Golf is a passion for many athletes in many sports. The best in their games wish they had Tiger Woods’ game on the course.
They are some of his biggest fans. For some of these elite athletes it goes beyond just watching him on television.
Cubs great Ernie Banks has become so enamored of Woods that he travels around the country to watch him play. Banks was at Augusta National in 1997 when Woods made history by winning the Masters. He has seen Woods in the Ryder Cup and Tour Championship and is a regular at Cog Hill for the Western Open and at Woods’ Target World Challenge in Los Angeles.
Last year, at 74, Banks walked nine holes with Woods at the PGA Championship at Baltusrol on a day when temperatures reached nearly 100 degrees. The Hall of Famer, who hit 512 home runs, called the experience one of the highlights of his life.
Charles Barkley, a Hall of Famer and one of the top 50 NBA players, might own one of the world’s worst golf swings. It is full of lurches, stops and general ineptness. Sorry, Charles. But Barkley’s horrid swing didn’t prevent him from making a connection with Woods, one that goes beyond golf. They have become close friends.
On the eve of the PGA Championship, we sat down with both legends to get their perspectives on a golf legend in the making.
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Charles Barkley on …
When he met Woods: “I played with Phil Mickelson, who is a great player. I played with Tom Lehman, who is a great player. Billy Mayfair.
“I played with Tiger when he was getting ready to turn pro. I knew it. I called all my boys. He hadn’t started yet, but I knew I played with the best golfer who ever lived.
“It was the same situation when I first played with Michael Jordan. When we were at the Olympic trials [in 1984], I knew it then about Michael. I saw that one firsthand. He’s better than everybody else. You could see the talent.
“Same thing with Tiger. He’s better than everyone else.”
The grinder: “I respect him so much for never giving up. He never gets enough credit for that. He never wants to miss a cut. When he hits a bad shot, he’s [upset]. When he’s close to making a cut, he’s grinding. He doesn’t have to do any of that stuff.
“That’s what I respect. He never quits. I love that.”
The mental edge: “I think that’s overrated. He’s just better than everybody else. You know, he doesn’t want to win more than Retief Goosen or Vijay Singh. Michael Jordan didn’t want to win more than me. He was just better than me.
“Trust me, I played against Michael. If there was anybody I wanted to beat, it was MJ. But he was just better.
“When I’m watching him on TV, I love when they say [about Woods], `He does this, he does that.’ I’m like, `He only does that because he’s better than everybody else.’
“I love when I hear, `He wants it more.’ He doesn’t want it more. You don’t think Vijay isn’t mentally tough? If he beats Vijay, that doesn’t mean that Vijay isn’t mentally tough.
“He’s just better than everybody else. He’s got more talent.”
The work ethic: “There’s never been an athlete who works harder than Tiger. I thought Michael was the hardest-working athlete I’ve ever seen until I met Tiger.
“There are few times that superior talent and hard work come together. Tiger works so hard, and he has the talent that goes with it. That’s a deadly combination.
“Just go out and try to hit balls for four or five hours. That takes an amazing amount of energy and effort. We’re hackers. If you don’t play on tour, you’re a hacker. How many hackers have the ability to go out there to hit balls for four or five hours after they lifted weights and did cardio?
“You could have talent, but if you don’t work on it, it won’t come together.”
THE 1997 MASTERS: “My favorite memory is him winning the Masters the first time. To see a black man win the Masters. I remember where I was. I was in the locker room. He had a 25-shot lead, but I just had to be in there to watch it. Growing up in Alabama, it was a big deal to fight racism. To see all those blacks who work at the Masters. To see it finally happening. He told me about Lee Elder driving eight hours overnight just to be there. That’s the kind of stuff, man, that’s off the charts. Golf always has been a racist sport. It discriminates against Catholic people, Jewish people. That’s wrong, man. Ninety-nine percent of the courses I go to don’t have a black, or just a couple. That’s just wrong. He’s given more blacks an opportunity to play golf, but we don’t have players besides him [on the tours]. I played at a [Champions Tour] pro-am event. Jim Thorpe, Jim Dent, Walter Morgan all said we had more blacks out there when they didn’t want us out there. Tiger made a lot of money for the golfing community, but we’ve got to get more blacks on tour.”
The fishbowl: “It’s impossible, the situation he’s in. The one thing I would tell every celebrity is that you can’t make everybody happy. That was the hardest thing for me when I first started out.
“I think he handles it well. There’s a difference between being a celebrity and a normal person. When you’re a celebrity, people dislike you for some out-of-the-way reason.
“You’ve got to understand something. Everything you read in the newspaper, see on television, isn’t true.
