We all like a good redemption story, so the immense proportion of time devoted to Tiger’s progress during the final round of the Masters is in that sense comprehensible. CBS officials may justify it as nothing more than giving the audience what it wants.
At a certain point, though, it has to be considered questionable reportage. Sure, he made it exciting for much of the round, but even if he had won, the depiction of the competition was lopsided.
Of course, there’s the issue of whether all the scrutiny might not actually be detrimental to a comeback, but that’s Tiger’s problem: Certainly the possibility won’t affect programming decisions by network executives.
The greater irony is that golf’s collective mindset in the modern era has been to make the game a global affair. Leader boards suggest the effort’s been a substantial success, even if a bit of chauvinism will forever seep into our view of it.
As counterpoint, the standing ovation given Rory McIlroy affirmats both the game’s fundamentally sportsmanlike nature and its internationalism.
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