What does Tiger's win say about golf?

[HomerJSimpson]

Does it have to say anything. It simply shows on a given week against the best players in the world he competed and came out on top. It's a place he knows well and so that knowledge would have been vital. It shows he's back to a degree of fitness and can play on what is a hilly course and suffer no obvious issues. I think it's a great win and if/when he gets back to world #1 it'll challenge the others to take their game forward

 

[ScienceBoy]

These last 11 years will be the “Decade that could have been”

You only get one shot at life and it must be hard for Tiger to look back at the last 10 years and wonder what could have been.

If he doesn’t get caught up in that he could be a winner at the Open and maybe the US Open but probably. It at many regular tour events.

 

[Grant85]

Part of what you have typed is utter tosh!

To suggest he won because 8/9 guys didn't do as well as they should really is absolute nonsense. Do you honestly think before you type?

Guess what, Tiger beat all.that was in his way, he did enough and blew those 8/9 guys you refer too out of his way. Those young pretenders blew up when the Tiger was on the leaderboard they couldn't handle his presence or his golf.

Tiger has never been a great driver of the golf ball but he has holed out better than anyone I have ever witnessed play the game and certainly haven't witnessed anything to suggest his putting has declined.

I'm not suggesting his putting has declined, it is a fact, it has declined.

Tiger was dominant and would win tournaments by multiple shots once or twice a month. His B game would be up there contending and his A game would blow the field away. His putting, approach play and recovery shots were dominant. He was longer than most other guys and could cope with a few errant drives.

Now it is very unlikely he will be dominant - even with his A game, which he probably had this week. He still needs the right conditions and a bit of luck (as do most players to win) in terms of a few main guys having an off week and / or a bit of luck on the course.

Look at Rory in Mexico. Played great and beat the field by 5 shots, but DJ was on a different planet that week and was a few lower than him.

Through the Masters on the PGA Tour - some notable strokes gained putting stats (i.e. total strokes gained over all 2019 PGA tour rounds).

Rory: +7.487
DJ: +15.535
Xander: +12.831
Bryson: +11.424
Thomas: +3.857
Fowler: +24.138

Tiger: +2.86.

Still ok and better than the field, but not likely to be better than the main guys who will be contending for tournaments.

 

[Grant85]

These last 11 years will be the “Decade that could have been”

You only get one shot at life and it must be hard for Tiger to look back at the last 10 years and wonder what could have been.

If he doesn’t get caught up in that he could be a winner at the Open and maybe the US Open but probably. It at many regular tour events.

Will be very interesting to read a book from him, if he ever does it. Or maybe even a big deep dive interview when he does retire from the tour.

Hank Hainey's book 'The Big Miss' suggests that Tiger's knee injuries were exacerbated, if not caused, by military style training with the US Navy Seals. At one point Hank actually thought he was going to take a sabbatical from Golf in order to enlist and for the chance to do live missions with the Nave Seals.

Certainly up until 2008 it wasn't really a question of if, but when, Tiger would break the Nicklaus and Snead records. However longevity is a legitimate factor in greatness.

 

[Jacko_G]

Just because you love Tiger, is he not allowed his own opinion and thoughts on the subject?

You couldn't be more wrong about my "love" for Tiger. I have never been a huge "fan" but I have HUGE admiration. He deserves so much credit for his ability and domination of the game.

 

[Piece]

But the formula for Tiger to win is as follows;
A course not too penal off the tee.
Tough greens where a great iron can put you close, but if you miss the spot then even the good putters will be happy with a 2 putt.
Par 3s around the 150 to 170 mark when the best iron players will given themselves plenty of chances over 4 days.

Can certainly see him win more Masters and an Open at St. Andrews or maybe Hoylake. Possibly a PGA at the right venue as well. A US Open is going to be tough for him, likewise a British Open at a tight venue.

Tiger and Phil M are probably known to be a bit wild off the tee. They are the top two, currently playing, in PGA tours victories. No coincidence that their recovery game is so much better than others. That's where they are different.