“It’s probably worse for Tiger. You’ve got Ali, MJ. They are the most prominent athletes for the last 25 or 30 years. The media scrutiny gotten more intense.
“You can never relax totally. That’s the only thing about being in the limelight. If you make one mistake. … So much scrutiny on jocks nowadays.
“He does a fantastic job of orchestrating his schedule. He plays 20 to 25 times a year. That’s a lot. He has to deal with all the people, and the [junk]. It’s not easy.”
Tiger vs. Charles: “He gives me a shot a hole. I can’t ask for more than a shot a hole. I’ve got to have some pride. Never beaten him, but I would like to.”
Tiger on the court: “He thinks he can play basketball. I tell him as a basketball player, he’s a great golfer.”
Then and now: “He has really grown into a man. Tiger is a man. One thing I give his dad credit for. He’s married, got a great wife. I’ve really enjoyed watching his maturation.”
One wish: “I wouldn’t want any of the other [junk]. I would just love to be able to play golf like he does.”
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Ernie Banks on …
The attraction to Tiger: “One thing, his charisma. Once, I was in the background at Cog Hill, just watching him hit shots. I was like, `Wow.’ When he’s on the course, it’s the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen.
“One thing I always look for in athletes is how much do they love what they’re doing? He really loves it.
“I’ve been to a lot of his clinics. Tiger around kids, he’s in his glory. He loves working with kids, talking with kids. I’ve visited his learning center [in Anaheim].
“I don’t want to sound like a nut, like I’m stalking him. This kid is like a magnet. He just draws me wherever he is. The way he dresses, his smile, his love of what he is doing.
“I’m like a little kid following him.”
The athletic connection: “Unfortunately, I never got into a World Series. I always wanted to see people who could rise above under pressure. I watched Michael Jordan play basketball. Stan Musial, Hank Aaron … guys who play under pressure.
“When Tiger came on, that was the main thing I wanted to see from him. How he would respond under pressure? Then I began to see he was a little bit like me.
“I played the game in Wrigley Field as if there was nobody there but me. I didn’t have any idea about the cheering of the crowd. It was just me and the ball. That’s like Tiger.
“When he plays, he plays as if nobody is out there but him and the ball. I went, `Wow, this kid is amazing.'”
The emotion: “I like that when he hits a bad shot, he expresses his disgust. You’ve got to do that. When I played and struck out, I didn’t do that. I didn’t show any emotion. You’ve got to show your emotion.”
Walking with Tiger: “When I retired, all my kids, former teammates, they all said, `Man, you’ve got to get your knees done. You’re walking like an old man.’
“So one day I was thinking, `I should do it.’ I was motivated to walk nine holes with Tiger Woods. When I came to the Masters [in 1997], I wasn’t able to walk then. I sat up at the 18th hole.
“I did it and I walked with him at last year’s PGA. It was hot, but I wanted to do it. This is why I had my knees done. To walk with this young man on the golf course in a major tournament. It was like, `Wow.’
“People following him thought I was his daddy. They said, `How are you, Earl?’ I’d walk a few more holes, and they said, `That isn’t Earl, that’s Ernie Banks.’ Talk about a high honor. People thought I was Tiger’s daddy.”
THE 1997 MASTERS: “I played with Charlie Sifford, Lee Elder, Calvin Peete, Jim Thorpe, Jim Dent, all of them. When Tiger won, I thought about those guys. I heard Charlie Sifford say this many years ago, when he was struggling with everything. He said, `Ernie, one day we’re going to have a young, good-looking black kid come into golf and beat everybody.’ Charlie was right. That’s what happened.”
Meeting with Woods’ father: “I called up Earl a few years ago. He says, `What? Oh, yeah, I remember you. You played with the Kansas City Monarchs.’ Yes, I did.
“I told him I wanted to come down for lunch. I wanted to see and meet the man who trained Tiger Woods.
“It was such a wonderful experience. We talked about baseball. I knew he played baseball. He was the first black player in the Big Eight. I wanted to know about that.
“I saw where Tiger got his determination. Earl was a very determined man.”
Older than his age: “I call him a kid, but he’s 30 now. There are certain people with maturity. They’re young, but they have old spirits. Fergie Jenkins, Ronny Santo. They were mature when they get there. Tiger is like that.”
His dream: “My next mission before I leave this Earth is to play three holes with Tiger Woods. I’m going to be working on that at the PGA. I’m going to try to catch him between something. I’m going to say, `Tiger, my lifelong goal is to play three holes with you.'”
His plan at Medinah: “I’ll be like most people: I’ll be stalking him. I’ll be at the practice tee. Spend a lot of time on putting green.
“Wherever you see Tiger, you’ll see me.”
