Wednesday, May 6, 2009

Tiger and the little girl




Victoria Davis, 7, holds the golf ball that she was given by Tiger Woods during the second round at Quail Hollow Friday. A close-up of the ball is above. (Photo courtesy of the Davis family)

Here’s a small story about what kind of ripples a small gesture can make – especially when Tiger Woods is the one to make it.

On Friday at the Quail Hollow Championship, Woods had just finished parring No.11. As he approached the No.12 tee, a 7-year-old girl named Victoria Davis said “Hi, Tiger.”

Woods is famous for his laser focus during rounds, which generally includes treating all golf fans like wallpaper. But Woods noticed the first-grader, said “Hello” and handed Victoria the golf ball he had just been using.

Monet Davis, Victoria’s mother, started crying then. She is a single parent. She and Victoria used to live in Charlotte, but had moved to suburban Chicago for family reasons. They flew back in last weekend to attend the wedding of a friend and to see Tiger play.

“A simple act of kindness like that,” Monet Davis said, “can make an indelible mark on someone’s life.”

Monet Davis sent me a picture of Victoria and the golf ball (which reads “Tiger” on one side). She plans to save both in a frame.

9 comments:

Anonymous said...

Stevie Williams, Tiger's caddie gave my daughter the ball he used on #2 during the final round in 2005. The next year Charles Howell gave her his ball from #2 during the final round as well. She is a fan for life.

Anonymous said...

No act of kindness, no matter how small, is wasted. --Aesop

Anonymous said...

That choked me up...

Anonymous said...

Thanks for the good news, Scott.

Danman said...

What an excellent story, and what a BEAUTIFUL little girl. Good luck to her and her mother.

Anonymous said...

And now she has a newspaper article to go along with the ball and the picture!

Scott Fowler said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Scott Fowler said...

Hi, guys: It's Scott. For those interested, I thought I'd post a little more of the Davises' reaction to Tiger giving Victoria this ball. This is from an e-mail Mom Monet Davis sent to me, describing the moment just after Victoria received the ball:

"I was dumbfounded. All I could say over and over again as my hands shook and tears came streaming down my face was "Oh my God!". I immediately took the ball away from her and put it in my fanny pack so she would not lose it. Everyone around us was just as amazed, as those who follow Tiger Woods realize he never acknowledges anyone in the crowd when he is playing at a tournament because of the
intense focus he has on his game. Everyone around us kept commenting "He never does that. Do you know how lucky you are?" Maybe something about the way my daughter said innocently said hello to him struck a chord with his parental instincts. Tiger Woods has always been a strong advocate of programs for children through the Tiger Woods Foundation as well as other nonprofit organizations he supported long before he became a Dad twice over.

"A simple act of kindness has the power to touch someone's life forever."

ressei said...

Hello Monet and Victoria
Not only did Tiger's act of kindness embrace little Ms. Victoria, but it did something for us all.We all bring and have some level of importance.... when we have much, much is required.

Brenda Underwood