When Tiger is running on the green, no one can chase him!

[dorf]

The 88th PGA final round started when Tiger had a tie with Luke at 14 under. However, Tiger finished with a hugh lead of -18 and put the second leader at a far far distance of 5 shots behind!

Here are some other amazing stats about this genius golfer:

Tiger won 12 majors so far with a combined 56 shots lead, while Jack Nicklaus had 18 majors by only 44 shots ahead of others.

Jack won 18 majors over 25 years, Tiger has won 12 majors in his first 10 years on the PGA tour.

And Tiger only made THREE bogeys in the entire week of this 88th PGA Championship.

Tiger is in the process of becoming the greatest golfer in the history. The only person he has to chase now is Jack. The question is: who can chase Tiger in the future? How many more years that will take?

 

[fun-guy]

Jack Nicklaus is a legend, a super human being in the golf world. above the rest as proven by his amazing stats. There were many others before him that are legends as well and great, great golfers like Arnold Palmer.

However, Tiger Woods is an active, living legend and his legend is growing. He has accomplished feats in an era where golf has never been bigger as a sport which has attracted an unprecedented number of people from every part of the world playing the sport, the equipment has evolved tremendously where everyone has access to the latest technological advancements, the courses are the longest and most difficult they have ever been, the pressure from the media coverage today is overwhelming, the pressure to win with so much money on the line has never been greater, and the coaching is far superior today for everyone.

With all this said, Tiger will not only be a legend, a super human being like Jack, but we will come to realize that Tiger is indeed a golfing God. A player that will never be matched in my lifetime, that's for sure.

 

[lookingforitallthetime]

The question is: who can chase Tiger in the future? How many more years that will take?

I remember when the same questions were being asked about Nicklaus. And before him Palmer, before Palmer, Snead, before Snead, Jones.....etc.

Tiger is truly exceptional and there is little doubt that he is the best to have ever played the game. What seperates him from the others is his mental focus and his will. (Nicklaus had this but was not as complete a player as Tiger)

But, Tiger puts his pants on one leg at a time like everyone else and he is human.

Records are made to be broken and one day, someone will break Tigers records. I hope I live to see that day, not because I resent Tiger's accomplishments, but because I would have lived to 350 years old!

 

[swouwee]

Maybe this will finally put a end to all the talk about Mickelson being a better golfer then Woods.When both players are on their A game,Woods will come out on top ever time.

 

[RTRD]

So...here is a different question....

...because we all seem to agree that not only is Tiger the best golfer in the world (without question), but he is probably the greatest golfer of all time - with only time between him and the objective evidence of records to prove it.

So....if Tiger is the greatest golfer of all time...is he the greatest ATHLETE of all time?

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/columns/story?columnist=wojciechowski_gene&id=2555909

I have pondered this question at different points, and always said "no". Up until now, I have always said that Wayne Gretzky was the greatest athlete to have ever lived.

However, the author makes a good point. In just about every other sport, when you name the top athlete there is SOMEONE who is his / her peer or equal...someone whose name could be brought up to make the discussion interesting, and worthy of a beer or six. For Gretzky there is Lemieux and Orr.

(Howe was great of course - but great in his era. In the current NHL he would be a fine player...big, strong, fast, tough...but no better than a small handful of others. Howe was Joe Thornton before his time...but he wasn't Gretzky)

For Jordan there is Chamberlin (some people say Russell...I say if you play with a bunch of other Hall of Fame players you better win a bunch of championships).

Ruth has Bonds, and if you refuse to accept Bonds, he has Mays and Aaron.

Montana has Rice, Brown, Elway, Payton and a dozen other guys easy. To me Jerry Rice is the greatest football player ever, but because the sport requires such different responsibilities for its different positions, you can never truly say.

Sampras was great - greater than he was ever given credit for, actually. But he never won French. And now there is Roger Federer, not to mention Borg and Connors, and a small handful of other old timers that some insist were better than the contemporaries.

Ali defeated all comers at one time or another. But he never fought Louis….or Tyson (or, if you insist, Rocky Marciano). And plenty of knowledgable fight fans will tell you Sugar Ray Robinson was pound for pound the greatest - even better than Ali.

