Tiger & Another Major

[MizunoMike]

Well after watching yet another disappointing round from Tiger yesterday do you think he has what it takes to win another Major.

I think that he struggles when it comes to the Majors and can't live with the added pressure for not winning one for 5 years and the added pressure of trying to beat Jack's record. I can't even see him matching Jack's record and this week I don't even think he will feature in the top 10.

What are your thoughts on Tiger and the Majors, I am in no way saying he is a crap player but as for Majors he just can't handle the pressure.

 

[Fish]

Oh the haters will love this, however, I am not a hater but I don't aspire to him and tend to agree with you.

I think we'll see little flashes of genius now and then, like last week, but, we won't see the dominance or fear factor we once saw as I think the rest of field has caught up with him if not overtaken him which can only be good for the game as emerging players come to the fold and honours are shared across a wide spread of players that suit various different courses and venues.

 

[Slab]

I don't believe we have any idea what (if any) added pressure Tiger (or any other player) feels in a Major. We might imagine what the pressure would feel like if it was ourselves but I doubt we even do that

I think whatever he feels this weekend he's been under far more 'pressure' on more than a few occasions, so if he fails to win it'll not be the pressure that stops him

 

[GreiginFife]

I don't believe we have any idea what (if any) added pressure Tiger (or any other player) feels in a Major. We might imagine what the pressure would feel like if it was ourselves but I doubt we even do that

I think whatever he feels this weekend he's been under far more 'pressure' on more than a few occasions, so if he fails to win it'll not be the pressure that stops him

So what will it be? He has shown 5 times this year that he can destroy fields when there isnt the 'pressure' of a major resting on him, but when it is a major it doesnt go quite as well. So what is it then?

 

[pbrown7582]

Is there really much difference between a WGC event and a major? Plenty fail to deliver over 4 rounds of a major, Tiger had an poor finish yesterday but is he really out of it 6 back with 3 rounds to go? I don't think so, and I still think he will win at least 1 more

 

[MizunoMike]

So what will it be? He has shown 5 times this year that he can destroy fields when there isnt the 'pressure' of a major resting on him, but when it is a major it doesnt go quite as well. So what is it then?

Very good question Greig because after reading all the hype from last week he is "The Best" and he is back, lets just see if that is the case.

I think he is a top player but can he win this week and can he win another Major ?

 

[CMAC]

Very good question Greig because after reading all the hype from last week he is "The Best" and he is back, lets just see if that is the case.

I think he is a top player but can he win this week and can he win another Major ?

Its not hype, in the current players set up it's a fact, you can fudge all you want but facts are facts..........

Mizuno mike do a quick search and you'll see there's a thread like this almost daily here

 

[cookelad]

Very good question Greig because after reading all the hype from last week he is "The Best" and he is back, lets just see if that is the case.

I think he is a top player but can he win this week and can he win another Major ?

A little too early to write him off from this major let alone every major he'll play going forward, not saying he will or won't win this or any other, if I had to put money on one way or the other I'd bet that he will win at least 1 more!

 

[HawkeyeMS]

He can handle it, whether he'll get to Jack's record I don't know but he will get closer to it. I wouldn't write him off this week yet either.

 

[User20205]

Oh the haters will love this,

isn't that a contradiction ??

Tiger will win, on Tiger friendly courses, no rough, ones that allow his big misses off the tee. Majors aren't set up like that at present.

I reckon he'll compete at Augusta for a few years yet and may win a few more. I think he will do well at the Open if it's still, hard & fast (I'm surprised he didn't come into contention more at Muirfield)

I don't really like him, but I'd like him to get to 18+. Records are there to be broken, and his quality of golf over the last 15 years deserves it.

 

[Papas1982]

Oh the haters will love this, however, I am not a hater but I don't aspire to him and tend to agree with you.

I think we'll see little flashes of genius now and then, like last week, but, we won't see the dominance or fear factor we once saw as I think the rest of field has caught up with him if not overtaken him which can only be good for the game as emerging players come to the fold and honours are shared across a wide spread of players that suit various different courses and venues.

Whist I agree he seems to have a mental block at the moment, his record in majors in last few years is probably still better than most, he's been in the if nak couple of pairings come Sunday in quite a few. I think if he gets one soon he'll be back. As for his dominance, he's still held and shoulders above othe rankings..

 

[londonlewis]

Very interesting thread and I imagine one that only Tiger himself would know the answer to, although he would only ever come out with a positive affirmation that he can still win majors.

I am not entirely sure about the pressure of winning majors, he has done it 14 times previously although he hasn't done it for 5 years. I am sure Tiger can cope with pressure more than any other golfer out there (we didn't see Tiger's game fall to pieces after signing a multi million pound contract with Nike) and how many times have we seen him make clutch putts or stick it close to the hole when needed.

