VIJAY SINGH'S PULLS OFF THE IMPOSSIBLE
Well, it didn't seem possible but Vijay Singh has done what seemed impossible. He has somehow managed to create some sympathy for PGA Tour leadership. The PGA Tour has mismanaged the PED issue and how they handled Singh's deer antler spray case. In the shortsighted fog of this mismanagement and hopelessness, Singh like a shining beacon managed to make the PGA Tour look good. The idiotic lawsuit even created some sympathy for the PGA Tour and its weak drug testing policy.
The PGA Tour should keep the lawsuit alive as long as possible ... you simply can't buy this kind of positive PR.
Here's another weird thing to consider about the suit. It has been 5 years since Singh has been a top player on Tour. His ranking on the money list since 2008 has been 59th (2009), 65th (2010), 36th (2011), 57th (2012) and is 117th so far this year. He is also 50 years old. Consider:
- If he plays average this year and finishes in the pack like he has over the past 5 years, then it will be difficult to claim he actually was affected by the whole deer antler spray episode.
- If he plays well and even manages to win once or twice, it will be even harder to claim he suffered because he would have far surpassed his performance over the past decade.
- If he plays poorly and finished where he as about now (in the 100s on the money list), then he would have to prove he is unlike virtually every other 50 year old in golf history. Now, he may claim to a unique person as proven by his unparalleled success in his forties; but, that would then bring a lot of attention to his performance during that time period. Who knows what would come of that. The statistics suggest that his performance in his 40s is so unusual that it warrants further investigation. There is no evidence or suggestion Singh ever used PEDs int the 90s and early 2000s but a person never looks good when people start asking such questions to you under oath in a lawsuit. Otherwise, even if this episode hurt him somewhat (say from an average player to a slightly below average player), the damages would not be that significant (e.g. the difference between 70th and 100th on the money list last year was about $270,000). That is nothing to sneeze at for you and me but is that amount of money really worth it for Singh and this type of coverage? Singh has made piles of money over his career and unless he had kept it all with Allen Stanford, this should be pocket change to Singh.
Not only has the lawsuit created embarrassment for Singh, it has managed to revive his cheating scandal from his European Tour days in the 80s and the allegations of him doctoring his scorecard.
Here is a sampling of the general opinions out there on Twitter.
Jason Sobel of Golf Channel may be the most prolific along with the ever-entertaining Steve Elkington. Sports Illustrated's Cameron Morfit deserves credit for his late afternoon summary of Vijay's front nine yesterday.
Next up are the general tweets essentially mocking his use of the deer antler spray and the concept of Singh not having the greatest reputation as it stands.
If one needs any further evidence of Singh's reduced standing in the game, it's the fellow players and media willing to publicly mock him. If he were winning 5 tournaments a year, people would be treading a lot more carefully.
Of course it is never a good sign when you are getting legal advice from John Daly. Daly is joined by several other professionals and media people on the topic of who is really responsible for the situation.
Of course one of Singh's problems in suing to protect his reputation will be that people will bring up his altered scorecard controversy from the 80s (either that of his unusually large yellow and green phallus). A popular topic is also how he is hurting the Tour from who was able to make so much money.
There certainly isn't much support for Singh out there on Twitter. If this is any indication, even if he manages to prove negligence by the PGA Tour (or one of the other claims made in the lawsuit), there may be a good argument that there aren't really any damages.
Douglas Han
