Does Golf Need a New Dominant Figure?

[Orikoru]

Since Tiger has been past his prime, we've seen a lot of different people take turns to be the guy at the top, all for limited periods of time. They strike while hot, win a couple of majors, and then drop off again.

Do we think it'll be good for golf if we see a return to the Tiger dynamic with Scottie? Where he is the man to beat at every major for the foreseeable future? Some will say Tiger's era was boring when you could bet your house on him winning; others will say it was incredible to see someone dominating the sport like he did.

Obviously nothing is set in stone with golf, Scottie could easily go the way of Rory, Spieth, Koepka etc and settle back into the field in a couple of years. And I'm sure you could look back and find a topic of someone saying exactly the same things about Koepka five years ago. But I don't know, there's something about Scottie that says he could be the man to go one step further and really dominate for a longer period. Maybe it's his demeanour or just his all round game being as good as it is, or the fact he's already won 3 times in the last couple of months rather than just turning up for majors à la Koepka. I quite like the idea of him taking golf by the scruff of the neck and being the man on the pedestal saying 'beat me if you can' - the way Tiger was - rather than all sorts of people taking turns to have purple patches.

What do we think? Is Scottie going to be 'the guy' for years to come? Is the real deal or are we jumping the gun? If he is, is that good for golf or just plain boring?

 

[HomerJSimpson]

Players come and go and the like of Nicklaus and Woods are generational. Scheffler will be world #1 for a long time (he's so far ahead of the rest in the rankings anyway) but I don't see anyone dominating in the same way as Woods for many years. Scheffler may be the dominant force but I can't see him moving the needle in the way Woods did. Does golf need a dominant force right now given the state of the world game and the divisions in it. Would a period of a number of players competing each time be more interesting than one guy walking away with it every time. I will go on record and say Scheffler doesn't win the Open this year

 

[Mel Smooth]

Scottie could easily dominate. If he does, will it be a good thing? He doesn’t have the charisma that Woods had, and he’s that good, he never really puts himself into positions where he’s needing to pull off those wow shots that make their mark on the fanbase.

I’d rather see multiple different people competing up the top end on diverse courses.

 

[Orikoru]

Scottie could easily dominate. If he does, will it be a good thing? He doesn’t have the charisma that Woods had, and he’s that good, he never really puts himself into positions where he’s needing to pull off those wow shots that make their mark on the fanbase.

I’d rather see multiple different people competing up the top end on diverse courses.

Did Tiger have charisma? I just remember him being supremely focussed, confident, determined, but I wouldn't call that charisma. He only chilled out a bit when he got older. he wasn't exactly laugh a minute. I'd argue Scheffler is a nicer guy for sure.

 

[Mel Smooth]

Did Tiger have charisma? I just remember him being supremely focussed, confident, determined, but I wouldn't call that charisma. He only chilled out a bit when he got older. he wasn't exactly laugh a minute. I'd argue Scheffler is a nicer guy for sure.

Tiger was a phenomenon. Black, started winning at a young age, grit, determination, flair - he had way more appeal than Scottie has right now. Scheffler will be like the Steve Davis of golf, and people will start to resent his dominance

 

[Imurg]

Domination equals boring.
If Tiger was in the field between 97 and 20....whatever....it was almost a case of who was going to come 2nd...
No sport needs a dominating figure/team.....F1 being a prime example......it's not good for the sport.
The more players/teams with realistic chances of winning the better.

 

[Orikoru]

Tiger was a phenomenon. Black, started winning at a young age, grit, determination, flair - he had way more appeal than Scottie has right now. Scheffler will be like the Steve Davis of golf, and people will start to resent his dominance

That's all true - of course, he revolutionised the game in a way that Scottie will obviously not do. But I wasn't asking if Scottie will be the new Tiger - of course the answer is no. More just the dynamic of having one man to beat who's the favourite for every major.

Domination equals boring.
If Tiger was in the field between 97 and 20....whatever....it was almost a case of who was going to come 2nd...
No sport needs a dominating figure/team.....F1 being a prime example......it's not good for the sport.
The more players/teams with realistic chances of winning the better.

