Should Tiger Retire?

[Hacker Khan]

If it wasn't due Tiger this forum would not be so busy, you would not have so many clubs to choose from and the TV coverage would not be so extensive. Yes of course golf would still be televised, clubs would still be available, but in the last few decades he's moved the needle unlike anyone other golfer.

So as long as he can still compete then I say play play on.

 

[Papas1982]

He will know within himself how he is feeling

I remember watching back to the Tour Championship and seeing that he looked physically shattered and I thought that there is no way he could play four tough rounds at the major , during the Matchplay he looked fresh in the game against Rory but then tired in the next

But this week walking up 18 he looked like he was easily ready for another 18 , so I expect he is going to tailor his schedule to keep him fresh for the big ones. The US Open and The Open are going to be a totally different ball game , he wouldn’t get away with his driving like he did at Augusta but the US PGA - not much different so could see him challenge

I’m looking forward to both the Opens to see all those top guys go right at it. The next three majors have the potential to really light up the game - exciting for golf fans

I think it'll be interesting to see how he gets on, i think he hit more drives because he knew he could get away with it there. Generally all the players were smashing drivers unless bunkers were a problem. None of them seem concerned with losing a ball. I think the 3wood will be out a lot more at the US Open, long irons at the Open.

 

[Dan2501]

He drove the ball great on Saturday, only hit a couple of poor drives, but that's to be expected, no-one is going to drive it perfect. Had a few poor ones yesterday in the middle of the round and struggled on 5 all week, but when it mattered he drove the ball superbly - the drives down 15 and 17 were so good under the pressure, the one down 17 was absolutely striped. Don't think his driving is bad enough to take him out of contention at the US Open or Open, on the tighter holes he can pull 3 wood or even 2 iron and keep it in play and his long-iron game is so damn strong that it won't affect his score. His driving is improving week-on-week as well, so by the time Pebble comes around I imagine he'll be in an even stronger position with the big stick.

Absolutely should not retire. His game is in great shape right now, the body looks good and healthy and he's finally broken his Major duck. I see him kicking on and at least winning a couple more over the next 3 or 4 years.

 

[PJ87]

He will know within himself how he is feeling

I remember watching back to the Tour Championship and seeing that he looked physically shattered and I thought that there is no way he could play four tough rounds at the major , during the Matchplay he looked fresh in the game against Rory but then tired in the next

But this week walking up 18 he looked like he was easily ready for another 18 , so I expect he is going to tailor his schedule to keep him fresh for the big ones. The US Open and The Open are going to be a totally different ball game , he wouldn’t get away with his driving like he did at Augusta but the US PGA - not much different so could see him challenge

I’m looking forward to both the Opens to see all those top guys go right at it. The next three majors have the potential to really light up the game - exciting for golf fans

LP we clearly don’t agree on many things but I agree with the final statement here

The next three majors look set to be cracking!!!!!

I doubt he will win any of them but he’s going to be lerking and the others are going to have to be on top form!

Bring it on

 

[HomerJSimpson]

I think it'll be interesting to see how he gets on, i think he hit more drives because he knew he could get away with it there. Generally all the players were smashing drivers unless bunkers were a problem. None of them seem concerned with losing a ball. I think the 3wood will be out a lot more at the US Open, long irons at the Open.

I think he's back to a stage where he could do what he did in the Open and use long irons off the tees again. Maybe not so much so at the US Open but even then I can see him using a 3 wood more often than not and minimising the errors. That is what he did so well this week and when he did make a mistake he didn't compound it with another by going chasing

 

[JustOne]

Tiger is back. He just won a major...... do we need to get rid of him already?

Why retire? Can't we just see where this goes now we have established that clearly he CAN play (albeit occasionally)

 

[Wolf]

No need to retire, he is playing good golf seems healthy and can plan a schedule that revolves around the majors and take adequate time before and after off to pick and choose what he wants to play in

 

[JV24601]

Personally, I would love him to retire.

I can then enjoy the golf coverage a lot more and maybe see more/some/any shots from others in the top 35 of a major competition, rather than watch him hit balls on a range, or watch him exit a vehicle, or watch him smile at a child before the world says, "look, he's a good guy really".

 

[Parsaregood]

Personally, I would love him to retire.

I can then enjoy the golf coverage a lot more and maybe see more/some/any shots from others in the top 35 of a major competition, rather than watch him hit balls on a range, or watch him exit a vehicle, or watch him smile at a child before the world says, "look, he's a good guy really".

So should your hate be directed towards the media or tiger ? I'm sure tiger would love it too if he could get out his car and prepare in relative peace without all the commotion.

 

[Slab]

Personally, I would love him to retire.

I can then enjoy the golf coverage a lot more and maybe see more/some/any shots from others in the top 35 of a major competition, rather than watch him hit balls on a range, or watch him exit a vehicle, or watch him smile at a child before the world says, "look, he's a good guy really".

We saw more shots from Molinari shown yesterday than we did for Tiger, hardly a fair balance is it

 

[PJ87]

We saw more shots from Molinari shown yesterday than we did for Tiger, hardly a fair balance is it

is that because he took more shots? lol

 

[Grant85]

Well as we all know he’s only gone and went and won the Masters again! After several failed surgeries and from a point where he can’t lift his kids or swing a club, he gets a fusion job on his back and 23 months later he’s Masters Champion. Just a stunning turn of events

But while his back is ‘fixed’ it’s not been fixed with Vibranium and the odds are that his back or something else will eventually give out, leaving him less able than he is now

Whether he has 100 tour standard golf swings left in him or 100,000 who knows

So he should soak up the success for a week but then what?

