With two young children, Tiger must find balance

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Tiger Woods hugs his daughter after winning the U.S. open last June.

As he sits in the rocking chair in the nursery, he can't remember exactly how he got there. Taking in the smells of the nursery in the pre-dawn light, he is drawn back to the baby in his lap.

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"I am up because he called," the man thinks to himself. The dad thinks he is up because tonight, like every night when you have a newborn, someone had to get up. Tonight -- mercifully -- it was only once.

At least, he thinks it was only once. The bedside clock said 4:16 as he made his way through the dark to the call of the hungry child. Now, he remembers the cold of the foot placed squarely in the small of his back, pushing his slumber toward the edge of the mattress. Now, he remembers the tired words, "Your turn," as his feet came out from under the comforter and descended toward reality.

He remembers all this because it could have been a dream. But he is pretty sure that he is awake now. The sucking sound from the bundle in his arms assures him that he is up. If not, the smell from the change that took place while the bottle was warming is enough to remind, but not annoy.

A burp and a coo, and the baby is fast asleep for a few more hours. The man pads out into the hall thinking that a few more hours sound pretty good. He is stopped in his tracks by a sound from the next room. The most beautiful sound he had ever heard just a few months ago now holds him frozen.

"Daddy," is all he hears in a small voice coming through the door. He sneaks a peek at the clock on the wall, 4:42. Oh well, time to make breakfast. A huge smile from the crib greets him from under the window, and the day has begun. Such is the life of a parent of two tots. This one is old enough to explore the world and her new baby brother.

I don't know for sure that this is how Tiger's day started today, but it is a pretty good guess. Even the No. 1 player in the world changes diapers in the dark and makes breakfast. It is one of the inevitable truths of parenthood.

If not, then he is missing out. Tiger will be the first to say that his injury and surgery could not have come at a better time. While the PGA TOUR misses him desperately right now, he is doing something far more important than winning golf tournaments.

As a father of two, it is hard not to give advice. I would like to tell Tiger that in 15 minutes he will be packing lunches and sending them off to school. After the birth of a second child, your life is moved into fast forward and you have to make a concerted effort to slow it down.

I know it doesn't feel that way at 4:30 in the morning when everyone is awake, but Tiger is smarter than me, and he will figure it out in his own time. He will strike the balance that all traveling professionals must find to stave off the guilt of absence. My final bit of advice would be simply to remember your sense of humor. Children are funny, even their messes. And they love to laugh.

Tiger will probably be back on TOUR in the next month. Some say he will be back next week at the World Golf Championships-Accenture Match Play Championship and they might be right. Others are predicting the World Golf Championships-CA Championship or the Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by MasterCard for his return. I don't know Tiger well enough to guess with any authority, but I know families, particularly golf families. He will go play when Elin tells him to go play, and he will play well.

After the time away, golf has to mean something different for Tiger because everything in his life has changed. Questions like: "How often the kids will travel?" "What are the best places for them to go?" will be asked. Most players with families make a commitment to not be gone more than a certain number of days in a row.

Tiger will have to figure that out, too.

We have watched for 13 years as Tiger has grown from phenomenon to legend. He once said that there wasn't a class at Stanford that could have prepared him for his celebrity and the constant scrutiny that he came under at a young age.

There isn't a guide book now, either. However, this is the noblest journey of all, parenthood, and there are plenty of good people around him that are more than willing to put forth their two cents. That is the one thing about parenthood: plenty of advice.

Tiger, you can call if you need any more of it.

John Maginnes is a columnist for PGATOUR.COM. His opinions do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the PGA TOUR.