Sure, but then when Tiger was beaten it made it all the more of a big deal. People still talk about some of the guys who beat Tiger in his prime, rather than them just becoming forgettable footnotes. Golf differs to F1 in that I don't think we going to see anyone who's so far ahead they win literally every major.

 

[Wabinez]

There is a large part of me that would love Scott to go on an absolute tear and dominate everything. It would hopefully get everyone else to elevate their games

 

[Bazzatron]

To answer your question I don't think it does, how much more interesting would last night have been had there been 5 or 6 dominant players slugging it out instead of the best golfer right now just walking to another title.

From a TV viewer pov it needs Brooks, Rahm, Rory, etc all chasing him down.

 

[Orikoru]

To answer your question I don't think it does, how much more interesting would last night have been had there been 5 or 6 dominant players slugging it out instead of the best golfer right now just walking to another title.

From a TV viewer pov it needs Brooks, Rahm, Rory, etc all chasing him down.

As Wabinez said above though - perhaps some of them need the shot in the arm of knowing they actually need to raise their game to beat Scottie rather than just have a good week? Rory said on Full Swing that seeing Koepka win more majors than him gave him a jolt, but obviously hasn't had the desired effect just yet.

 

[Bazzatron]

As Wabinez said above though - perhaps some of them need the shot in the arm of knowing they actually need to raise their game to beat Scottie rather than just have a good week? Rory said on Full Swing that seeing Koepka win more majors than him gave him a jolt, but obviously hasn't had the desired effect just yet.

Yeah agree with that, they should be going home thinking this guy has just battered us again, what can I do differently.

 

[BubbaP]

To your question, a no from me.
Like some others, I found the Tiger era dull from a competition POV, especially as he was such a strong front runner.

Scottie is on a great run of form, but worth remembering he hasn't won later in the year than April yet, or outside of the US. So a way to go for me.

 

[chico]

Someone has to win and the nature of golf means we often know who the winner will be with an hour to go.
I don't think the current crop of golfers will have the same fear of Scottie that they did in Tigers day. He is the best player but I don't think he's levels above his peers just yet.

 

[Oddsocks]

Scotty doesn’t have the personality to be the same dominant force as tiger, Rory etc etc

 

[Slab]

We will get the next dominator... but it won't be SS, even Aberg is too old

Somewhere there's a little guy or girl chiping balls into an empty hot dog can for fun and their name is... oh sorry there's someone at the front door, BRB

 

[Imurg]

Where's Taylor Gooch when you need him.................

 

[Wabinez]

As Wabinez said above though - perhaps some of them need the shot in the arm of knowing they actually need to raise their game to beat Scottie rather than just have a good week? Rory said on Full Swing that seeing Koepka win more majors than him gave him a jolt, but obviously hasn't had the desired effect just yet.

Morikawa apparently mentioned it in either his press conference or somewhere to his caddy.

Basically he could usually rely on his iron game to get him through, but now Scott is about hitting it 30 yards longer and a better iron player, so needs to work harder, or do speed training to catch up.

 

[tobybarker]

Players come and go and the like of Nicklaus and Woods are generational. Scheffler will be world #1 for a long time (he's so far ahead of the rest in the rankings anyway) but I don't see anyone dominating in the same way as Woods for many years. Scheffler may be the dominant force but I can't see him moving the needle in the way Woods did. Does golf need a dominant force right now given the state of the world game and the divisions in it. Would a period of a number of players competing each time be more interesting than one guy walking away with it every time. I will go on record and say Scheffler doesn't win the Open this year

I dont see that he has the game for links golf....which means he'll go an win the damn thing!

 

[Beezerk]

I’d worry about how long that left ankle will last, he puts some major strain on it every shot

 

[Wabinez]

I’d worry about how long that left ankle will last, he puts some major strain on it every shot

He’s been swinging it like it since he was a junior. Coaches left it as impact was so good.

It’s lasted well so far…