JOHN YANG: Now to golf and another step in Tiger Woods' improbable comeback.
It was an up-and-down day for Woods, who ended one over par after the opening day of the
Masters Tournament.
Jeffrey Brown has this look at a new bestselling biography of Woods.
It's the latest edition to the "NewsHour" Bookshelf.
JEFFREY BROWN: The larger life story is now told in a new biography, "Tiger Woods," by
veteran sports journalists Jeff Benedict, and Armen Keteyian, who joins me now from
New York.
Armen, it's nice to talk to you again.
First, remind us of Tiger Woods the great, maybe the greatest.
What allowed him to be so?
ARMEN KETEYIAN, Author, "Tiger Woods": Well, he had the entire package.
He was the most powerful golfer ever really to walk the face of the earth when he stepped
on the tour.
His swing speed, his ball striking ability, his mind -- Tiger himself said, my greatest
weapon was my creative genius on the golf course.
And then you match that with almost this indomitable will, a willingness to crush his opponents,
and really take the heart out of his opponents time and time again on the golf course.
It was the complete package.
And then you add in the charisma and his captivating personality on the course.
JEFFREY BROWN: Yes.
ARMEN KETEYIAN: And he literally was unbelievable and unbeatable.
JEFFREY BROWN: You trace a lot of this to his early life, the parents who shaped him,
sometimes drove him.
Many remember that father-son embrace in 1997.
So it's a loving relationship, but also one that in some ways warped him.
ARMEN KETEYIAN: No question, Jeff.
I mean, it's a very complicated relationship between Tiger and his parents.
The family dynamic drives the entire narrative of our book.
You could argue that he was programmed to be a prodigy by his parents, both good and
bad.
But there's a cost associated with that.
And that's one of the things I think the book does so well.
It examines the family dynamic in a way both pro and con, but it also raises serious questions
about the price of fame and the cost of genius.
JEFFREY BROWN: Exactly.
Well, we all in the public learned about this other side of Tiger Woods only in 2009.
But you're showing that somehow it was always there, but always hidden and quite guarded.
ARMEN KETEYIAN: No question.
He was a very private person.
This was a shy, awkward, socially awkward child who burst onto the scene with almost
unimaginable fame, extreme fame and fortune.
And he was overwhelmed by it for quite a while.
And he became very isolated.
Then he became very distrustful of the media.
And then he began to enjoy all the pleasures of the fame and fortune.
But then there was this other side of him that really is rather unlikable for the longest
period of time, a great entitlement, very little gratitude and grace towards other people
who were doing things for him.
And, literally, Jeff, as we're writing this book, there's a whole arc obviously to the
book, but there's points in time when Jeff and I are writing it where we're having trouble
writing it because he's not a very likable person during a long stretch of his life.
JEFFREY BROWN: Yes.
When the fall happened, as you looked at it, how far down do you think he went psychologically,
just life -- in his life?
ARMEN KETEYIAN: Put it into context in terms of 2009.
I mean, his epic fall from grace was fodder for The New York Post for 21 straight days,
a record 21 straight days, more time than after 9/11.
He was on every cable television station.
It was the beginning of TMZ and the blowup of social media.
It was an absolute humiliating experience for Tiger.
And it stayed with him for a long period of time.
And it added to his distrust of the media.
And then, on top of that, he has a divorce.
He goes through a very serious, long-term problem with injuries that require four back
surgeries, and an opiate problem, you could say an opiate addiction.
I mean, he has had -- virtually every aspect of his life is Shakespearian.
And that's what's so interesting about it.
But, on the other hand, team Tiger and his management people have protected Tiger.
The driving question for us in this book was two things, really.
Who is Tiger Woods?
And that's a question that his people have protected for basically 20 years.
JEFFREY BROWN: Yes.
ARMEN KETEYIAN: And what's the price of genius?
And that's a complicated answer.
JEFFREY BROWN: And yet here we are, on the cusp of a Masters where Tiger Woods somehow
is among the favorites.
You have sponsors talking again about maybe signing up with him.
A new narrative?
Where do you think we are?
ARMEN KETEYIAN: I think you're absolutely right.
Some things haven't changed, but Tiger has changed.
He's healthy.
Emotionally, he's in the best spirits and shape of his life.
He was engaged with fans.
He was more outgoing.
He's more -- he's more human than he's ever been.
And I think that's what makes this Masters, the rise and the retribution right now in
his life, so captivating.
And we end the book on a very positive note in terms of, he's about ready to show a new
generation of golfing pros and his children, who have never seen him at his peak, what
a living legend looks like.
JEFFREY BROWN: OK.
We will be watching.
The new book is "Tiger Woods" by Jeff Benedict and Armen Keteyian.
Armen, thanks a lot.
ARMEN KETEYIAN: Thank you, Jeff.