Posted by
gilroy man on Saturday, June 14, 2008 10:23:42 PM
Tiger Woods is adding another chapter to his sterling career. And he’s doing it on one leg. He hasn’t won the US open yet, but he’s showing unbelievable grit. The closest historical comparison is Ben Hogan, who came back from a life threatening car wreck to play stellar golf, but only by soaking his battered legs every night after playing and squinting at putts through one good eye.
It’s becoming clear that Woods is better than Nicklaus. No, he hasn’t passed Jack’s majors record yet, but Tiger’s will to compete and win is unmatched. If he can win hobbling around at the US open, mark him up for 10 more majors, evenly dispersed among the Masters, British Open, and PGA tournaments, with one or two more US opens thrown in for good measure.
Having said that, you need to understand that just because Tiger is better than Jack, Tiger’s competitors are not automatically better than Jack’s. In fact, after watching the current group of scrubs wander aimlessly around the course, this bunch pales in comparison to the Palmers/Watsons/Trevinos/Players that challenged Nicklaus.
Witness Adam Scott, the number three player in the world, with a TPC under his belt, paired up with Woods and Mickelson the first couple of days. Scott clearly wilted under the pressure, missing easy putts, and nervously trying to ignore the huge galleries following Tiger and Phil.
Or take Mickelson, endlessly fiddling with his game, changing putters and borrowing Tiger’s old swing coach in futile efforts to close the gap with Woods. This week’s brilliant idea was to leave his driver home. By day three, even the blockhead had to realize that giving up 50 yards a hole to Woods was not a great idea. After finally breaking out the driver, Mickelson remained in contention until a disastrous “tin cup” episode on the thirteenth hole. Phil kept aggressively going for the pin when everyone in the gallery knew it was time to fly the ball past the hole, get it on the green safely, and take his medicine. But no, Mickelson kept watching the ball roll back to his feet an astonishing 4 times until he gave up and threw in the towel, not only on this tournament, but on any hope of winning another major.
The whole driver episode showed that the only reason Phil competes with Woods at all is the edge in technology. Sure, every player can match Tiger’s driving distance by using the advanced technology that wasn’t available to Jack’s challengers. As Phil showed, once stripped of their technological edge, Tiger’s opponents are helpless. Even when the field doesn’t sabotage itself like Phil did, Tiger’s driving accuracy lands him in the fairway while his competitors usually end up in the rough. And even when Tiger joins them, his recovery shots are better. When they finally get to the green, Tiger’s putting is unmatched. Ever wonder why Vijay Singh, Ernie Els, and Phil keep changing putters while Tiger leaves his rock solid putting game alone? Because all Tiger’s competitors need the technological edge to stay close.
Start comparing challengers to yesterday. Is Mickelson close to Palmer? Is Singh close to Gary Player? Is Adam Scott close to Tom Watson? Is Geoff Oglivy close to Lee Trevino? Is Ernie Els close to any of them? No. Yes, they have technology. Yes, they have copied Tiger’s workout and fitness regimen. But they’d do better to copy Palmer’s shot making. Or Watson’s competitive drive. Or Ben Hogan’s course management.