Excellent (old) observation from Arnold Palmer
December 08, 2009
John Feinstein recounts a conversation between a young Tiger Woods and Arnie:
In 1997, at the first Masters in which Woods played as a professional -- he won by an astonishing 12 shots -- he and Palmer played a practice round at Augusta National Golf Club. Afterward, the two had lunch in the champions' locker room at the clubhouse. During lunch, Woods explained to Palmer how difficult his life was at that moment.
"I can't be a normal 21-year-old," he said. "I have to sign autographs all the time, talk to the media after I play, do photo shoots for my sponsors. It just never ends."
Palmer, as he had done in the past with other players who had made similar complaints (notably, two-time U.S. Open champion Curtis Strange), looked Woods in the eye and said: "You're right, Tiger, you aren't a normal 21-year-old. Normal 21-year-olds don't have $50 million in the bank. If you want to be normal, give the money back."