Why Tiger Should Win Again....For the Kids

[GolfBookie]

7:30 AM: Prior to 3rd round of Masters.

It was fun to watch McIlroy, Fowler, and Day play yesterday. They, along with Dustin Johnson, Bubba Watson, Kaymer, Kim, and others make up what is shaping up to be a great new generation of golfers. If any of them want to be amongst the greatest golfers ever, however, they should hope that Tiger wins again . Why? Look at two different scenarios:

1) Tiger never wins again

If Tiger fades away at this point, and one of these young players becomes the dominant player on tour, the likelihood that he will even approach Tiger’s record is pretty slim. That player will forever live in the shadow of “the Tiger in the room,” if you will.

2) Tiger wins another major

If Tiger comes back, the young knights will have a dragon to slay. Tiger never had a real dragon ….. as Nicklaus had Palmer and Watson had Nicklaus….. Tiger’s dragon was Nicklaus’s record, and I believe he will slay it.

Imagine the fun of watching a revived Tiger take them on, one by one or in groups….eventually one or two will emerge as real successors to the throne, and eventually Tiger’s age will catch up with him …….long after he has surpassed Nicklaus’s record.

[newtogolf]

It's interesting that people have begun to speak of Tiger in past tense as if he's 40 something and in the twilight of his career.   The guy has had injuries, personal problems that would mentally cripple most of us, and has attempted to improve his swing with a totally new approach, that all take time to recover from.  I don't see it as a matter of "if", it's "when", as he has at least 5+ years of prime golf years to play.

Whether he dominates like he once did will be based less on his having lost some of his skills and more on the fact that some of these kids are really good golfers.  They are like young Tigers, they are athletic, fearless and cocky enough to not cower or collapse in the presence of Tiger on the leaderboard.

The first two days of the Masters is an example of how exciting golf can be for the next few years at least.

[sean_miller]

Originally Posted by GolfBookie

7:30 AM: Prior to 3rd round of Masters.

It was fun to watch McIlroy, Fowler, and Day play yesterday. They, along with Dustin Johnson, Bubba Watson, Kaymer, Kim, and others make up what is shaping up to be a great new generation of golfers. If any of them want to be amongst the greatest golfers ever, however, they should hope that Tiger wins again. Why? Look at two different scenarios:

1) Tiger never wins again

If Tiger fades away at this point, and one of these young players becomes the dominant player on tour, the likelihood that he will even approach Tiger’s record is pretty slim. That player will forever live in the shadow of “the Tiger in the room,” if you will.

2) Tiger wins another major

If Tiger comes back, the young knights will have a dragon to slay. Tiger never had a real dragon ….. as Nicklaus had Palmer and Watson had Nicklaus….. Tiger’s dragon was Nicklaus’s record, and I believe he will slay it.

Imagine the fun of watching a revived Tiger take them on, one by one or in groups….eventually one or two will emerge as real successors to the throne, and eventually Tiger’s age will catch up with him …….long after he has surpassed Nicklaus’s record.

I think "the kids" are trying to win and aren't "hoping" for anything other than to play their best golf today and tomorrow. It's sports writers and couch potatoes who want Tiger to be relevant again. Were his opponents in awe of him? Obviously, since so many of them crapped themselves when he cranked it up. Not gonna get into a gamesmaship debate, but Seve would have been proud. Did his fellow competitors ever actually "cheer" for him? During an event they were in? Seriously?

[stealthduffer]

Well, I'm just guessing here but I'm thinking that the pros on tour want only one person to win - themselves.  That's how they earn their bread and butter (and Mercedes, and private jets, etc.).  Winning against a "more relevant" Tiger doesn't pay anymore than what they are earning now.

And they will only be playing against "the Tiger in the room" as long as the synchophants at the networks continue to make it "all Tiger, all the time".  Of course nobody thought Jack Nicklaus would be popular because he superceded Arnold Palmer.