All tour players struggle off the tee when it's tight. Particularly the bombing Americans, when you look back at the Ryder Cup in Paris.

 

[Deleted member 1147]

Look at where Tiger has been most prolific: Firestone, Muirfield Village, Torrey Pines, Bay Hill - All courses where you have to hit fairways because hitting greens is tricky from the rough.
He has always been the best at getting a ball around a course, often on the trickiest courses.
So I don't think the hardest, tightest courses will be his issue. It will be the easier, wide open courses where scores in the 20's under par will be where he misses out most.
Personally I would think his best chances of wins will be at major championships, largely due to course set up.

Also the best iron players would prefer long par 3's, not 150-170 yds. As all of the field should be good with a wedge, it's the long irons where the likes of Tiger, Rose etc will excel.

 

[Parsaregood]

Will be very interesting to read a book from him, if he ever does it. Or maybe even a big deep dive interview when he does retire from the tour.

Hank Hainey's book 'The Big Miss' suggests that Tiger's knee injuries were exacerbated, if not caused, by military style training with the US Navy Seals. At one point Hank actually thought he was going to take a sabbatical from Golf in order to enlist and for the chance to do live missions with the Nave Seals.

Certainly up until 2008 it wasn't really a question of if, but when, Tiger would break the Nicklaus and Snead records. However longevity is a legitimate factor in greatness.

How many players have 22 years between major wins ? That is longevity

 

[bagcarrier]

All this says to me is that Tiger on form is as good as the rest of the top players on form.

 

[Grant85]

How many players have 22 years between major wins ? That is longevity

yes - but so many years where he couldn't play a full schedule or really compete for the majors due to his condition.

He has missed 14 majors where he didn't tee it up, and played in 6 across 2014 and 2015 where he wasn't in shape to compete and missed 4 cuts.

So really 20 Majors in the meat of his late 30s, early 40s that he would surely have picked up a few of, had he been free of serious injury.

Of course everyone looks at Jack's 18 majors and says, that is still the mark and until then, there is still a discussion to be had.

 

[triple_bogey]

Look at where Tiger has been most prolific: Firestone, Muirfield Village, Torrey Pines, Bay Hill - All courses where you have to hit fairways because hitting greens is tricky from the rough.
He has always been the best at getting a ball around a course, often on the trickiest courses.
So I don't think the hardest, tightest courses will be his issue. It will be the easier, wide open courses where scores in the 20's under par will be where he misses out most.
Personally I would think his best chances of wins will be at major championships, largely due to course set up.

Also the best iron players would prefer long par 3's, not 150-170 yds. As all of the field should be good with a wedge, it's the long irons where the likes of Tiger, Rose etc will excel.

Finally someone with some insight.

People see the errant drives and automatically assumes his game will be dead if he played a tighter high rough course.

 

[Chris1967]

Shows you course management is as important as ever despite the power hitters trying to overpower every course.Cant manage it every time guys!

 

[Parsaregood]

yes - but so many years where he couldn't play a full schedule or really compete for the majors due to his condition.

He has missed 14 majors where he didn't tee it up, and played in 6 across 2014 and 2015 where he wasn't in shape to compete and missed 4 cuts.

So really 20 Majors in the meat of his late 30s, early 40s that he would surely have picked up a few of, had he been free of serious injury.

Of course everyone looks at Jack's 18 majors and says, that is still the mark and until then, there is still a discussion to be had.

It's still longevity, infact it's even more remarkable. The only other great to have been seriously injured and comeback is Ben Hogan, though Hogan was a great great player he wasnt great until the mid/late 40's and was past his best by the late 50's.

 

[Parsaregood]

Finally someone with some insight.

People see the errant drives and automatically assumes his game will be dead if he played a tighter high rough course.