1. Retire right now, able to bow out at the top, knowing his back is in good shape as things stand
2. Retire at the end of this season, in an attempt to get the PGA tour wins record
3. Keep playing for several years and chasing the Majors record
4. Something else?

In his place I think it should be 1 or 2 and while I'm leaning towards 1 I would probably retire at the end of the season just to give myself the chance for one more tour win to tie the record. After all he's just spent 2 years getting back and I don't think he did that 'just' for an extra Masters title

There is absolutely NO way Tiger will retire. He has missed the best part of a decade through injury from 2008 onwards. If he is fit enough to practice for long enough and play tournament golf, then he will stay out there.

You can see the fire in his belly yesterday after holing out on 18. He has missed this a LOT and is now actually a totally different person in terms of how he celebrates a win and how he interacts with his fellow pros.

Lots of top golfers, when they get to this stage in their life, no longer have the desire to keep competing, to be on tour 30 weeks of the year, to practice for hours a day etc. And if Tiger had been fit for the last decade and had 100+ wins and 22 Majors, then possibly he would be playing a very limited schedule, now - especially if he was picking up injuries.

But the fact he has missed so much, means he will be a lot more focussed than a lot of other guys have been when they got to their mid 40s. Plus, Tigers default level of dedication and focus is still a LOT higher than even the average elite tour pro.

Obviously this is all subject to him being fit enough to remain competitive. The fact that he is getting up at 0345 prior to an 0920 tee time is maybe a warning flag about just how fragile his physical status is.

 

[triple_bogey]

Absolutely NOT! He mentioned he will not play as many tournaments as he did last year. So probably the odd small one between Majors/Players and WGC's.

Why wouldn't you want to witness records being matched or broken. Its an event we will probably only witness once in our lifetimes.

 

[Slab]

is that because he took more shots? lol

Yar, kinda felt bad writing it because I was rooting for FM too, but its true enough

 

[PJ87]

Yar, kinda felt bad writing it because I was rooting for FM too, but its true enough

I had my little bets on Woods, FM and brooks.. so I was rooting for all of them

ironically tigers win (and each of my bets was E/W) won me less than FM would have.. but hey £52.20 return from £10 worth of bets and bragging rights over my PP who was determind tiger would never win another major.. (even said it to me friday night.. but I woke up sat morning to a txt "I may have to eat my words")

 

[Slab]

Absolutely NOT! He mentioned he will not play as many tournaments as he did last year. So probably the odd small one between Majors/Players and WGC's.

Why wouldn't you want to witness records being matched or broken. Its an event we will probably only witness once in our lifetimes.

I'll be clear again, I have zero desire to see him retire. I hope his back is strong enough for the next 5 years at top level, but;

I have zero desire to see him removed from the course in a golf buggy because his back has gone, because we won't ever get to see him back if it goes again and that would be a horrible last competitive appearance to watch

As all golf pros inevitably have to retire one day, last night simply provides the very first viable opportunity for Tiger to do it while he's at the top (I hope he doesn't but his role is not to keep playing simply to entertain me until he breaks)

 

[Dan2501]

Tiger's driving continues to be a focus, yet yesterday he hit the same number of fairways as Schauffele, and more fairways than Molinari, DJ, Koepka, Scott, Fleetwood and Finau. Does that mean those guys are going to struggle to compete at The Open and the US Open as well?

The big difference maker is how consistently Tiger hit greens this week - was top 5 in GIR percentage on days 2, 3 and 4 and led GIR % for the week. His iron play is still comfortably the best on Tour.

 

[Deleted member 15344]

Tiger's driving continues to be a focus, yet yesterday he hit the same number of fairways as Schauffele, and more fairways than Molinari, DJ, Koepka, Scott, Fleetwood and Finau. Does that mean those guys are going to struggle to compete at The Open and the US Open as well?

The big difference maker is how consistently Tiger hit greens this week - was top 5 in GIR percentage on days 2, 3 and 4 and led GIR % for the week. His iron play is still comfortably the best on Tour.

Stats are lovely but take for example the drive he had on 11 - did you see how far wide that was , he was very lucky to have a line out , if he drove like that in the Open or US Open is more than likely either a lost ball , unplayable or a double bogey , the area around those courses that far wide will be thick thick rough , and he did that on a number of occasions where the errant tee shot seemed to always give him a line out and didn’t result in a dropped shot. Any other course that’s a bogey at least every time and that’s a lot of shots dropped regardless of fairways hit etc -

 

[Dan2501]

He managed to do alright round Carnoustie last year when his driving was in a worse place than it is now. At Augusta he knew he could get away with pulling driver and being aggressive because the penalties aren't as severe, at a tighter golf course he'll pull 2 iron or 3-wood and find fairways and then rely on his supreme iron play to continue hitting greens.

 

[JV24601]

So should your hate be directed towards the media or tiger ? I'm sure tiger would love it too if he could get out his car and prepare in relative peace without all the commotion.

I really don't like the guy anyway. However, him being shown all the time by the media is kind of his fault in a way, but not completely.

I'd just like him to retire as the circus with him at the centre of it will never change now.