Forget the Phil Mickelson No-Show; Tiger Woods is Side-Stepping the End of His Supposed Streak

Nov 07

Forget the Phil Mickelson No-Show; Tiger Woods is Side-Stepping the End of His Supposed Streak

Seriously, do you think there was any chance that Phil Mickelson would have contended at last weeks’ Tour Championship? He hasn’t been playing to anywhere near his normal standard for months now. Besides, he should be lauded for putting family life ahead of money-grabbing, which is basically what this top-30-only tournament is about anyway.

The real issue is that Tiger Woods opted not to show up. Woods has never missed this tournament since his first appearance in 1996. Please don’t buy that lame excuse about still being exhausted from playing too much. The man hasn’t played tournament golf in a month. The reason that Woods did not play last week is that his “Tiger Streak” had a good chance of ending there. While he has been a bridesmaid a few times at East Lake, he has never won there in five tries. And he dearly wants to beat Byron Nelson streak of 11 straight wins. So let’s just say that he is hedging his bets.

The shame of this deceit is that the Tiger Streak really ended with his loss in the World Match Play. Nelson’s 1945 streak included the PGA Championship, which back then was a match play event contested at 36 holes per match, just like the WMP.

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13 comments

§ DP said on : 11/07/06 @ 10:21
Good grief!
Tiger has said repeatedly that his streak
ended with his loss in World Match Play.
Are you presuming a little much to say
that you know why he skipped an event?
§ Shanks® said on : 11/07/06 @ 10:32
I have yet to read where Tiger said the streak is over. In fact, many big-time golf writers are writing about how Tiger's schedule now sets up for him to eclipse Nelson's streak.
§ Anthony Urquhart (PGA Punter) said on : 11/07/06 @ 10:43
C'mon now Shanks, surely you appreciate it's the PRESS that need Tiger's streak to go on more than anyone, and it's them that won't let it go! It's a variation of the Michelle Wie phenomenon.
§ Shanks® said on : 11/07/06 @ 10:53
I don't disagree that the press is driving the discussion, but I personally have not heard Tiger say the streak was broken either.
§ Jan said on : 11/07/06 @ 11:29
Tiger said as far as he is concerned the streak has ended....on his website........but in my opionion he would still like to keep the PGAT streak intact.......which it is.....and whether he is cherry picking to keep that streak in tact is a good question...what he says and what he really thinks....could be different things.....
§ Shanks® said on : 11/07/06 @ 12:00
One interesting historical note: Nelson actually won 12 tournaments in a row (19 for the year) but one of those tournaments in his streak had a purse that was about 15% below what was considered the minimum for an event to qualify for "official" status. But the point is that he won 11 (or 12) consecutive events that he entered.
§ Judge Smails said on : 11/07/06 @ 12:52
Regardless of what Woods is thinking, it's highly unlikely that he'll be able to continue this consistently great play after the Christmas hiatus. I doubt he'll still have the same momentum.
§ Reality Lover said on : 11/07/06 @ 15:27
So let me get this straight, Tiger is playing well and then stops all that momentum and rhythm for a month so that he "can" continue his streak? Huh?

I always thought when someone is in the zone that that you don't want to change anything and keep the streak going.

In basketball, when someone is shooting the ball well they don't put him on the bench. In football, the quarterback with the hot hand isn't told to stop passing and to hand off more.

Why in golf where rhythm and timing is absolutely king would someone take time off so he could continue a streak?

Your logic is dead on arrival. If Tiger is good enough to be able to do that then all credit to him. And btw, he did say that losing the match play event ended his streak.
§ Shanks® said on : 11/07/06 @ 15:56
It's not a matter of him stopping play. Woods had played 6 weeks out of seven and needed a break. But c'mon, you think he needed a month off? It was a matter of WHEN he would resume playing. And he has decided to bypass a tournament he has never missed since he turned professional. I'm asking why. My opinion is that he will return to PGA Tour action when he has the greatest chance to win, not when he's playing on a course that he's yet to win on.
§ Reality Lover said on : 11/07/06 @ 16:13
Is your whole argument about the streak? He already said it ended. Where are you coming from?
§ David said on : 11/07/06 @ 16:16
I haven't read through the above posts thoroughly, but I'd just like to say that Nelson's streak of 11 victories isn't as impressive as it sounds. It occurred when almost all the top-flite players were serving in the military, so his competitors were mainly no-name club pros who couldn't realistically hope to challenge him.
§ Chris Baldwin® said on : 11/08/06 @ 03:22
Shanks is right on with this one - at least the Tiger streak part of it. Tiger has hemmed and hawed about whether the streak is really over. He said it was over as far as he was concerned and then basically said, but if the PGA Tour says it’s alive, well they decide in the same press conference.

Woods is trying to keep that streak alive more than any golf writer. He’s waffled all over the place on it. Something that frankly should be beneath the greatest player of all time.
§ Shanks® said on : 11/08/06 @ 08:01
David, that argument against Nelson is bogus. While the fields of 1945 weren't as strong from top to bottom as they would be the following year, many of the top players were playing all year. Sam Snead, Jimmy Demaret and Craig Wood all played a full season. Ben Hogan played 19 times. What most people who argue that don't realize is that Nelson lowered his own stroke average from the previous year by nearly a stroke per round. That record 68.33 scoring average stood for 55 years. He set tour records for low round (62) and low tournament score (29 under par). At one point he played 19 consecutive rounds in the 60s. He just played awesome golf and in no way should that streak be deminished.