Most of our greatest athletes were at least partly defined by their great rivals, and the most dramatic sports stories of our time involved heated, compelling rivalries.
Where art thou, rivals of Tiger Woods?
Once again, the field bowed down to Tiger Sunday at the Ford Championship at Doral, allowing him another PGA Tour notch in his belt. Woods has proven to be as human as the next guy when the pressure is on. Once again, he opened the door Sunday, bogeying the last two holes, but no one had the guts to enter.
Phil Mickelson fainted early, after his earlier matchups with Tiger turned him into even softer jelly than he already is. He never contended again.
David Toms blew it on the final hole, with a terrible lag putt that could have really put the pressure on Tiger, playing a hole behind. Then he said he really didn’t know where he was in relation to Woods, who rightly expressed disbelief.
Daniel Chopra, matched with Woods on the final day, fired a 77. Camilo Villegas, an exciting young player, said he was happy to do as well as he did, tied for second, seeing that Tiger was in the field.
The rest of the “Big Five” were all back in the pack. Big Five is a misnomer anyway – It’s Tiger and the Turn-tails. Woods has now won three of his four stroke events to start the year. At this rate, he may win the rest. With everyone intimidated by him, he starts every tournament leading by a few strokes.
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The Accidental Golfer:
Brandon Tucker:
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Jason Scott Deegan:
Would you be interested in receiving a copy of Country Club Secrets, the novel being released this week by a former club champion and Pulitzer finalist. If so, send me your address and I'll mail you a copy.
Tim,
In my humble opinion, it wasn't that the competition is so weak they handed it to him. The competition is strong, he is just better.