Latest on Tiger Woods as He Prepares to Tee Off

The day has finally come for Tiger Woods to make his highly anticipated return to golf.  As Tiger prepares to tee off later today at the Masters, he is making news headlines everywhere. 

Yesterday, he showed up to accept the 2009 Player of the Year Award, his tenth in 13 seasons.  With all of the attention on Tiger Woods for the last several months revolving around his sex scandal, it is easy to overlook the fact that he had yet another stellar year on the golf course in 2009.  However, the Golf Writers Association of America acknowledged this fact Wednesday, and Woods appeared to accept his award.  He introduced his acceptance speech by stating, “I’ll stick to golf,” and then briefly spoke about his season, which included a successful return from knee surgery.

Meanwhile, Nike aired a commercial on ESPN and the Golf Channel featuring the voice of Tiger’s late father.  Never one to shy away from acknowledging an athlete’s personal issues, Nike addressed his time away from the golf course by showing Woods in black and white looking directly into the camera and playing an audio clip of his father asking, “Did you learn anything?”

Perhaps Augusta National is asking the same question, based upon words from their chairman.  Speaking on behalf of the club, whose members include the captains of industry, its chairman Billy Payne called out Tiger Woods a mere day before his return at that very venue.  Payne maintained that Woods forgot “that with fame and fortune comes responsibility” and that he “disappointed all of us, and more importantly, our kids and grandkids.”  He elaborated by stating that “Our hero did not live up the expectations of the role model we saw for our children.”  Despite these scathing words, Payne offered hope that Tiger Woods would learn from his mistakes and change, asserting that his return at the Masters will be “for all of us who believe in second chances.”

Tiger Woods will tee off today at 1:42 p.m. ET.

In preparation for this historic sports moment, Hollywood Collectibles invites you to purchase authentic Tiger Woods memorabilia.  We offer a wide variety of Tiger Woods collectibles, including framed autographed photos, shadow boxes with range driven golf balls, and various other framed memorabilia such as Ford Championship at Doral tickets and a game-used glove swatch.  Hollywood Collectibles is one of the most trusted names in sports memorabilia.  We have been in the industry for over 24 years and all items come with a certificate of authenticity.  Get ready for the Masters by purchasing a piece of autographed Tiger Woods memorabilia right now.