Because Tiger Woods is so dominant, we tend to look for chinks in his armor. Despite what his swooning fans say, there is a big one.
The guy absolutely cannot come from behind. He’s 0-for-everything when he starts Sunday behind in a major.
He looked different yesterday at the finale of the U.S. Open at Oakmont. Dare I say it? He looked unsure of himself. He looked hesitant. He even looked a little scared.
I’ll put it like this. Picture Woods in a science fiction movie. He’d be the evil corporation that rules the world, sort of like Microsoft. All the downtrodden minions are at his mercy. He can banish them with a casual gesture. He is the Supreme Ruler who no one questions.
But, a small band of rebels wants to set the world free, and they think they see a small, ever so tiny weakness. For the rest of the movie, they fight against overwhelming odds, and at the end they triumph, and El Tigre falls. The world is free again.
That’s sort of Tiger’s image. Yesterday, he looked like the Supreme Ruler right when he realizes the rebels are going to take him down.
He’s unbeatable with a lead, but without it, he’s vulnerable. Zach Johnson at The Masters and now Angel Cabrera at the U.S. Open.
He’ll never have that hard-charging image, like an Arnold Palmer. He’ll never fully capture the public’s imagination in that sense.
Let it be known now and forever: The Supreme Ruler can be beaten! Aim your lasers at his weakness!
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Jason Scott Deegan:
The Accidental Golfer:
Katharine Dyson:
Kiel Christianson:
question "The Evil Empire". Anyone who
roots for Woods probably roots for the
US to turn into a police state.
I get it.
The idea is to be ahead of Woods by one or two in a major going into Sunday. Appleby and Baddeley did just that in the last two majors.
Then make a few double or triple bogeys, and someone else takes advantage of Tiger's complacency and wins the title. In these cases, Zach and Angel.
Sort of a team effort. Not a bad idea if you're the guy who gets to win, not so good if you get the doubles and triples.
I suppose Tiger's come-from-behind victory to capture his third U.S. Amateur Title means nothing? Dude, the guy has won 12 majors in the span of 10 years. Is it his fault that no one could grab the lead from Tiger after 54 holes in any of those majors? Tiger's not going to win every tournment he enters.
Robert
You're exactly correct.
Today on ESPN, one annoucergave a post-mortem on "Woods' loss in testerday's Open."
What he should have said was Woods' tie for second in yesterday's Open
Tiger has won close to 25% of the Pga events and worldwide events that he has entered. He's even better than that in so-called majors.
No one else is remotely close to that, yet some folks can't help but find fault with Tiger when he finishes second.
I'm surprised there hasn't as yet been another "Tiger's in slump" blog.
If Jim had parred his final two holes Sunday, he would have been in a playoff with Angel Monday.
Jim is a former Open champion an definitely not a no-name.
So, I guess you would not be so unsettled if Jim would have won that playoff that didn't happen.
Jim would have liked it, also.
To Woods, it wouldn't have made any difference. Only that he would have finished third instead of tied for second.
wife gave birth less than 24 hours later!
Don't you think his mind could have been
elsewhere? Or are you just a bunch of
uncaring clods who didn't care about the
birth of your first child??
Take it eeeeasy!!!!!
He's into his 30's. Injuries come easier, (he had knee surgery a year or two ago) aches and pains more common, and a general decline in most motor skills.
It is likely that we will see Tiger face more Sunday deficits in his 30's than we were used to seeing in his 20's. Whether he can raise his game and win some of them may turn out to be the difference whether or not he catches Nichlaus, and the defining difference between them.
in any sport who wins everytime?
Don't hate appreicate!
I sure don't. He's the best in the world today, maybe the best ever, and does more than anyone to make golf enjoyable and exciting to watch.
He is on the other hand human and has his flaws. He doesn't seem to be able to raise himself when he only brings his B game.
He seems to get upset when things aren't going as he expects them to go. You could especially see that at the most recent Masters, by the look on his face and the way he was banging his clubs.
In some sports like hockey or football, directed anger can be a very positive thing. Not so much though in a game like golf that is so much about thought, preparation and concentration.
Simply put, whatever amount of your brain is devoted to chewing over your anger, will not be devoted to the task at hand. The next shot.
And that is exactly what Nichlaus was so good at doing. His comebacks were legendary. The 65 he shot at the 86 Masters was just the epitome of it. (seven under on the last 10 holes for the win by a stroke) If you care to read an excellent article about that tournament, try this.
http://www.golfdigest.com/majors/masters/index.ssf?/majors/masters/gd200604nicklaus86.html
No, I don't hate Tiger. I consider myself to have been blessed to see both him and Nichlaus in their prime. Tiger probably has the most complete game of anyone in history. When he comes out of the chute with his A game, he can lap the field like no one before him.
Nichlaus' strength was his ability to gather himself. If he was standing on the 10th tee on Sunday within sniffing distance of the title, look out. He almost always raised his game. If he didn't win, he'd put on a charge and a scare into the leaderboard. That's how he ended up with a lot of his record number of second and third place finishes.
Before you dismiss what that means, consider. If Nichlaus hadn't come back a number of times, Tiger would've almost caught him by now. That he is still 6 back is only because Nichlaus did, and Tiger never has.
A lot can happen between then and now. Tiger wins 6 more in the next 4 years and ends up cruising past Nichlaus. Maybe he wins 4 in the next 5 years and the ravages of time start to catch up to him while he's still a couple short.
It should be interesting.