What if Tiger NEVER gets his form back???

[Bigtank]

Tiger is in a Slump...plain and simple. He has some mechanical issues sure, and a coach would help tweek those small points like the fact that he is flaring his left knee at address slightly. I thought I was just seeing it due to camera angle, but when the announcers pointed it out. His mental game is in shambles and he is working hard to fight the swing issues and they are not working, and it is all compounding. He is doing anything at this point to fight the block out to the right and the snap hook. Next thing you know he will be out on the range with one of those medicus clubs and crap on his hat to keep him balanced.
I am not a hater, and I am certainly not a fan of Tiger, but I do know he WILL be back. He will get stability in his personal life, and get a coach to help him work through small details that are giving him hell now and that Tiger cofidence will come roaring back...bad pun!

As for Lefty, he only won a major and had been very consistent in the beggining of the year, and yes he cooled off but give him some slack too!

[RichF]

It's not about Tiger using that as an excuse, it's about being rational in criticism/evaluation of a player. If Phil is having similar problems and people aren't screaming that his career is over, why are they saying them about Tiger? It's evidence of a double standard.

You're right. It's not about TIGER using that as an excuse...it's his blind-followers.

And for your information, Mickelson isn't having as bad a season as Woods... Oh yeah, and again , this thread is about Woods alarming and obvious slump.

[zeg]

You're right. It's not about TIGER using that as an excuse...it's his blind-followers.

If that's what you believe, it's what you believe. The "Tiger Haters" are at least as irrational as the "blind-followers." I'm not in either camp---I'm a fan of his, but not emotionally involved... No doubt he's in a slump, probably the worst he has had. But a slump for him is better than most pros will ever be in their careers, so it's irrational to start career funeral preparations yet.

And, sorry, but no, pointing out examples that might suggest his sharper critics are unfairly exaggerating his slump is not off-topic.

[Bigtank]

No doubt he's in a slump, probably the worst he has had. But a slump for him is better than most pros will ever be in their careers...

That is not true, currently there are 110 Pro Golfers that have had a better year than Tiger's Slump year....just sayin!

[zeg]

That is not true, currently there are 110 Pro Golfers that have had a better year than Tiger's Slump year....just sayin!

Ugh. I had just posted a long reply, but something went wrong with the server and it rejected the post. I'm too tired to retype it all, so here's the Cliff's Notes (probably better anyway)

By FedEx Cup points, yes, but he's only played in 7 events this year, so that makes it hard to use that as the measure. He finished tied 4th in both the US Open and the Masters, though, which I think most guys would be pretty happy to do. Compared to Phil, first ignoring Phil's win and 2nd place (which are obviously significant, I'm not actually ignoring them, just for the moment), they've played pretty similarly. Each has missed one cut, Phil has finished 36% of his starts in the top 10 to Tiger's 28%, 64% in top 25 to Tiger's 57%. Phil has 14 starts, Tiger 7, so those % differences are really just one finish difference. Now, obviously Phil has the Masters and a second place, which are big, but the difference between winning and coming in a couple strokes off includes quite a bit of randomness, and Phil had twice as many chances for a dice roll to go his way, so I don't think those are as telling as the averages. In short, there's no question that Tiger is way way off compared to his usual self, and that is completely fair to talk about. But he's not putting up terrible performances (by and large), they're just terrible Tiger performances. (Here I'm talking about his scores, not his swings, some of those have been terrible, and I haven't been watching the Bridgestone so I am not even contemplating his performance there). IMO it's way too early to start planning his career funeral.

[Elsfan]

If that's what you believe, it's what you believe. The "Tiger Haters" are at least as irrational as the "blind-followers." I'm not in either camp---I'm a fan of his, but not emotionally involved... No doubt he's in a slump, probably the worst he has had. But a slump for him is better than most pros will ever be in their careers, so it's irrational to start career funeral preparations yet.

Maybe there is a correlation between handicap and knowing what you are talking about on a golf forum. You obviously have not watched Tiger play because he is playing as bad as anyone on the tour. Dude he is almost in last place, wake up. He hit like 3 fairways yesterday. He is six over par on a course he has won 7 times on. I can't believe you would consider a bunch of missed cuts and poor finishes a good career.

