Tiger Woods, the golfer, stills thrills female fans lining the fairways of Augusta National even though many of them said that they found his off-course behavior abhorrent. An informal survey of more than 20 female spectators out to watch players practice for Masters on a warm Georgia day, found nearly all of them happy to see Woods back despite the sex scandal that led to an absence of five months.
“I try to separate the athlete and the person,” Beda Johnson of Martinez, Georgia, told Reuters as she strolled with two friends along the 13th fairway. “What he did on 16 a few years ago (in 2005, his last Masters win) where he chipped in that incredible butt. How many times in the world are you going to see anybody do that? “If he can do it, no matter what he’s done in his personal life, that is a professional sportsman and that is what is important this week and to this crowd.”
White-haired Judy Coleman from Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, was staying cool under the shady pines along the 15th fairway. “I am very glad to see him back,” she said, dressed formally in a light, lacy dress for her day at Augusta National. “I hope he is discovered the error of his ways and he’ll realize that he has family, and they need him and he needs them.”