Who is better right now (April 2012): Phil or Tiger?

[MEfree]

Not exactly a new topic, but one I thought worth revisiting with Tiger`s OWGR at 8 and Phil ranked #9.

The interesting thing about the "Official World Golf Rankings" is that if Phil Mickelson had skipped the 2010 Masters (which he won) and the 2010 Qual Hollow (where he was solo 2nd), he would actually be ranked ahead of Tiger Woods.  Had Phil skipped everything prior to the 2010 PGA, he would be ranked #5 by the OWGR.

So who do you think is better right now and why?

[Zeph]

At this point, I'd say Phil. With Phil's A game and Tiger's A game, you can't separate them, but with Tiger's ongoing swing change, he's a bit more erratic. Phil is not exactly Mr. Consistent himself, he can have just as bad days, but in general, he's slightly more in control of his swing from week to week.

[zipazoid]

Well, if you want to use the provision of "right now", look no further than the result of the last tournament they were both in - The Masters:

Phil T3

Tiger T40

[k-troop]

Both are inconsistent.  Both are playing stretches of brilliant golf, but both are also disappointing at times when we expect them to produce.  Phil is 8/9 for cuts; Tiger is 6/6 with a WD.  Phil is outside of the top-20 in 5/9 events, but has four top-5s; Tiger has only 1 finish outside of the top-20 in 6 events (not counting the WD; absent the injury, he surely would have finished inside the top-20).  (These are just PGA Tour stats; Tiger has been pretty close in a couple non-PGA Tour sanctioned events; not sure what Phil has done.)

Both have 1 win.

They're about equal.  Who's "better" among these two is going to vary week to week.

[brocks]

They're about equal.  Who's "better" among these two is going to vary week to week.

I agree. Phil looked spectacular on Sunday at Pebble Beach, and Tiger looked spectacular on Sunday at the Honda. Both have a win and a strong second, and both have looked ordinary during off weeks. I think Phil is in a much better place mentally than Tiger. Phil's been living with inconsistent play since he was an amateur. Tiger still can't believe that he can have such bad weeks, and Augusta had to be devastating to his confidence. What's interesting to me is the Tiger vs Rory comparison. If you asked a hundred golf fans, probably 99 of them would say Rory has been more consistent than Tiger this year, by a very wide margin. But out of 15 complete rounds where they played in the same stroke play events, Rory is a grand total of three shots better than Tiger.

[Motley01]

It's all about the confidence right now.

Phil = Very confident

Tiger = None

[newtogolf]

Tigers looking a bit lost with his swing right now so I went with Phil.

[k-troop]

Originally Posted by brocks

What's interesting to me is the Tiger vs Rory comparison. If you asked a hundred golf fans, probably 99 of them would say Rory has been more consistent than Tiger this year, by a very wide margin. But out of 15 complete rounds where they played in the same stroke play events, Rory is a grand total of three shots better than Tiger.

Well, there's a stat for every argument.  But in five head-to-head events, Rory is 3-1-1 against Tiger.  Rory won when Tiger was in the field; Tiger won when Rory had the week off.  And Rory is 5/6 finishing inside the top-5 this year, with his only event outside of the top-5 being last week at Augusta, when he tied Tiger with a T-40.

My take on those stats is that Rory is both more consistent this year, and has the slight edge vs. Tiger this year in head-to-head.

[Timothyjack]

Definitely Phil. Both of them are up and down lately, but Phil seems to pull it together when it matters. Not counting Sundays Masters round. Tiger will make a strong comeback, but I dont think its time yet. One win doesn't make it a comeback. Im a bit biased though. Phil won me a new Callaway FT Tour Driver in 2010.

[WUTiger]

Right now I'd say Phil, because of better consistency. Tiger has good tournaments and bad tournaments amid his pursuit of the ultimate swing, but now misses cuts in bad tournaments.

Phil mainly battles against the gaffe of the week. Master's par 3 disaster at No. 4... spinning three wedge shots back off the green a few years ago.

[golfstarter]

Phil is way better mostly for the fact that he is playing more consistently and more intelligent. I also think he has a better selection of golf clubs in his bag. The way he changes his wedges and long clubs from tournament to tournament shows how he knows how to play within his game.

[k-troop]

Originally Posted by WUTiger

Right now I'd say Phil, because of better consistency. Tiger has good tournaments and bad tournaments amid his pursuit of the ultimate swing, but now misses cuts in bad tournaments.

PGA Tour Stats:

2010:  Tiger missed 1 cut; Phil missed 2.

2011:  Both Tiger and Phil missed 1 cut.

2012:  Tiger missed 0 cuts; Phil missed 1.

