Tiger Woods at the 2010 Masters Tournament - Augusta National.

Staff Reports

The Masters 2010 from Augusta National will be one of the most watched golf tournaments ever. Thousands have flocked to Augusta while others are tuning in to television to see what will take place as Tiger Woods returns from his self-imposed hiatus. There were plenty of cheers for Woods in spite of the scandal over his marital infidelities.

For Tiger, the pre-tournament events began with a whirlwind week of press conferences, new ads with sponsors, and yet another woman added to his long list of alleged mistresses.

But, amidst all the tight security and the safe havens for the golfers, what officials did not anticipate was a small plane flying overhead pulling a banner with a catty wordplay on Tiger’s faith. The banner reading “Tiger: Did You Mean Bootyism?” referred to the star’s professed Buddhism. Said a commentator at the Master’s, “We looked up and saw the banner, and realized Tiger got punked.”

Meanwhile, Nike debuted its new Tiger Woods commercial that many are calling nothing short of creepy. The 30-second ad features a mute Woods listening to his dead father’s voice “chastising” him from beyond the grave. Earl Woods, who died in 2006, tells his son, “Tiger, I am more prone to be inquisitive. I want to find out what your thinking was; I want to find out what your feelings are.” Later, he asks him, “And did you learn anything,” as Woods is seen on the verge of tears. The ad concludes with the Nike sign. Huh?

Augusta National chairman Bill Payne also hypocritically blasted Woods’s infidelity, lamenting, “Our hero did not live up to the expectations of the role model we saw for our children.” As Jason Whitlock of the Kansas City Star noted, until the early 1990s, the mixed-race Woods could not have joined the staunchly all-white club, which still bars women. Wrote Whitlock, “You can’t preach ethics and morality from Payne’s bully pulpit.”

But despite all the hoopla and strange commercials, most patrons were eager to get a look at Woods in comeback mode. There were a handful of boos from the gallery after Tiger hit his tee shot, but it was a great tee ball—down the middle and long—and the crowd reaction was mostly applause.