All of these folks have to share the pantheon with someone else who can rightfully stake a claim to the head seat.

Tiger shares the pantheon with one man – Nicklaus, who freely acknowledges that in time he will have to concede the throne.

Does this make Tiger the greatest athlete of all time?

Talk amongst yourselves….

 

[hak]

Well, he might be. The one thing that is unfair in this comparison, is that golf as an individual sport has a base statistic that makes it easy to determine dominance over others, be it "wins" or "major wins"

Other sports have so many variables (team sports) (statistics that vary based on role / team) that it is hard to demonstrate or evaluate dominance over others.

The one thing I hate in the Tiger argument is when people say he has no competition and use that against him. That is BS.

Think for a second:
Nicklaus peak period was from 65-80
Woods was from 97-today.
The peak for golfers is typically 27-42.

I don't have the stats but I bet you there are at least 5 times more players that played golf as youngsters across the world born between 1965-1982 (tiger's prime competitors now), as compared to 1923-1940, Jack's prime competitors when he started out.

Tiger does not have comparable stars because player #100 in the world now, is so much better then what it was in Jack's day. Tiger's peers beat up on each other - his competitors are better, but they can't dominate like other top tier players from past generations.

The fact that Tiger dominates when the PGA is so much more deep then when Jack was around must also be considered.

 

[Malibook]

Yeah but Phil's coach Pelz says that when Phil is on his game nobody can beat him .....

 

[maurice93]

If Weir shot 65 again as he did in round 3 then he would of won !!! I am just
saying that other then Scott all the guys chasing Tiger had their worse round
( or tie ) in the fourth Round ...
I am just saying what makes Tiger different then anyone else is he plays his
fourth rounds as good as he does all three rounds .. Its like team sports. Any
team can beat a team in one game but to win 4 out of 7 is virtually is impossible. Tiger is the Chicago Bulls of Golf .. We should all be glad to have
experinced MJ and Tiger show their stuff !!

This was and was not a case of Tiger getting handed the tournament by this three closest competitors (within 3 shots).

On one hand, he forced Donald to shoot a 67, Weir to shoot a 65, and Ogilvy to shoot a 64 to beat him. The odds of one of those happending are less then 20% (pulled out of my ass).

Then again he could have shot an only decent round of 71, and still beat them all.

 

[RTRD]

This....

.. The point is he didn't shoot 71 he shot 68 and I think if he needed to shoot 67 he would have.

...is exactly the point I made re: The British Open.

Tiger has won 12 majors, all of them with a 3rd round lead (or tied).

Tiger takes advantage of moving day, puts up a number, and then says "ok boys, there you go".

Then he sits in the club house and waits to see what he has to do.

Weir came out hot yesterday...was in the zone. Got within a stroke of Tiger...and then Tiger said "ok...that was amusing" and dropped 3 birdies on his ass. After that Weir was done...and he knew it. The wheels came off.

Tiger's strategy is to get the 3rd round lead and then make YOU shoot a number on a Sunday in a major. He figures you'll either choke under the pressure or you'll fuck up from trying too hard...either way, he comes out on top.

Tiger intimidates the field. The only golfer who he appears to not intimidate in this fashion is Chris DiMarco, who has finished second to him twice in majors while shooting a lower score in the final round.

 

[Malibook]

If Weir shot 65 again as he did in round 3 then he would of won!!

I doubt it.

Tiger had it on safety cruise control early and likely would have done more if he needed to.

 

[spiff]

HeeHee

Yeah but Phil's coach Pelz says that when Phil is on his game nobody can beat him .....

ROTFLMAO.....

He should go to the LPGA with those man boobs of his, wonder if he wears a BRO.....

LMAO

Oh yeah, what happened to Pelz's show on the golf channel??

 

[Asterix]

What this all boils down to is, does Tiger have any real competition out there? Jack had Arnie, Gary Player, Watson, Trevino, and a whole host of very good golfers who challenged him in his later career. Els was dealing with the death of his father-in-law and still may have physical issues himself to deal with, Sergio is a joke in final rounds, no idea where Singh was but he's getting up there in years anyway, Phil is looking like his best chance at rehabilitation is to hope to replace Jared as the Subway guy...but I digress. My point is that there is no one out there who can realistically challenge Tiger, especially the way he has changed his approach to the game, and that's a shame. Not to take anything away from him, but it would be nice if he had a consistant rival. He reminds me of Ali in the 60's when some of those he knocked out really didn't have a chance going in.

