When you're the best, you're held to a different set of standards...

On Sunday Tiger Woods completed one of the great comebacks in sporting history by winning his 15th major championship and 5th Masters title, 11 years after his last major win. During those 11 years Tiger has faced personal issues, many self inflicted, and suffered numerous injury setbacks that prevented him from performing at the level we'd come to expect, all this resulted in him being written off by many in the game. Even the most ardent Tiger fans must have thought we'd seen the best of him; a man who'd changed the sport had surely done too much damage to both his body and his personal brand to ever be considered the most revered player on tour again.

The 83rd Masters at Augusta National went someway to proving that Tiger Woods was still capable of being Tiger Woods!

It was at the Masters 22 years ago that Tiger Woods burst on to the scene as a 21 year old, and spent the next decade changing the game of golf. He took the sport to a 'hole' new level (pun intended), and inspired young people all over the world, many who might have never shown any interest in the sport, to pick up a golf club. Many pro's on the various tours around the world today would not be professional golfers if it wasn't for Tiger Woods.

Not only did he inspire people with the way he played the game, he inspired people because he was the antithesis of what people had come to expect a top professional golfer to be, put bluntly, a white male. Even at a young age, Tiger was aware that he could use his platform to help people who had been marginalised or discriminated against by standing out and doing things his way. Tiger made the sport of golf more inclusive in a way no one had before.

From that first major win in 1997 to his 14th in 2008, Tiger Woods was golf and I believe his dominance of the sport during that period will never be matched. Then all of a sudden it started to unravel. Injuries were starting to take there toll and that coiled aggression we'd come accustomed to seeing when Tiger swung a golf club appeared to have been the cause of a lot of the ailments he was now suffering with. Then it was his personal life that we were reading about, alleged affairs resulting in a split from his wife Elin and almost overnight Tiger's squeaky clean, family man image was completely tarnished.

Many enjoyed seeing a man who'd been at the top for so long fall from grace so spectacularly and so publicly. For all the fans that Tiger had gained over the years, he also had plenty of 'haters'. People who might have admired and appreciated his golfing talents but didn't like Tiger the person. Rude and arrogant, not a team player, only interested in Tiger etc etc.

It always interested me to read these comments, especially when Tiger's personal life was the story, not his golfing exploits. There seemed to be plenty off people happy to watch Tigers demise and keen to kick him whilst he was down. Why? Human nature perhaps, as a society we seem to enjoy building people up, to then see them fall, and we watch that fall with the same interest and excitement as we did when we were watching them rise. I'm not excusing Tigers actions or trying to justify them but one thing I always thought is, do any of us appreciate what it's like to be Tiger Woods? When you are the best in your chosen discipline, there is an unspoken expectation that you should also meet those same standards in every other aspect of your life, is that fair?

Tiger Woods was never going to be anything other than a professional golfer, it was a path set out for him from the age of 2 or 3. He was then fortunate enough to posses the talent, was prepared to put in the work and had the support around him that allowed him to achieve everything he has in the game. He's been one of the most marketed sports people on the planet over his career, being the face of many brands and dealing with the commitments that involves. He's had cameras and microphones in his face for over 20 years and every tournament he plays in most of the people are there to watch him, so the expectation on him is higher than it is for any of the other players he's competing against. Of course, Tiger has been very, very well rewarded financially throughout his career, but as the cliche goes, money doesn't buy you happiness. I wonder if all the people who think Tiger should have appeared more grateful, been more amenable, shown more personality or smiled more, could have coped with the demands and expectations of being Tiger Woods?

Its a dilemma for some people, myself included, on one hand you want to be able to just appreciate a top sports person for their sporting achievements, but a big part of me can't help but recognise they are not like the rest of us. In this 'age of celebrity' they have a platform that usually means millions of people have an interest in their lives, both inside and outside the sport. With that comes responsibility, responsibility to set a good example, especially to young fans. When you fail to meet those high standards, people will criticise, people who probably don't know you personally, don't appreciate the sacrifices you have had to make, the blood sweat and tears you've put in to reach the top, but rightly or wrongly those people feel you owe them. They've probably invested in you, be it their time or their money and without the investment you get from fans, its very difficult to become successful, so it's easily argued that you probably do owe a lot of them. So I feel that the Tiger Woods' of this world have to accept the criticism they get from fans, especially if those fans feel let down in any way by their favourite sports stars actions or behaviour.

Then there's the journalists opinions, comments and stories. They often fuel the opinions of the general public and paint a picture of peoples 'hero's' that may not always be 100% accurate. I accept that they've got a job to do and they've got news to sell; someone like Tiger Woods is known globally by millions of people, if he does something on or off the golf course, people will be interested in reading about it, so journalists want to be there to tell the story. I do however have an issue when journalists become character assassinators, when they embellish, exaggerate or take things out of context in order to 'expose' sports stars as 'not the person you thought they were'. They're often doing it to sell a story but how often are they thinking about what damage they might be doing to someone's reputation, do they even care? Journalists criticising people in the public eye is nothing new and will continue for as long as we continue to consume news, I just like to remind myself that they are just someone with an opinion, and whilst they might get closer to that sports person than you or I, they don't know the real person and they never have full context.

On Sunday I was delighted to see Tiger win a major championship again, as a golf fan I have watched him transform the game and can honestly say I probably wouldn't have played as much golf as I have in my life, were it not for Tiger Woods. As a fellow human being and one that has never met Tiger, I try look at his personal issues with a hint of empathy, and before being overly critical try see things from his perspective and remember that everyone makes mistakes, has poor judgement and seeks release from the pressures of life. I don't think it's unrealistic or unfair to hold people who are at the top of whatever game their playing to higher standard. That goes for businesses as well, with success comes additional responsibility, that you probably didn't ask for but must accept, whether you think it's fair or not. When you are successful more people are looking at you, some are looking to you for inspiration, as a guide to help them become successful, others might be waiting for you to slip up and fail, so they can point and laugh.

It must be as challenging as it is rewarding to be the best in the world at something, but I for one believe that those at the top and those looking up at them from below have a duty to respect one another. Whether you are running a business or playing on the PGA tour, we are never free from the judgement of others and we all have certain standards to meet in our personal and professional lives. It's important to always remember that we are human beings, capable of making mistakes and not always meeting those standards, but that doesn't instantly make someone a failure, we all capable of redemption, and Tiger got some on Sunday!