A bit boring with Tigers dominance? (spoiler)

[sPinHigh]

I'm a big Tiger fan. I like watching excellence and a 5 (soon to be 6) in-a-row winning streak is amazing.

Even so I find it gets a bit boring. -15 after 36 holes, a 5 stroke lead, WGC AmEx. It is unlikely anyone else can catch him and we are only halfway trough. I'm starting to feel a bit bored. The problem is not Tiger, but I feel disappointed that no one else steps up. Ok, he is obviously very good, maybe the best ever but in the interviews it feels like the rest of the field have given up and are playing for 2nd place. It's disturbing. At least some of the younger guys should show some more fighting spirit, emotion and will.

Anyone else feels like this? Is it because there is too much money out there? Even for the T20 and lower...

Don't get me wrong, Tiger is great and it is very impressive. But it would be even better if at least the rest of the OWGR top 10 were closer to his level...

[Madriver]

agreed...but I see no one on tour or coming up that has the demeanor to give him some head to head competition. I don't know if I will...maybe some 15 year old is out there with the makeup to challange Tiger in 5-6 years...one can only hope.

[CusePhil]

Eh, I look at it differently. My thoughts are that he will, in time, become the greatest golfer to ever live. That being said, I enjoy every second that I get to watch him play the game. If he's up 5 strokes, losing by 10 strokes, it doesn't matter. A great golfer is a great golfer. If he has a competative last round, that is icing on the cake.

[FAHooGolfs]

I just like watching him because I know I"m watching history evolve in front of me. That said, I also enjoy watching him to just see what he's going to do next. 5 shot lead? Let's see if he can make it 10 and just obliterate the field.

[schlyer]

Watching him win doesn't bore me. I do get frustrated at the rest of the guys for being so incapable of challenging him on anything approaching a regular basis.

But, ultimately, Tiger's just that much better than everybody else. We're getting to watch history being made - enjoy it.

[cdriver]

When he is "on", he is just amazing to watch. I mean, I know he has been playing golf his whole life, but some of it is just an athletic ability beyond anything I have ever witnessed. It is a moment in history that I don't think will ever be repeated.

[Jarno]

I havae no problem with Tiger at all, lovely player and great person. Yet it does get rather redundant, I hope he gets close to the record 11 straight or beats it. But after yesterday I started to pay a little more attention to the Southern Farm Bureau Classic my man Duvall's playing. Oh yeah when Tiger shoots a 59 (Duvall's record) then he can talk to me....just kidding.

[iacas]

As an update, he leads by 7. Jim Furyk is in second, at -15, and Tiger's at -22, and he will likely par #11. He could easily get to -25 and win by 8, 9, or 10.

[aquacooled]

so unreal.. I wish I had a fraction of his talent..

[iacas]

so unreal.. I wish I had a fraction of his talent..

We all do. It's just that our fractions are somewhere along the lines of 1/10000000000th.

[Thrash13]

I guess I would consider it boring, since I probably only watched 30 minutes of it yesterday. However, I did accidentally see the results on ESPNEWS when he was up by seven with five or six holes to go. That's probably the main reason I didn't watch.

While I do find it a little boring, it's not Tiger's fault. And I certainly don't feel sorry for any of the others. It's time they put in a little extra work to compete with him.

On a sidenote, it was nice to see Ian Poulter finish so well. He is quickly becoming a force in the golf world and may win a major before Sergio or Luke Donald, his fellow European youngsters.

[sPinHigh]

> it's not tiger's fault

I agree, I just want the others to step up to the challenge. They see he can do it (play at a very high level of consistency etc) so they should think that they also can. They should not just buy into the media hype that he is unstoppable etc. If they do that will hinder them.

[Baynative]

It's history in the making. Watching Tiger is not boring because of the underlying story lines.

What is his dominance doing to other players? I once heard Retief say, "Anything can happen when Tiger's only seven back"

When will he put together a near perfect round and shoot 59, or 58?

When will he hit another 216 yd bunker shot over water ...or roll in another triple breaking down hill putt from 60 feet?

What happens to the guy leading a tournament when he comes to the first tee on Sunday and sees that Tiger has gone off earlier and is five under at seven?

As Gary McCord says: "THIS IS GREAT STUFF!"

[Thrash13]

When will he put together a near perfect round and shoot 59, or 58?

As far as the 58 or 59 goes, I'm really surprised he hasn't gone a little lower. He just shoots in the mid 60s every round and wears down the competition. He never really goes too low, but he is almost always a few under par at least. He start with a 63 last week though. I guess that's pretty low.

And the 216-yard bunker shots are a lot better when the tournament is close. I don't remember many of his good shots when he was blowing the field away or wasn't in contention. A lot of players hit those remarkable shots, but we never see them because they are nowhere near contention. We usually get to see Tiger's though.

[iacas]

As far as the 58 or 59 goes, I'm really surprised he hasn't gone a little lower. He just shoots in the mid 60s every round and wears down the competition. He never really goes too low, but he is almost always a few under par at least. He start with a 63 last week though. I guess that's pretty low.

I think Tiger isn't really "built" to go low. His approach is different. Tiger plays to the proper sides of the greens. Tiger shoots 63 when he makes a ton of 15-footers. He shoots 69 when he misses a ton of 15-footers.

It's the dumbasses that fire at every flag that shoot 59 occasionally... which nicely balances the 82 they shoot when they're out of sync.

[Rafcin]

...It's the dumbasses that fire at every flag that shoot 59 occasionally... which nicely balances the 82 they shoot when they're out of sync...

leave my buddy Duval alone, would you?

[Madriver]

A lot of players hit those remarkable shots, but we never see them because they are nowhere near contention. We usually get to see Tiger's though.

...there in lies the difference between Tiger and all great athletes, and the "rest of the field". Tiger makes it when it counts the most. And it's not just a one time memorable shot, it's many with more to come. He's a walking highlight, you can't not watch, you want to see the next spectacular miracle. You want to see the him eagle 18 for the forth consecutive day. You want to see him hit the impossible for the hundreth time. It's not like a Larry "One Time" Mize or a Bob "Miracle Bunker Man" Tway that you remember but have never seen again...it's every time he walks the green.

[sPinHigh]

I think Tiger isn't really "built" to go low. His approach is different. Tiger plays to the proper sides of the greens. Tiger shoots 63 when he makes a ton of 15-footers. He shoots 69 when he misses a ton of 15-footers.

Yes, and in a way this is also a bit boring...

I guess you can say there are two types of inspiration watching the pros: consistency (and thus low average score) or "peak performance" (58, 59, spectacular shots etc). Maybe consistency is impressive on a more intellectual level (how can he consistently perform at that level) but the spectacular rounds and fantastic shots are impressive since they show where the limits of performing in our sport really lie. In that sense the latter "talk" more to our feelings; it is really amazing that someone can shoot 58. Maybe in a way that is also better entertainment. Just some ramblings/theories... ;)

It's the dumbasses that fire at every flag that shoot 59 occasionally... which nicely balances the 82 they shoot when they're out of sync.

Yes, and of course Tiger has done the correct analysis since it is consistency that will win the most money. Especially if you are consistent on the low score averages that he is. :)

Still, the dumbasses can inspire and fascinate us mere mortals in a different way than can a consistently low scorer. (Note though that Tiger supplies a fair share of "dumbass"/fantastic shots so he is squarely not in a single one of these two camps.)