Will the recent Stevie smack talk motivate Tiger differently this week at the PGA?

[majorchamp]

I am asking this question because Tiger has had motivation of all sorts in the last few years. The media attacks him, his life falls apart, etc.. so he has ALL the motivation in the world to try and get back on top. This has gone on since the early 2000's as well, but it seems like when the attacks are personal, when they come from people that actually mean something to him...like his fellow touring peers or as we now know, his ex-caddie....he takes it much more personal and it seems to fuel his fire a bit "deeper" then the standard motivation he might have. We all know this from people like Rory Sabatini, Colin Montogomry , Stephen Ames, and others who have said something publically, whether it was meant as a jab or not, but was taken the wrong way and Tiger used it as fuel to stomp them in the ground.

So even though Tiger only has 1 tournament rep under his belt since his layoff, I kind of wonder if we will see a bit more intense and focused Tiger at the PGA this week then we would have had Stevie not said anything in that post conference interview.

I am kind of wondering if those statements are the "type" of motivation Tiger might have needed, kind of like a kick in the ass, to churn up the meter a couple notches and see what he is truly made of now that he is healthy.

I'm really excited for this weekend.

[shades9323]

I don't think the Steve "smack talk" will motivate Tiger any more than he is already motivated.

[Kieran123]

Sure he may be motivated,  but if he can't hit it straight, it won't help.

[deronsizemore]

I think he'll be as motivated as ever. I think he already was motivated, but the jabs by Stevie have to have him fuming on the inside.

Originally Posted by Kieran123

Sure he may be motivated,  but if he can't hit it straight, it won't help.

He's hitting the ball okay, he just isn't making the putts that he used to be automatic at. Once the putts start to fall, you'll start seeing the scores we're accustomed to seeing from Tiger.

[Kieran123]

Originally Posted by deronsizemore

I think he'll be as motivated as ever. I think he already was motivated, but the jabs by Stevie have to have him fuming on the inside.

He's hitting the ball okay, he just isn't making the putts that he used to be automatic at. Once the putts start to fall, you'll start seeing the scores we're accustomed to seeing from Tiger.

Hopefully his driver is better too. It wasn't terrible terrible, but not great

[LongballGer]

Pretty stupid question. Tiger never lacked motivation. Do you honestly think he´s not trying his absolute best everytime he tees it up in a tournament?

The thing is competition has gotten too good and winning for him is much harder now than when he first came out on tour. Back then he was mostly playing against fat, old white dudes that he was consistently outdriving by 50+ yards. Right now the field has caught up with him. It´s gonna be interesting to see if his swing change is gonna give him an edge over the competition.

[majorchamp]

I wouldn't call it a stupid question. Do you think Stephen Ames would have been stomped 9 and 7 or whatever it was years ago had Tiger not been a bit peeved at his comments in the press? Yes of course he will play and grind hard, but certain things cause us to get more fired up then others, and some things in our lives straight up piss us off or infuriate us. Tiger is used to people dogging him or writing him off at this current time in his career...he lets that stuff brush off his shoulders, but when your former caddie says what he does, as a form of pure humiliation, that is the stuff that eats at your insides and makes you want to prove people like that wrong.

I stand by my "stupid" question.

Originally Posted by LongballGer

Pretty stupid question. Tiger never lacked motivation. Do you honestly think he´s not trying his absolute best everytime he tees it up in a tournament?

The thing is competition has gotten too good and winning for him is much harder now than when he first came out on tour. Back then he was mostly playing against fat, old white dudes that he was consistently outdriving by 50+ yards. Right now the field has caught up with him. It´s gonna be interesting to see if his swing change is gonna give him an edge over the competition.

[GaijinGolfer]

Lack of motivation isnt Tiger's problem.  His problem is that his game just isnt good enough right now.  The consistency isnt there, the distance control isnt there and the putting isnt there.  Unless Tiger seriously improves in the next couple days, he isnt ready to contend in a major.

[newtogolf]

I agree with others, Tiger doesn't need Williams sour grape comments to motivate him.  I'm guessing Tiger just wants this all to blow over so he can stop answering dumb questions about his personal life and caddie and focus on his golf.

[turtleback]

Originally Posted by TitleistWI

Lack of motivation isnt Tiger's problem.  His problem is that his game just isnt good enough right now.  The consistency isnt there, the distance control isnt there and the putting isnt there.  Unless Tiger seriously improves in the next couple days, he isnt ready to contend in a major.

Sure because if a player goes 98, 156, 68 in the three events before a major he has no chance.  Oh wait, that is exactly what Louis Oosthuizen did before he won the British Open.