Peter Alliss tips Tiger Woods for Masters return but concedes world No1 'in a mess'

Published on Wednesday 16 December 2009 22:15

LEGENDARY golfing commentator Peter Alliss came north to make a guest appearance at an event where former Open champion Paul Lawrie would be honoured, but even the PGA Scottish Region annual luncheon in Glasgow could not pass without the fate of Tiger Woods overshadowing all else.

Alliss told the audience at the Hilton Hotel in Glasgow that he wouldn't be surprised if Woods is back from a self-imposed break from the game in time for the Masters, the opening major of the 2010 season, at Augusta National next April – but acknowledged that the world No1's extra-marital affairs have left him open to an eternity of ridicule whenever he makes that step back into the public spotlight.

"It seems to get worse and worse and I just think the whole thing is very sad," said Alliss. "He failed the 11th commandment, namely thou shall not be found out, and how he thought he could get away with what he was doing is amazing.

"I've seen it myself over the years. When you are famous, a lot less famous than Tiger, in a glamorous profession and have some money in your pocket, girls and women throw themselves at you. It is hard to say no. People are frail and human, and fall by the wayside.

"Some people are suggesting that it (Woods' infidelity] was a cry for help and he wanted to be found out. No-one really knows if that's the case. In fact, there are probably only two or three people in the world who know what is going on.

"Perhaps Tiger has been cosseted in such a way that he felt he was waterproof and someone would look after him, whether it was for a speeding fine or trashing a bedroom."

While opinion polls in America have indicated that Woods' popularity is taking a hammering, Alliss says he believes the world's most recognisable sportsman could yet come out at the other end of the saga with people showing support for him.

The former Ryder Cup player also reckons commentators are wrong to be pointing a finger of blame at Woods' IMG management team, led by Mark Steinberg, insisting they would have found themselves in an awkward situation over the whole matter.

"As for questions being asked about the people who look after him, I look at it this way. When you've got a goose laying golden eggs and you are waiting to nick one and put it in your bank account, you aren't going to tell your boss they are behaving stupid and will get caught because the chances are you'll lose your job.

"In any case, it is difficult to look after someone who doesn't want to be looked after or whose brains have dropped into his Y-fronts."

Alliss added: "If the marriage survives, it would be the most remarkable thing in my opinion. But, then again, the Beckhams' marriage survived (after allegations of an extra-marital affair]. Sadly, I wouldn't put a great deal of money on that happening with Tiger and, if he gets through this, that will be his next minor miracle. Tiger is in a mess and whether he can come back only he knows. The public may warm to him if he does certain things but who knows what they are. He's become human: he tells lies, he has weaknesses and let's people down – it is entirely his own doing."

According to Alliss, who has commentated on Woods' remarkable career since he burst on to the professional scene in 1996 and has since chalked up 14 majors, there is a good chance that the player will be back on a golf course long before next July's Open Championship at St Andrews.

"I know some people are asking, 'Is Tiger ever going to return?' but you have to remember he has never played a lot of golf in January, February or March. That's been part of his routine.

"If he is going to play again, he'll play in the Masters I'd have thought. It is a very unhappy and unpleasant situation but I don't think it will damage golf overall.

"If you take all sexual activity to one side, great players have come and gone over the years – the likes of Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicklaus and Tom Watson, for instance – yet the game continues."