UPDATE 7-14-15: Jordan has won the second leg of the Grand Slam by winning the 2015 U.S. Open. This week he goes for the third leg……………

 

WHITE TIGER

Reflections on the 2015 Masters— A New Nickname for Spieth

By Dan Poppers

I’m not a patron, let’s get that straight right from the beginning. I’m a fan and if I were at the Masters at Augusta National I would be a member of the gallery, not a patron.

 

Though the old guard finally included women as members in 2012 (80 years after its 1932 opening), they still insist on creating their own language — arrogance Webster’s Dictionary doesn’t acknowledge. The dictionary insists patron is 1.“a person who is a customer, client, etc. especially a regular one.” No mention of Masters. No mention of golf. A person could be in a brothel, mortuary, butcher shop, urinal in Paris or……drinking a brand of tequila, and be a patron. The point: This particular Masters lexicon, meant to be elegant, is common.

 

Who stole the show at this year’s Masters? Unless you were locked up in a bank vault for four days, you know. A 21-year-old from Texas by the name Jordan Spieth, 2015 Masters winner. Everything that’s being said Spieth appears to be true — gentleman, amicable, refreshing, intelligent, humble, family man, authentic.

 

Because the camera continues to focus on Tiger Woods, because virtually all golf fans continue to be fascinated with him for various opposing reasons, I can’t help compare Spieth with Woods. Here’s Spieth— mild mannered, unflappable, authentic, open, loyal to his girl friend, loyal to his family— and then we have Woods, temperamental, inauthentic, closed, not loyal to his wife and family. We have smooth-swinging, consistently-managing-his-game Spieth and wild-swinging Woods often mismanaging his game. Spieth void of foul language in public; Woods spewing swear words calling himself “Dumb Ass” at the Masters after hitting an errant shot, a highly accurate description of himself more ways than one.

 

Now we come to the most controversial thing I’m going to say and I know the risks. If I were black and said what you’ll soon read, the term might be less controversial. However, I’m white and going to say it anyway. I accept the potential criticism that the description I have for Jordan Spieth is racist. Yet, it is not meant to be racist at all. It’s meant to be a creative, accurate description of a superstar in the making that has the potential to equal or surpass the records Tiger Woods has achieved.

 

If Kobe Bryant can call himself the Black Mamba (a reference to race and strength), I feel more freedom to say what I’m going to say. Critics may attack me saying any time you use color to describe a person, you’re in the realm of racism. However, this criticism isn’t as black or white as you may think. The official Joe Lewis website is titled “THE BROWN BOMBER,” a nickname endearing to Joe Lewis and his heirs. Lee Trevino calls himself the Merry Mex.

 

The term is meant as a compliment to Spieth and to Tiger. The term is meant to summarize succinctly who Spieth is as a golfer knowing no label is 100% accurate. The term has special meaning to me because I love this particular animal. It’s beautiful, majestic, strong, courageous, and elegant.

 

The term I speak of is White Tiger.

 

UPDATE 7-14-15: Jordan has won the second leg of the Grand Slam by winning the 2015 U.S. Open. This week he goes for the third leg: The Open Championship. If he wins, he is in the position to change golf history and win the fourth leg — the PGA Championship — a victory that will give him the coveted Grand Slam in the same calendar year.

 

Photo: Jordan Spieth