Phil Mickelson to Overtake #1?

[Elsfan]

Even if phil statisically becomes #1, he still wont be the real #1. It would be kind of empty.

How come, you have your own world ranking that takes precedence over the official world rankings?

[DavidFehertysBike]

How come, you have your own world ranking that takes precedence over the official world rankings?

Because phil becoming #1 at this point would be like a boxer claming a vacated belt. Tiger has missed close to a full season of golf over the last two years and it still has taken phil this long for people to be even having a discussion about this.

[zeg]

#1 is #1. We don't say Tiger wasn't #1 because Nicklaus retired do we?

[sean_miller]

Tiger has missed close to a full season of golf over the last two years . . .

So why is he still number one then? The ranking system is flawed.

[DavidFehertysBike]

So why is he still number one then? The ranking system is flawed.

Thats how large of a lead he had in the computer rankings. Its cumlative. Its kind of moot anyway, it isnt like Phil would be #1 for very long anyway. Over the long run, he is too inconsistant.

[sean_miller]

Its cumlative.

My point is, they go back too far. Phil seems fairly consistent right now. / jinx

[DavidFehertysBike]

My point is, they go back too far. Phil seems fairly consistent right now. / jinx

The system is fair, you get points for results.

[sean_miller]

Really? That does sound fair.

[DavidFehertysBike]

Really? That does sound fair.

Numbers dont care, so i cant see how more fair it could be. Anything else and you open up the rankings to personal biases. Phil wouldnt even be in the number two spot if the ranking system wasnt the way that it was. He played horrible leading up to the masters.

[Leftygolfer]

If phil becomes number one, the real test will how long he will stay there. I don't see tiger as being the same player he was when he was with Butch. I don't see there being much difference between the two in terms of skill talent now. When they are both playing well, niether will beat the other by a stroke or two. Phil has gotten better, longer, more confident, Tiger has done the opposite in the past year. He seems lost with his swing and even his putting isn't the same.

[mcfc_nick]

Who won't win? Tiger who's coming off a missed cut or Phil who's coming off a major and 4 solid rounds. My money would be on phil winning over tiger. I have nothing against tiger but I don't think he will get his full game back this year. Everyone forgets he is probably still going to go through a divorce involving kids which is tough mentally. I do think that Mickelson will pass him this year no matter what because tiger will probably shut it down until the open.

yeah, i meant phil won't win, Tiger won't win either (part of me is expecting him to miss the cut for the second week straight to be honest), i do think that Phil will overtake Tiger but then i think it won't be long before Tiger regains it from him

[Shanks A Million]

Who won't win? Tiger who's coming off a missed cut or Phil who's coming off a major and 4 solid rounds. My money would be on phil winning over tiger. I have nothing against tiger but I don't think he will get his full game back this year. Everyone forgets he is probably still going to go through a divorce involving kids which is tough mentally. I do think that Mickelson will pass him this year no matter what because tiger will probably shut it down until the open.

Last time Tiger missed a cut, he came back and won 3 in a row. Before that, the last time he missed the cut, he came back and won 2 majors in a row. Sounds like Tiger doesn't do well after missing cuts...

[leezer99]

Much like how the republicans threw the last presidential election knowing that the US was going to have more problems than anyone would care to mention (2 wars, crappy economy, unemployment at 15%, etc.) it would make sense that Tiger could concede the number one ranking to get at least some of the pressure off of his shoulders. Plus when he comes back and takes over the number one spot it would be that much better of a story to tell.

[jamo]

Last time Tiger missed a cut, he came back and won 3 in a row. Before that, the last time he missed the cut, he came back and won 2 majors in a row. Sounds like Tiger doesn't do well after missing cuts...

I just want to say something I thought of: it took Tiger at his worst and Phil at his absolute best for Phil to beat Tiger by 3 spots at the Masters....

[iacas]

I just want to say something I thought of: it took Tiger at his worst and Phil at his absolute best for Phil to beat Tiger by 3 spots at the Masters....

I think Tiger at his worst was the 79 he put up in the second round of Wachovia. It wasn't at Augusta.

[Chilli Dipper]

Much like how the republicans threw the last presidential election knowing that the US was going to have more problems than anyone would care to mention (2 wars, crappy economy, unemployment at 15%, etc.) it would make sense that Tiger could concede the number one ranking to get at least some of the pressure off of his shoulders. Plus when he comes back and takes over the number one spot it would be that much better of a story to tell.

I don't know which conspiracy mentioned is more far-fetched (although together, they explain that day when Tiger hired Ari Fleisher as his PR guru).

[Shanks A Million]

I think Tiger at his worst was the 79 he put up in the second round of Wachovia. It wasn't at Augusta.

Dunno, I would say Jamo meant that Tiger was at his worst in general, and Phil at his best in general. Quail Hollow (don't know if it was called Wachovia at one point or not?) was a bad round, yes, but the Masters was the same swing issues, same putting woes, and all that, just a better result. In the end, Tiger is Tiger, no matter how he's swinging. His 79 was one bad day, and the way he was playing, it wasn't a bad score.

[leezer99]

I don't know which conspiracy mentioned is more far-fetched (although together, they explain that day when Tiger hired Ari Fleisher as his PR guru).

I was wondering if anyone would call me on that! God, sometimes I crack myself up with the stuff I can make up on the fly like that.