Thaindian News

Wellington, June 16 (ANI): Tiger Woods was raised to believe that he was the ‘Chosen One’, which inflated his ego and resulted in his downfall, according to a new book.

In the tome, titled ‘Unplayable’, golf writer Robert Lusetich said that the golfer was embedded with a strong sense of entitlement drummed into him by his father, Earl.

In an interview with journalist Gary Smith in 1996 cited in the book, Woods senior said his son would “do more than any other man in history to change the course of humanity.”

He said his son would have more impact than Nelson Mandela, Gandhi or Buddha.

“He’ll have the power to impact nations. Not people. Nations. The world is just getting a taste of his power,” Stuff.co.nz quoted Earl Woods as saying.

At the time, Tiger was just 20, and the attitude seemed to have created an enormous ego in the young sportsman.

But the optimism and confidence that the public admired made him so cocky as to believe he could juggle a string of mistresses and get away with it.

“I felt I was entitled. I convinced myself that normal rules didn’t apply,” he said in his February 2010 apology.

Other than his ego, Woods’ fall could be attributed to his cold attitude towards the media, said Lusetich.

In his quest to maintain ultimate privacy, he and his media-weary agent Mark Steinberg shunned the journalists who would turn on Woods, tearing him down.

Woods’ downfall came because he had no ally in the media and remained tight-lipped as his world fell apart.

“Woods, with very few exceptions, was estranged from the media that covers him, and when he needed their restraint at the end of 2009, he instead got their revenge,’ wrote Lusetich. (ANI)