 

[polisci]

And I can't stand players like Ogilvy & Sergio saying Tiger can't keep it up forever - winning the tournament while leading heading into final Sunday rounds. Instead of waiting for a win to drop into their lap, they should do something about their game & go out & get it.

BTW, with a wife like Elin, I'm sure Tiger can keep it up

 

[irocktoo]

So....if Tiger is the greatest golfer of all time...is he the greatest ATHLETE of all time?

The greatest Athlete of all time is not that important to measure Tiger's success as long as he is the greatest golfer of all time.

 

[RTRD]

I wasn't asking...

So....if Tiger is the greatest golfer of all time...is he the greatest ATHLETE of all time?

The greatest Athlete of all time is not that important to measure Tiger's success as long as he is the greatest golfer of all time.

...to measure Tiger's success. I was asking to spur discussion.

 

[irocktoo]

If Weir shot 65 again as he did in round 3 then he would of won !!!

Weir may have chance if he shot 65. However, skill is one thing, mental toughness is another. Golf is such a mental game, especially when it is at a major and at the final round. IMHO, the only golfer can handle that kind of pressure at final rounds today is Tiger.

In fact, HE IS ONLY HUMAN WHEN HE'S HAVING SOME MAJOR EMOTIONAL BREAK DOWN, ie. the death of his father, the closest friend and mentor of all his young life. The other times, especially when the pressure is on at majors, he is simply a MACHINE, a totally focused, determined, concentrated, confident, matter of fact machine.

He is not intimidated by anyone on the course at any time, even when 10 some years ago, golf was still a "whitemens' game"; even when he was teed up with Jack a few years ago. Because of that, his presence intimidates every one on the course.

On the green at majors, he's just competing with one person, THE ONE AND THE ONLY person that is on his mind, that is HIMSELF. Therefore, no matter how great the other players are playing, don't matter to him at all. Once he can overcome himself, he can win the tournament.

Glad to see him become less upset and more acceptance to his own little mistakes made on the course. That shows he is becoming a more mature player, even though he was already very mature when was at his early 20s.

 

[dorf]

Well said irocktoo! And welcome to the board!

Yes, Tiger is a complete package, not only his telant, skills, but also his focus and mental toughness make him an impeccable and untouchable player.

 

[lookingforitallthetime]

If Weir shot 65 again as he did in round 3 then he would of won !!!

If my aunt had a dick she'd be my uncle

 

[lookingforitallthetime]

Glad to see him become less upset and more acceptance to his own little mistakes made on the course. That shows he is becoming a more mature player, even though he was already very mature when was at his early 20s.

What is really scary here is he is just hitting his prime now.

He will break Niclaus' major record before the end of the 2010 season.

 

[hak]

What this all boils down to is, does Tiger have any real competition out there? Jack had Arnie, Gary Player, Watson, Trevino, and a whole host of very good golfers who challenged him in his later career. Els was dealing with the death of his father-in-law and still may have physical issues himself to deal with, Sergio is a joke in final rounds, no idea where Singh was but he's getting up there in years anyway, Phil is looking like his best chance at rehabilitation is to hope to replace Jared as the Subway guy...but I digress. My point is that there is no one out there who can realistically challenge Tiger, especially the way he has changed his approach to the game, and that's a shame. Not to take anything away from him, but it would be nice if he had a consistant rival. He reminds me of Ali in the 60's when some of those he knocked out really didn't have a chance going in.

I was expecting this Bullshit point to come up... and I must repear it is BULLSHIT.

The only reason there were "greater" rivals for Jack, was that there was much less depth. There was maybe 20 seriously good golfers at any time on tour, compared to 100 now.

Of course Jack's competitors are going to have gaudier records, they have less people to beat. It's that simple. Do you really think Jack's opposition was better? Get serious....

There is about 6 times more people playing as youth in the 80's as compared to Jack in the 50's. But somehow Jack has better competitors.. Bullshit.