November 20, 2020 | BY AAGD STAFF
The public still cannot get enough of Tiger Woods. In spite of the thousands of articles and books that have been written on the golf champion—not to mention an upcoming Tiger Woods documentary that HBO already has in the works—today ESPN and The Undefeated announced they have their own documentary coming in just a few weeks.
Tiger Woods: America’s Son is set to premiere on Sunday, November 29th on ESPN. The hour-long documentary promises to be an exploration of how Tiger redefined what Black athletes could achieve in the predominantly white sport of golf, while also exploring the critical ways in which he could have done more to help Black athletes gain opportunities in golf in the eyes of many.
There’s a lot of background and personal information uncovered in the piece, along with rarely-seen footage from Woods’ early career and life, archival interviews of Tiger as a young player, his family life growing up with his mother and father, 25 poignant interviews and testimonials from fellow golfers, former Augusta National Golf Club caddies, journalists who covered his career, and more.
While golf still is presumed to be a ‘white man’s sport’ by many in the Black community, Tiger has risen to be the best player of all time. It is highly debated that the former world number one does not step to the forefront to declare his racial Blackness enough to staisfy the millions of Black youth who see him as an icon in the sport that still remains inaccessible for many demographics other than “wealthy white people”.
Following his Masters win in 1997, it’s been 23 years, yet there are still only three Black regulars on the PGA Tour. And one of them is Tiger. Some naysayers believe he prefers it that way, commenting that he wants all of the spotlight to be on him; and we all know that spotlight also comes with many huge monetary benefits, as well.
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Remember, having 3 Blacks on the PGA Tour in 2020 is actually a huge drop from prior eras in golf, such as in the late 70s and early ’80s, when there were as many as 16 Black players on the Tour at one time, “Golfers like Tom Woodard, Charlie Sifford, Al Morton, Al Greene, Lee Elder, Calvin Peete, Jim Dent, Jim Thorpe, Ron Terry, Charles Owens, Howard Wheeler, and Lefty Brown were all playing the Tour back then,” says Author Johnson who once managed the late Calvin Peete. “It’s sad to see how things have changed so quickly. In a game which offers so much prize money, there is very little Black representation.”
The documentary is full of an impressive list of participants:
Pete McDaniel, former Golf Digest writer and author of “Training a Tiger”;
Mark O’Meara, Woods friend and mentor;
Butch Harmon, Woods’ longtime coach;
Lee Elder, the first African American to qualify for the Masters;
Michael Fletcher, senior writer, ESPN/The Undefeated;
Paul Azinger, who was paired with Woods during the 2nd round of the 1997 Masters;
Clarence Page, Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist.
The documentary takes a critical look at Tiger’s legacy and his own role in shaping the opinions and perceptions of his fans and foes. One hour may not be enough time to delve into the conflicts of his amazing life and career.
Tiger Woods: America’s Son premieres at 7 PM Eastern on Sunday, November 29th.
The Undefeated Presents Tiger Woods: America’s Son on Nov. 29 7pm ET on @ESPN and ESPN App.
— The Undefeated (@TheUndefeated) November 19, 2020
The one-hour documentary will examine Tiger Woods’ complex racial identity and the meaning of the golfer’s success in America. #TigerUndefeated pic.twitter.com/pREgUECtPy
