importance of Earl Woods' death. I won't mention any names, but two others and I remarked about how sad it was that he died. After following Tiger's career, I felt like I knew his father. I was shedding tears along with Tiger when he won the Augusta National in 1997 and hugged his father for a long time. My mom and I sniffled on the phone to each other as we watched. I'll always remember the elder Woods in that moment.

One colleague commented that the passing of Tiger's dad was no more significant than the death of any other 74-year-old man. We argued about why the death of Tiger's dad was news and was more notable than any random person in our obit pages. Our colleague didn't budge.

What do you think? Should Earl Woods have been an obit inside our local section?