So I think this thread is directed more at this year (i.e. who's better NOW), but no matter how you measure it, Tiger misses fewer cuts than Phil.  If you go back more than the last three seasons, then the difference is far more drastic.

If you measure consistency by finishes in PGA Tour events this year, Tiger is 4/5 finishing inside the top-20 (not counting the WD at Doral, but he was inside the top-20 through 54 holes); Phil is 4/9 inside the top-20.  Phil is 4/9 inside the top-5 this year; Tiger is 2/5 (or 2/6 counting Doral), and also had a runner-up finish at Dubai.

I don't think consistency is the right measure for either player; however, if you're going to try, I give Tiger a very slim edge.  I think the problem with judging Tiger's consistency is that you're not really measuring Tiger's consistency against Phil, you're measuring 2012 Tiger against pre-collapse Tiger.

[k-troop]

Originally Posted by WUTiger

Right now I'd say Phil, because of better consistency. Tiger has good tournaments and bad tournaments amid his pursuit of the ultimate swing, but now misses cuts in bad tournaments.

Originally Posted by k-troop

PGA Tour Stats:

2010:  Tiger missed 1 cut; Phil missed 2.

2011:  Both Tiger and Phil missed 1 cut.

2012:  Tiger missed 0 cuts; Phil missed 1.

So I think this thread is directed more at this year (i.e. who's better NOW), but no matter how you measure it, Tiger misses fewer cuts than Phil.  If you go back more than the last three seasons, then the difference is far more drastic.

Mr. WUTiger, I'd like to go to Vegas with you.  Clearly you can see the future.

I guess this puts to bed the Tiger/Phil "who's better now" issue, and basically annihilates any comparison of Tiger to Rory this year.

[MEfree]

Originally Posted by k-troop

Mr. WUTiger, I'd like to go to Vegas with you.  Clearly you can see the future.

I guess this puts to bed the Tiger/Phil "who's better now" issue, and basically annihilates any comparison of Tiger to Rory this year.

What`s settled?  It looks like Phil will make the cut on the number if he pars his last two holes and that Tiger will miss by a shot (unless a handful of players near the number give up shots coming in).  Yes it will be tiger`s first missed cut this year, but Phil is only a shot better

[brocks]

I guess this puts to bed the Tiger/Phil "who's better now" issue, and basically annihilates any comparison of Tiger to Rory this year.

Unless something weird happens, like they play more events and have different results.

[k-troop]

Originally Posted by brocks

Unless something weird happens, like they play more events and have different results.

What a brilliant response for a thread titled "Who might be better in a few months?"  Why don't you go start that thread.

As for this thread, it started after Tiger's lackluster performance at the Masters.  Tiger's only finish since then is a MC, which just happened today.  I know that seems obvious, but based on your response, I thought you might be oblivious to the obvious.

And yeah, Phil might only be one shot better, but that shot is the difference between playing the weekend, or watching baseball on TV.

[brocks]

What a brilliant response for a thread titled "Who might be better in a few months?"  Why don't you go start that thread. As for this thread, it started after Tiger's lackluster performance at the Masters.  Tiger's only finish since then is a MC, which just happened today.  I know that seems obvious, but based on your response, I thought you might be oblivious to the obvious.

Please bear with me, because I am indeed oblivious to the obvious. When the thread was started three weeks ago, I wasn't sure what the OP meant by "right now." Is it when he first posted, or whenever I respond? I am incapable of concentrating on anything for more than a few seconds, so I just went with my gut and decided that "right now" meant "right then," i.e., the time of the OP, and answered accordingly. But I found out today how dumb that was, because today Tiger missed the cut, and you revived the thread and said (paraphrasing) that today's development shows that right now, Tiger is definitely playing worse than Phil, and much worse than Rory. So from that, I took "right now" to mean whenever we respond, since only a moron would post today to tell us what he thought three weeks ago. And you'll laugh at this, but I thought that if Tiger wins the Players next week, and Rory MCs, then we all might have to revise our opinions yet again. I really thought I was getting the idea at last, but now you seem to be telling me that "right now" is fixed in time. But to fix it at three weeks after the OP seems kind of arbitrary, so now I'm afraid I'm more oblivious than ever. I guess I'm just no good to anyone, and like Mike Tyson, I will fade into Bolivia.

[newtogolf]

I'd agree Phil is playing better NOW, but not sure that means you write off the entire year for Tiger or hand Rory the golfer of the year award just yet.

Originally Posted by k-troop

Mr. WUTiger, I'd like to go to Vegas with you.  Clearly you can see the future.

I guess this puts to bed the Tiger/Phil "who's better now" issue, and basically annihilates any comparison of Tiger to Rory this year.