[zeg]

Maybe there is a correlation between handicap and knowing what you are talking about on a golf forum. You obviously have not watched Tiger play because he is playing as bad as anyone on the tour. Dude he is almost in last place, wake up. He hit like 3 fairways yesterday. He is six over par on a course he has won 7 times on. I can't believe you would consider a bunch of missed cuts and poor finishes a good career.

Uh, before you go making stupid comments like that, get your own facts straight. He's missed one cut so far, probably misses this one for two in the year. Why don't you go check how many cuts most players miss in a year before you make a fool of yourself any further. As for poor finishes, ok, he's had 3 (now 4) outside the top 25 this year. About 75 guys per week finish outside the top 25. My statements stand up to logic, yours don't. He's playing bad golf for himself, but it's fairly average overall.

I think I'm done in this thread, like I said, I like Tiger pretty well, but I'm not here trying to make excuses for the guy. My only issue is that people have to be rational in their criticisms. As I said before, he's playing badly by his own standards, but it's not like he's finishing 95th in everything he plays, and he's hardly the only top tier pro who's had an inconsistent patch...

[Tiger Spuds]

He's missed one cut so far, probably misses this one for two in the year.

No cut this week, luckily for Tiger.

[Dartguy]

I think it would be great. I'm sick of watching every single shot, even when he isn't in contention. If he keeps it up, we won't have to see every shot.

[Chas]

Why simple ..... half of the people on this forum wouldn't know what to do with themselves.

[only kidding chaps - remain calm ]


p.s. it's a pretty silly premise but fun to watch. TW just needs a lot more time than many people thought - no surprise there.

[Cornbread]

it's getting frustrating. I think some of the haters are starting to feel for the guy now.

not this one !!!

[sean_miller]

No cut this week, luckily for Tiger.

He can still WD though.

A lot of guys have marital problems, family problems, and health issues. Whether it's sick spouses, parents, children, or even the players themselves. Shi++ happens. Should we outline the personal struggles of every player who's had an off year? I bet there are some interesting stories, but the really interesting personal stories seem to include a comback of some sort, whether from a tragedy or simply from having their games leave them. Like Westwood, Stricker, Els, Goydos, Woods (after his father passed away), Mickelson, etc. This part of the Tiger story is the boring part - what happens next is what I want to read about.

[motteler621]

westwood withdrew from the tournament today

[sean_miller]

westwood withdrew from the tournament today

I knew that, but since it has little to do with TW (at least, less than his return to prominence in the first place) I left it out.

[newtogolf]

This part of the Tiger story is the boring part - what happens next is what I want to read about.

I agree, we'll learn alot about TW as a person and golfer in the next few years. Will he recover from his downward spiral and continue his quest to win the most masters in history or will he slowly withdraw from the sport leaving us all to wonder "what if".

[Judah Ben-Hur]

No cut this week, luckily for Tiger.

If it goes bad tomorrow, look for an injury to get the hell out of dodge. He looks like a broken down man out there or a hacker. I think at one point he looked like he was going to cry. I think this was the tournament when an insect was flying around his face when he was about to hit. I thought I heard the announcer say something about it flying into the eye of the Tiger. It was a good laugh.

The other players will no longer be intimidated by him. Things have changed and don't be too surprised if other developements don't surface.

[kafka01]

I think it would be great. I'm sick of watching every single shot, even when he isn't in contention. If he keeps it up, we won't have to see every shot.

You sure about that? The GC just showed his "shot highlights" like 4 or 5 times during the broadcast. IMO thats pretty ambitous for a guy thats at the bottom of the leaderboard. On the other hand, i havent seen a single shot of AK or JB Holmes or pretty much 80% of the Top of the leaderboard and how they got there....... The GC (or any other media network in that regard) is like a gambler, he just cant let go.

[BASHERBAKER69]

It is conceivable that Tiger may never win another golf tournament ever again-certainly not this year anyway. But who knows, he may be treating this week as a tune up for the USPGA next week. In fairness, his swing does not look too bad as everything looks more neutral than it was. However, his private life is messy, and no doubt those bromide pills are taking the zest away from his life and concentration. Tiger needs a girlfriend- he needs to get a bit of lovin' from somewhere cos the greens are rubbing him up the wrong way!