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By John Maginnes
PGATOUR.com Contributor

ATLANTA -- At 10:45 Sunday morning, a cameraman was stationed in the parking lot at East Lake Golf Club awaiting the arrival of Tiger Woods.

Woods meets the press after the third round. (WireImage)

With more than three hours until Tiger teed off in the final round of THE TOUR Championship presented by Coca-Cola, it was sure to be a quite a wait. A couple of hours on the asphalt for a 20-second shot of Tiger walking from his Buick to the clubhouse -- it must be a lonely job.

Like every week, grown men in shorts and topsiders with golf shirts snug around their girth run along the gallery ropes hoping for a better look. The effort is made not for an autograph, but merely for a peek, a chance to say that they were that close to greatness. This scene and many others play out every week when Tiger competes. It happens where ever he goes.

Emily Dickinson once wrote, "Fame is a fickle food upon a shifting plate." But Tiger is -- and has been -- at the top of the popularity food chain, feasting not only on his competitors but on a notoriety never before seen in the game. His fame extends well beyond driving ranges and clubhouses and is firmly entrenched in popular culture.

Time will probably illustrate definitively that Tiger is the greatest player of all time. But other sports have had athletes of great character and charisma whose popularity never crossed the sidelines of their respective sports. So why Tiger? Furthermore, how has he avoided the inevitable pitfalls of fame?

There are varying levels and types of fame in our culture. Some are famous for accomplishment while others are famous for seemingly nothing at all. The one thing that they all have in common is that the same masons who lay the bricks of their fame spend equal amounts of time trying to tear them down.

We have a voyeuristic passion to see beyond the image of fame. More often than not, that reality is less than pleasant.

Tiger said several years ago that there was no class at Stanford that could have prepared him for his life after college. And he admitted that as a young man he made some mistakes, but those missteps are long forgotten.

Tiger's initial fame was always guaranteed. Its longevity, though, lies in the way that he has managed that fame as much as it does with his accomplishments. In public, Tiger is articulate and polished.

(Maginnes: Woods is a popular culture icon. WireImage)

He is as adept at steering the conversational ball away from trouble as he is maneuvering at his golf ball. He lives on the high ground, never criticizing or taking stands. Even when asked about the Tiger Woods Foundation, he starts every sentence with the word "we" as to avoid platitudes and individual credit.

Among peers, he is engaging and well-liked. He is always quick with a joke and enjoys the sometimes socially non-conforming commentary that surely exists in every locker room in sports. And, maybe knowing that side of the man exists, yet the public never sees it, fuels his popularity even more.

Tiger drew the line in the sand a long time ago. He understands the responsibilities of his fame. He knows his responsibility to the game from which that fame was born. But there is an intensely private side to Tiger. There is an understanding among those around him that to breach confidences would be at the peril of the indiscriminate.

Rarely do you hear anything from Tiger when he is not competing. Even when he is playing, the personal elements of his life remain well-guarded. While Tiger was battling Angel Cabrera in June for the U.S. Open title, his pregnant wife was hospitalized as a precautionary measure.

Given the go-ahead from her and the doctors, Tiger headed to Pennsylvania although his heart was elsewhere. Amazingly in this time of instant information, it was weeks after the birth of their daughter before people discovered what transpired behind the scenes while Tiger was at Oakmont.

While the public may want more, Tiger is only willing to give so much. It is perhaps this thirst for more that fuels his incredible popularity. Tiger, it would seem, would compete with the same vigor without the adulation and millions of adoring fans.

There is an antiquated anonymous quote whose relevance may only apply to one man in this day and age. "Fame is the shadow of passions standing in the light."

Where many seem to have passion only for fame, Tiger's passion has created his fame. His desire for privacy begrudgingly fuels that fame, but it is his success that guarantees it.