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Chip Shots from the Ruff of Life
by Tom Kelley
Tiger Woods is a golfer of destiny. Now I am going to put something in print that I never thought I would. Tiger Woods is the greatest golfer of all time. He is the One. That is a difficult thing for me to do. I was raised in South Central Ohio just down the road from Columbus and the Ohio State University. I was raised marveling at a chubby kid from Columbus, the son of a pharmacist, who stood the world on its ear at OSU as a golfer in the late fifties and early sixties. I was raised idolizing Jack Nicklaus.<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" />
To me Jack Nicklaus was the dominate athlete period. Sure Arnie had his army and Gary Player was competitive and Sam Snead still had a little in his tank. But when they teed it up on a Thursday morning the field knew who they were going to have to beat. They knew that if they wanted to win the tournament they would have to best the best; Jack Nicklaus, the “Golden Bear.” He had taken the golf world by the throat and maintained strangle hold on it for a long time. He was the One.
Nicklaus grew up idolizing the great Bobby Jones. Jones was the man who won the “Grand Slam” of golf in his time; the U. S. and British Amateurs and the U. S. and British Opens. He garnered them all in one blistering year. He was the One. That became the goal of Jack Nicklaus as young golfer. He wanted to win the major titles of golf. He wanted to emulate Bobby Jones. Guess whose image and accomplishments were all over young Tiger’s room as a child. Jack Nicklaus’.
With his recent Buick Open victory Tiger Woods has made a statement that no other golfer has ever made. He is the youngest to fifty wins on the PGA Tour and the youngest to eleven major championships ever. He is the only person to have amassed the number of wins he has and have a winning percentage of just a hair over 25 %. He is poised to surpass Nicklaus’ record of eighteen majors and Snead’s record of eighty-two wins. One wag even referred to him as the “Messiah.” I gladly make the concession that he is the greatest golfer of all time. To borrow from a statement made about Dan Quayle as he invoked the memory of JFK years ago; I know the Messiah and Tiger Woods is no Messiah.
Following His infamous “Bread of Life” sermon, Jesus was abandoned by many of His followers. He asked His closest disciples, the twelve, if they would also leave Him. It was Peter who gave the definitive answer. “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. Also we have come to believe and know that You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” John 6:68,69 Jesus was just a little over thirty years of age when His disciples declared to know what God had ordained. Nobody before or after has ever grasped that mantle. Jesus is the One.
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...He was the Minister of the Minorsville Christian Church located near Stamping Ground, KY.
...Becky and Tom have three children; John, single and in worship ministry in Nicholasville, Kentucky; Sean, married (Jennifer, elementary school teacher) with twins (Grace and Patrick, b.d. 10/31/04) and regional director of Papa John's Pizza in Central KY; Kara, married (Vince Taylor, prison guard) and working with Hospice East in Winchester, KY.
...Tom went to be with the Lord on November 13, 2009 after a lengthy battle with cancer. If you have been touched by Tom's writings please send an email to Tom's son at jkelley@catalystchristian.net
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