Opinion | Tiger Woods deserves his Presidential Medal of Freedom – so stop bashing Donald Trump for the sake of it

Tiger Woods received the Presidential Medal of Freedom in the White House’s Rose Garden on Monday, earning the nation’s highest civilian honour, and as usual everyone turned it into an excuse to bash Donald Trump.

It shouldn’t be controversial. George W. Bush gave the same award to golfing legends Arnold Palmer and Jack Nicklaus, and Barack Obama likewise to Charlie Sifford. Woods is an icon and his epic Masters win last month was also one of sport’s best comeback tales and triumphs over adversity, after he had spent years out in the wilderness battling injury and personal crises.

Yet as with anything Trump does, people are criticising the US president for the sake of it. Can’t we just put the politics aside for a minute?

Of course, Trump is a diehard golf fan and long-time friend of Woods, who is even reportedly designing a Trump Organisation golf course in Dubai. But some of the commentary on social media has been way over the top, with many people disparaging Woods for even accepting the award.

What was he meant to do? You can see how much the honour meant to him – he had tears in his eyes as he thanked his mother, who was in the audience.

“It’s an incredible privilege to be awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom,” Woods wrote on Twitter. “Considering the recipients, history, and what this means to me and my family, it’s also very humbling. Thank you all for your support and I hope this inspires others to never give up on their dreams.”

Woods’ Masters win was his 15th major, coming 11 years after his last one. In the intervening time the former world No 1 had experienced a very public break-up of his marriage, had undergone four back surgeries and checked into rehab in 2017 for addiction to prescription painkillers after being arrested for driving while intoxicated.