Hoylake Can't Tame Tiger, But TV Does

Tiger Woods roared back to the top of the golf world with his British Open victory on Sunday, and about two months after the death of his father, he showed an international television audience an emotional side that his critics had been hoping to see for a decade.

Much like Pete Sampras did in tennis for about a dozen years, Tiger has dominated his country-club sport but has shown zero personality or emotion in the process. I prefer to see the passion that they've lacked, but because I'm just some online news editor, no one could care less what I've got to say on the matter.

Those writers with heavier pens and therefore wider-reaching audiences, however, have often opined that a top player who lacks personality is barely better than a likeable loser.

But there Tiger was, a grown man who's been in the spotlight since before he earned his driver's license, a champion dozens of times over, a zillionaire with endless potential still only in his early 30s, a man who found a beautiful wife a couple years ago and seemed to have the perfect life, reduced to tears once his 18th-green embrace began with caddie Steve Williams.

Though the two still have some work to do on executing the celebratory high-five, the pair reminded those watching Sunday that all is well in the world of golf, even if it took the death of the father of the sport's best all-time player for us to realize it.

And you can't forget Chris DiMarco, the graceful runner-up who lost his own mother two weeks ago. Her death prompted him to consider skipping the season's third major, but he finally decided to play, and offered an awe-inspiring final round of his own. His birdie on 13 drew him to within one stroke of Woods, and after his round, he cited divine intervention for his 50-foot putt on the 14th that saved par.

But there weren't enough birdies available, and DiMarco finished two shots behind Tiger. Still, I'm only a casual golf fan but will remember this particular Sunday for quite a while.