If you actually look at his total driving stat I think he is t17 so he is a better driver than he gets credit for

 

[Dan2501]

What this win does mean for golf is that the next few years are going to be so exciting. The young guns - the likes of JT, Rory, Spieth etc have all said they'd have loved to have competed against a prime Cat, well he's back and playing some world class golf, so lets see how they do against him. Golf is in such a good place right now, the build-up to every major is going to be nuts. 4 weeks till the next one and I can't wait.

 

[Britishshooting]

What this win does mean for golf is that the next few years are going to be so exciting. The young guns - the likes of JT, Rory, Spieth etc have all said they'd have loved to have competed against a prime Cat, well he's back and playing some world class golf, so lets see how they do against him. Golf is in such a good place right now, the build-up to every major is going to be nuts. 4 weeks till the next one and I can't wait.

I wouldn't say he is or will ever be in his prime again, however at 90% of his prime on a good day with the confidence he's going to be exuding now is likely going to be enough to win a few more events.

Tiger can beat anybody on tour in terms of mental mindset, and closing out a competition. We will never see him win by 15 strokes again as physically he doesn't have that edge , but if he is within 2 or 3 maybe 4 shots of the lead going into the final day you just can't write him off. He will thrive, opponents may buckle but his mental toughness will always give him the edge over his competition.

Look at Molinari, 47 holes without a single bogey and then in the final with the big cat breathing down his neck he made mistakes he just doesn't typically make and carded 2 doubles.

All Tiger had to do to win the masters this year was make that final group, as soon as he was in position he had a bigger advantage from that than Moli's lead at the start of day 4 in my opinion.

I think we will definitely see him break Sam Sneads record of pga wins, but as much as I would love him to I don't think he will break Jack's major record.

Tiger in his prime everybody would be attempting to chase but would fail to do so by multiple shots. Tiger of present I think now will get himself into contention and his opposition will let slip shots that he will capitalise on.

 

[patricks148]

Will be very interesting to read a book from him, if he ever does it. Or maybe even a big deep dive interview when he does retire from the tour.

Hank Hainey's book 'The Big Miss' suggests that Tiger's knee injuries were exacerbated, if not caused, by military style training with the US Navy Seals. At one point Hank actually thought he was going to take a sabbatical from Golf in order to enlist and for the chance to do live missions with the Nave Seals.

Certainly up until 2008 it wasn't really a question of if, but when, Tiger would break the Nicklaus and Snead records. However longevity is a legitimate factor in greatness.

me too, it will be a best seller.

Tiger, Best Chat up Lines.... ever

 

[Tiger Woods]

I think recency bias plays a big part here. Sure Tiger is back and competing, but a few weeks ago, Tiger finished T30th in the Players Championship.

I also reckon -13 was as good as he could do. His approach play continues to be his strength and at plenty of other venues, his driving and putting will not be good enough. There are a good 8 or 9 guys that will think they should have been a few better and at least have been in a playoff at -13. Brooks and Bryson got to -6 on the 1st day!! But of course they didn't and the pressure of a Major Sunday is certainly a real factor.

Maybe he can continue to improve, but I don't think we will see him (or anyone for that matter) being a dominant player and winning 6 or 7 events a year. The depth is too much and the quality of player right through the top 100 is such that there will continue to be a LOT of players in the mix for the majors and other big prizes.

I assure you -13 was as bad as I could of done, I missed so many makable putts all week. Hey it kept it interesting

 

[triple_bogey]

I assure you -13 was as bad as I could of done, I missed so many makable putts all week. Hey it kept it interesting

Congratulations on the win TW....

 

[Wolf]

Why Does it have to say anything about the state of the game.

Tiger doesn't win people write threads saying is he past it, Tiger does win people write threads complaining bakut state of the game. All this proves is Tiger isn't past it and even though he isn't at his all time best it shows his game and mindset is still good enough to compete and intimidate at the top of a major leaderboard. As for state of the game it's probably never been healthier there's a huge depth in the amount of players able to compete for majors now and at the very top of the world rankings but now they get a chance to to do it against 1 of the all time greatest golfers to play the game.