If I wanted to fully understand what the issue with Tiger vs winning another major these are the factors that I would want to analyse;

- Tiger dominates in 2013 at specific tournaments, why? Has he always done well at those tournament so is he playing on a Tiger track?
- What were his statistics like for the tournaments he was winning vs his stats in the majors? If his accuracy off the tee is very similar is it a question that the rough in the majors has been significantly more penal than other PGA tournaments, therefore making it more difficult for him to stick it close on his approach shot
- How has Tiger performed previously in tournaments at the courses where the Majors are being played?
- What improvement has the field made on Tiger during the majors? There are a number of golfers on tour now who have won tournaments, made enough money and now focus almost entirely on getting there game ready for the Majors instead of worrying about the other tournaments. I would therefore like to understand how many of these golfers are peaking specifically for the Majors as well as practicing their game that will specifically suit the courses the majors are being played at
- when Tiger is in a major and he is in contention what happens? Does he lose the plot, lose shots, slip away from the field or do the leaders of majors now close out the majors (like Schwartzel finishing birdie, birdie, birdie at the Masters a few years ago)

If I could understand all this I would imagine we would get a little closer to understanding whether there is an issue with Tiger and the mental side of the game or whether there is a flaw in the technical side of his game that some course will accentuate.

As to whether he can win another major I would argue that he could have won the Masters this year. If his ball had not hit the flag on his 3rd shot at the par-5 15th on the Friday he would have likely made birdie, which would have been the magic number allowing him to be in a play off on day 4 (if all else had remained the same). In this instance you could therefore argue that the distance between Tiger winning another major or not is the width of a flag stick.

Sorry this post was long, but I like to be thorough!

 

[MizunoMike]

A little too early to write him off from this major let alone every major he'll play going forward, not saying he will or won't win this or any other, if I had to put money on one way or the other I'd bet that he will win at least 1 more!

Fair point, lets just see how he plays today and we will have an idea for sure if he has any chance of winning this week.

 

[Birchy]

Just let me get this right, people are questioning whether Tiger Woods can handle the pressure?

Is this a joke? :rofl:

 

[MizunoMike]

Just let me get this right, people are questioning whether Tiger Woods can handle the pressure?

Is this a joke? :rofl:

No...

Think about it, years ago Tiger was the Hunter and the field were afraid of him hence his domination but now he is the Hunted and the pressure from all his fans and the media is for him to beat Jack's record and he has failed to win in his last 18 - 20 attempts, tiger is no longer the Hunter but the Hunted. You can't tell me there is no pressure...............

 

[Birchy]

No...

Think about it, years ago Tiger was the Hunter and the field were afraid of him hence his domination but now he is the Hunted and the pressure from all his fans and the media is for him to beat Jack's record and he has failed to win in his last 18 - 20 attempts, tiger is no longer the Hunter but the Hunted. You can't tell me there is no pressure...............

Of course there is pressure. He is the best player under pressure there has ever been though. He has had a circus following him all his career but he aint done too bad has he?

Just because somebody doesn't win a tournament its not instantly down to not handling the pressure. They simply didn't play well enough.

How many times have people actually seen Tiger bottle it?

He has changed his game and had injuries which have hampered his progress but he is getting back towards his best now imo. He is the best player on the world by a mile again now already.

 

[SwingsitlikeHogan]

Well after watching yet another disappointing round from Tiger yesterday do you think he has what it takes to win another Major.

I think that he struggles when it comes to the Majors and can't live with the added pressure for not winning one for 5 years and the added pressure of trying to beat Jack's record. I can't even see him matching Jack's record and this week I don't even think he will feature in the top 10.

What are your thoughts on Tiger and the Majors, I am in no way saying he is a crap player but as for Majors he just can't handle the pressure.

TBH - I don't care if he never wins another major. Am I a hater? - not really - just rather he was not the individual to overtake Jack Nicklaus's majors record. He probably can't do anything more than he is doing. The shield of invincibility that alone gave him a couple of shots on the rest every round has gone, and with that goes the confidence of knowing the rest think you are invincible. You can't get that back without becoming invincible - and he can't become invincible without having it back. Viscous circle.

 

[bladeplayer]

Just a thought re majors , I wonder did everyone underestimate the bag man ?

Adam Scott seems to be doing well in majors now , is Tiger missing something Steve Williams gave him ?

 

[carlosportsman]

I think his win at Sawgrass was potentially a positive indicator as it wasn't one of Tiger's favourite courses and he found a way to win. I don't feel he will win this week but I do think he will win more majors, look at 2014's major rotation courses, Pinehurst - 2 majors played there by Tiger, one 2nd place finish and one third place finish. Hoylake - 1 major, 1 win. Valhalla - 1 major, 1 win.

Clearly that sets up nicely for Woods next year, so if he can get past any mental blockage of not winning a major this year then he would have a good chance. If he doesn't add a major next year then I think it could be game over as for as his major winning days go.

 

[Svenska]

It's likely to be a pressure factor in my opinion, but he'll overcome it and win at least a few more. I remember reading Seve's autobiography and being struck with how he talked about the pressure he put himself under to win more majors and how it got bigger and bigger as time went by. I think this could be happening with Tiger, I don't believe the media have that much of an effect on him. He's almost super human in that respect but i'm convinced he's his own worst enemy and that's all it is at the minute.

The fear factor has long gone but that doesn't mean he won't ever win a major again. Other players still get twitchy when Tiger is right behind them but right now it's Tiger who is having poor final rounds in majors and not turning the screw like he used to.