Why I like Tiger Woods.

Tiger Woods won his 47th career PGA tournament on Sunday but this post is not designed to talk about his golf game. One of the biggest reasons I like Tiger is his Tiger Woods Foundation, and the way he manages it and goes about financing it. A lot of his critics have criticized Tiger, similar to the way they did Michael Jordan before him, for not speaking out on social issues. In my opinion we have to many celebrities using their fame as a soap box for their political views and pet causes as it is. Maybe Tiger simply realizes that just because he happens to hit a golf ball better than anyone else alive, that doesn't qualify him to make statements on Iraq, the environment, the UN, etc. He doesn't use victory speeches and public appearances to plead for government funding for his foundation. He simply goes about using his corporate connections and influence over golf fans to get private funding for his initiatives. As a result, it is estimated that over 95% of all donations make it to the programs the foundation was created to support, such as a learning center using the latest science and technology, golf programs for underprivileged kids, and awarding scholarships to kids who achieve their pre-determined goals. Contrast this to estimates that less than 10% of money donated to UNICEF actually makes it to the children it supports. Tiger may not be the public spokesperson the media wants him to be, but I don't think kids his foundation supports in southern California much care about that.