Thoughts on Tiger Woods' legacy thus far
THE FACTS...
Tiger Woods just became the first person to win consecutive British Opens since THE greatest British Open champion of the modern era, Tom Watson.
Winning his 11th major, Tiger moves into a tie with Walter Hagen for second all time in career majors. He is only 30-years-old, still quite young for a golfer. Jack Nicklaus didn't win his 11th major until he was 32.
THE OPINIONS...
Tiger is not as great as he once was. At this point, we should think of the Tiger Slam, way back in 2000-01 as his prime, the pinnacle of which was the unbelievable 15 stroke US Open win at Pebble Beach. Don't get me wrong, his win this week was dominating by Golf's standards. It just wasn't dominating by Tiger's standards.
Yes, Tiger will break Jack's record. I no longer believe he'll smash it, though, as I thought earlier in his career.
Tiger is certainly the greatest golfer on the planet. You could have made an argument for Mickelson for a while, just like you could have for Vijay Singh, back around 2003-04. But it's been Tiger since he turned pro. Tiger plays in fewer tournaments, but wins more and always finishes high. It's unprecidented.
Tiger is the greatest golfer ever. If something happened now that prevented him from ever playing again, he would still be considered better than Jack at this point. He's significantly better at this stage in his career. It's not really that close.
Tiger is not the most dominating athlete of all time, though. He once was on pace to be, but no longer. If he picks up another grand slam, I'll rethink this. He's up there though.
Tiger Woods just became the first person to win consecutive British Opens since THE greatest British Open champion of the modern era, Tom Watson.
Winning his 11th major, Tiger moves into a tie with Walter Hagen for second all time in career majors. He is only 30-years-old, still quite young for a golfer. Jack Nicklaus didn't win his 11th major until he was 32.
THE OPINIONS...
Tiger is not as great as he once was. At this point, we should think of the Tiger Slam, way back in 2000-01 as his prime, the pinnacle of which was the unbelievable 15 stroke US Open win at Pebble Beach. Don't get me wrong, his win this week was dominating by Golf's standards. It just wasn't dominating by Tiger's standards.
Yes, Tiger will break Jack's record. I no longer believe he'll smash it, though, as I thought earlier in his career.
Tiger is certainly the greatest golfer on the planet. You could have made an argument for Mickelson for a while, just like you could have for Vijay Singh, back around 2003-04. But it's been Tiger since he turned pro. Tiger plays in fewer tournaments, but wins more and always finishes high. It's unprecidented.
Tiger is the greatest golfer ever. If something happened now that prevented him from ever playing again, he would still be considered better than Jack at this point. He's significantly better at this stage in his career. It's not really that close.
Tiger is not the most dominating athlete of all time, though. He once was on pace to be, but no longer. If he picks up another grand slam, I'll rethink this. He's up there though.
posted by Prof. A at 8:31 AM
1 Comments:
I love notions of "domination." Who else might rate in a discussion of most dominating athletes of all time? Is it even possible for an athlete in a team sport?
Lance? Do the allegations hurt him?
Federer? Did the dominance last long enough?
Jesse Owens? Carl Lewis? I know so little about track it hurts.
Jordan? Kofax? Pele? Hasek?
Fun.
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