Tiger Woods is Abstaining from Sex to Get Ready for the Masters. The Rest of the Field is Doomed.

Andrew Redington. Getty Images.

There are a lot of factors that go into an athlete's decline. The obvious one being the aging process. Father Time is undefeated when it comes to ravaging the human body. We all get slower. Lose stamina. It becomes harder to build and retain muscle. Recovering from injuries takes longer. Our vision gets reduced. The list goes on. 

Well one of the lesser talked about aspects of this, partly because it's sort of taboo to discuss, is that we lose commitment. That burning desire to succeed. The so-called "fire in the belly." It's a simple fact of life that we're not as passionate about the things that drove us when we were young as we are once we've achieved some or all of our life's goals. 

And it's OK. It's part of human nature. You lose the "Eye of the Tiger," as Survivor put it in Rocky III. You trade your passion for glory. 

But there's one Tiger who has not lose that Eye. Whose commitment simply cannot - will not - be called into question. He wants that sixth green jacket enough to make the ultimate sacrifice between now and next week at Augusta:

Source - Tiger Woods is making preparations to compete at the Masters Tournament next week — and taking drastic measures to ensure that he’s ready to play. 

“He’s focused,” says a friend of the 48-year-old golfer. “He’s working really hard in the gym. He’s eating right. He’s even eliminated sex. 

“He does that now when he’s preparing: no sex until the tournament is over. He doesn’t want anything to take away his focus.” …

When asked by The Post if Woods is currently dating, his pal demurred, saying “there’s no one to speak of. …

“The Masters is Tiger’s must-play event every year,” says the insider. “He’s working very hard, spending hours in the gym, practicing, taking care of himself. He wants to play, and he always plays to win.”

If there's one disappointing element to this report, it's that this was in the NY Post, and they didn't give us a single pun. Not a one. They passed on every opportunity:

"Tiger's Not Playing Around Before The Masters."

"Tiger is Keeping His Club in His Bag."

"Tiger Doesn't Plan to Work on His Putz Prior to Augusta." 

"There'll Be No "Get in the Hole!" for Tiger 'til Thursday."

I'll stop there because this is the Post's bailiwick, not mine. They're the best in the game and have to do better. We need them on that double entendre wall. 

But that's neither here nor there. The important thing is that one of our true world class swordsmen is so laser focused that he's denying the wishes of the women of the world for now. He's putting aside the needs of half the human race because making himself sexually available might take his eyes off the prize. There's no margin for error here. One night of giving into their desires could cost him the championship. One session could lead to an approach shot in the creek instead of tap-in bird. One trip to third base could result in a three-putt. To make a second Rocky reference, "Women weaken legs." And possibly hips, arms and wrists at the worst possible moment.

Tiger's like Costanza the time he went six weeks without even thinking about it, and it turned him into a well-read, erudite intellectual:

Except Tiger is already all those things. So he's channeling that positive energy into something much more desirable than even the most desirable woman. Another Major. 

And good on his anonymous friend for putting this out there for all to hear. Once the competition gets word of this, they'll be dropping their drivers, putting their hands in the air and surrendering. There's no defeating the man when he's this determined.