SPORTS

TIGER WOODS: THE COMPETITION WILL DETERMINE HIS PLACE IN HISTORY

Let us consider the competition

 

 

 he competition determines a champion. It also determines the greatness of a champion. What would Larry be without Magic, Ali be without Frazier, and the Yankees be without the Red Sox, just to name a few. While certainly not his fault, Tiger has no Magic, Frazier, or Red Sox.

 

A recent study by a college student showed that pro golfers shot higher scores when Tiger Woods was in the tournament than when Tiger was not in the tournament.  If this isn’t the definition of choking, I don't know what is.

 

This study should come as no surprise to anyone who regularly watches the PGA tour.  Nearly every weekend when Tiger is in the hunt, the golfers ahead of him give away strokes faster than a massage therapist during a happy ending.  Most of the time we watch golfers well in control, gradually give away strokes until Tiger, who looked like he was out of the tournament, finds himself in the lead.  Many times Tiger is shooting a poor or very average round.  It’s the other golfers who come back to him.

 

It’s almost a foregone conclusion that Tiger is never out of the tournament – not only because Tiger shoots himself back in to the tournament after a poor round or two, but more often because the other golfers shoot themselves out of the tournament.

 

As a real golf fan, it’s discouraging to see such a lack of competition.  We long for a challenge to Tiger.  Golf could be so much more exciting.  How good would it be for the fans and the game of golf for some other golfer to stare down Tiger, gut it out, and win? 

 

Golf is in serious need of some men with balls.  We need a real man to step up, handle his nerves, and play up to his potential.  We need a man who can do that consistently.  Right now, there are no real men in golf.

 

This wasn’t the case when Jack Nicklaus was playing.  Nicklaus faced the likes of Gary Player (9 majors), Tom Watson (8 majors), Arnold Palmer (7 majors), Lee Trevino (6 majors), Raymond Floyd (4 majors), Billy Casper (3 majors) , Julius Boros (3 majors), Hale Irwin (3 majors), and Larry Nelson (3 majors).  All of these players have won at least three majors during Nicklaus’ days.  None of them folded.  All of them manned up when the going got tough.  As a matter of fact, these players have a total of 46 majors amongst them.  They battled Nicklaus.  They looked him in the eye and stared him down.  And quite often, they won.

 

How many of Tigers competitors have at least three majors?  Three:  Phil Michelson (3 majors), Vijay Singh (3 majors), and Ernie Els (3 majors).  Let’s summarize:

 

Nicklaus’ competition:  46 majors

Woods’ competition:  9 majors

 

Nicklaus’ competition had over five times more majors than Woods’ competition.  Does that mean that the competition was five times stronger when Nicklaus was playing?  Actually, you could make the case that Nicklaus’ competition was more than five times stronger. 

 

Woods’ only played against three other players with at least two majors:  John Daly,  Jose Maria Olazabel, and Retief Goosen.  Nicklaus played against Johnny Miller, David Graham, Hubert Green, Tony Jacklin, Andy North, and Dave Stockton.  Remember those guys?    

 

Tiger has never come from behind to win a major.  Even though the competition regularly folds in front of him, he still hasn’t come from behind. 

 

Nicklaus, on the other hand has come from behind to win 7 of his 18 majors.  That’s right.  With Watson, Trevino, Player, Miller, Palmer and others leading or breathing down his neck, he overtook the competition and won.  An amazing accomplishment.

 

Tiger is clearly the best player of his generation, and could very well be the greatest of all time.  Time will tell.  But we are in a different era with different competition.  In fact, Tiger may be facing the weakest competition of any era in golf.  In order to convince the critics, he’s going to have to either:  (1) win many more than 18 majors; or (2) get regularly challenged by a serious competitor who also wins many majors.  He may very well do that – he’s that good.  But let’s hold off anointing him the best ever until it’s all over and we stand back and gain a clear perspective from a distance of his record and his competition.  We owe that respect to both Woods and Nicklaus.

 

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