5 things we learned in ESPN’s ‘Secret History of Tiger Woods’

In the last nine months, we’ve learned more details of Tiger Woods’ personal life, his character and flaws, through the work of several outstanding journalists.

First it was Lorne Rubenstein with an illuminating interview with Woods for Time. Then it was Alan Shipnuck in Sports Illustrated with a compelling look at where it all went wrong for Woods. Now, this week, ESPN the Magazine’s Wright Thompson offers a 12,000-word look at Woods’ “secret history.”

While Woods fans and watchers should have already surmised some key takeaways of the piece, including Woods’ haunting after his father Earl’s death, the details and storytelling are a breathtaking look at how the writing craft can be at its best.

Of course, if you have 20 or 30 minutes of free time, you should read the whole thing for yourself. However, if you’re not convinced, here are a few things we took away from the piece:

1. Woods wasn’t motivated by Jack Nicklaus’ majors record: Hank Haney offered this in his “The Big Miss,” but Thompson reiterates that Woods was perfectly happy with his career well before his personal downfall in 2009.

To many people inside Tiger’s circle, Jack Nicklaus’ record of 18 majors wasn’t as important to Tiger as it was to the golfing media and fans. He never mentioned it. Multiple people who’ve spent significant amounts of time with him say that. When Tiger did talk about it, someone else usually brought it up and he merely responded.

2. Michael Jordan thinks Woods wants to retire but doesn’t know how: Jordan, quoted throughout the piece (Thompson did a big profile on him, so likely grabbed some info in that reporting), said Woods is dealing with similar career mortality issues as he did.

“I think he’s tired,” Jordan said. “I think he really wishes he could retire, but he doesn’t know how to do it yet, and I don’t think he wants to leave it where it is right now. If he could win a major and walk away, he would, I think.”

3. Woods could well have retired and joined the Navy had he beaten Nicklaus’ mark: Before injuries condemned Woods to even more surgeries, including three back procedures in the last two years, there was a thought in Woods’ camp that he would have walked away from the game the second he won a 19th major.

“If he had had a hot two years and broken the record, he would have hung up his clubs and enlisted. No doubt.”

4. Woods struggled, like many do, with superstardom: Thompson writes at length about Woods’ struggles to seem like what he probably believed was a prototypical superstar. He told the same jokes. He didn’t know how to talk to women in clubs. He felt more comfortable keeping to himself.

5. Mark Steinberg tried his best to snap Woods out of his Navy SEALs hypnotic trance: Woods’ agent led what amounted to a small intervention of friends and associates to get the No. 1 golfer to stop obsessing over the Navy SEALs and training like one to focus on his golf career.

This all must have seemed insane to someone who just wanted to manage a great athlete: secret trips to military facilities, running around a golf course in combat boots, shooting guns, taking punches. That night after dinner, Steinberg took Tiger into his downstairs office, a room in his finished basement. What they talked about remains private. But this was the moment when Tiger could have connected the dots and seen how out of control things had become.

Ultimately, Thompson’s piece paints the picture of a guy who has an amazing talent but was perhaps ill-prepared for the fame and pressure that came with putting that skill on such public display. He struggles to grieve the loss of his father – his best friend and confidante – and it is, ironically, that loss which may have set in motion a series of distractions, injuries and personal failings that undid his career.

Ryan Ballengee is a Yahoo Sports contributor. Find him on Facebook and Twitter.

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