Tiger is never coming back

[Chas]

Originally Posted by brocks

So yeah, looks like about half a dozen wins this year, depending on how the ball bounces. But next year, with his short game tightened up, he should be back to normal, and easily win 7 or 8 no matter how the ball bounces.

A brave and bullish prediction, we'll see if you're right.  Personally I wouldn't put my money on such an outcome but that's the beauty of sport - you never know until it's over.

[turtleback]

Originally Posted by zipazoid

Okay, so his sample set is expanded to his performances this year, ignoring the two wins but instead focusing on how he did after them.

Going into this year Tiger hadn't won an official tour event since 2009. This year he's won two (so far). So this guy assumes he won't win another major? Doesn't add up.

+1

For almost any other player, Tiger's year would already be considered a great year.  His 2 wins show he still has the game, and his 14 major wins show that he can handle major pressure,  Yet some people seem to think he is about done winning majors.  Makes no sense.  He has his full swing down pat and now has 3 areas to continue working on.  Distance control with his wedges (and when he got that in his Harmon swing change he started playing the best golf of his career), short game (particularly sand play), and inside 10 ft. putting.  Since his full swing has solidified he will now have more time to practice those areas and get them up to par.  Which will allow him to be under par.  Maybe it is just wishful thinking on my part, but I really see no reason why he cannot return to the 2005-2009 level of dominance.  Even in 2005 it would have been unrealistic to expect him to get back to the 1999-2000 level.  Just as Hogan only had one 1953 type year.

[Valleygolfer]

Quick I gotta get this controversial titled article with my opinion loosely based on the facts that support them before he starts winning majors and no one cares what I think so later I can retract my statements converting them to immense praise on how proud of tiger I am. Next time you find one of these, leave it where you got it.

[JaxGolfer1]

I guess we'll need a better definition of what "back" means. Will Tiger ever play like he did in 2000? Probably not, but can he still win majors? YES.

[Beachcomber]

There are always folks who will take an extreme stance on a topic - just so that they can be that guy that said 'I told you so...' if/when/ever their prediction plays out.  This author is that guy.

[Valleygolfer]

So is tiger still not back?

[bplewis24]

The better question is whether or not he is better than Phil Mickelson right now?

[Wallstreet]

Originally Posted by Valleygolfer

So is tiger still not back?

anybody?.....nobody???....oooooook

[Yukari]

Let's see who has 3 wins and who has only one this year...

Originally Posted by bplewis24

The better question is whether or not he is better than Phil Mickelson right now?

[x129]

Only 3 wins and 0 majors?  This isn't Phil we are talking about. This is Tiger Woods. Anything less than 6 wins with a major is an off year.  Yeah that 12 year run between 1997 and 2008 set an insane level that I doubt he will ever get back to. Bu even half that level of performance would make him the #1 player in the world.

Originally Posted by Wallstreet

anybody?.....nobody???....oooooook

[Dave2512]

lolie lol lol. The  season is halfish over. He has 3 w's. Brutal.

[brocks]

Tiger's playing the ATT next week, and that typically has only a medium strength field, so I wouldn't be amazed if he won that, too. I don't know if he's ever played Greenbrier before, and the Open is always a crapshoot with the weather, so his next win will probably be the WGC Bridgestone, and maybe the PGA after that. Then the Deutsche Bank, and maybe the BMW. So yeah, looks like about half a dozen wins this year, depending on how the ball bounces. But next year, with his short game tightened up, he should be back to normal, and easily win 7 or 8 no matter how the ball bounces.

So far, so good.

[LovinItAll]

Whenever I hear, "Is Tiger back?", I thought the question meant, "Is he the most dominant force on the PGA tour again?", not, "Can he repeat some previous accomplishment?". In other sports, a player isn't necessarily considered in decline because he doesn't repeat a particular record-setting year or performance over a period of time. Is Tiger the most dominant force on the Tour right now? I think so. What is he, 3 for 11 this year and 4 for 12 going back to his last event in December? So he's had some inconsistent rounds. Golf is a tough game. The fact is that his winning percentage is other-worldly. Tiger keeps it pretty close to the vest, but he's always been forthright regarding his progress during swing changes. When will the golfing world learn to take him at his word re: his swing progress? He's never been delusional about his game, and he always makes his doubters look stupid. It chaps my ass to hear television commentators criticize him. Sure, they might have jobs if he had never played golf, but they wouldn't be knocking down the fat paychecks they receive if there had never been a Tiger Woods. Same with the players. Tiger has single handedly brought more money into the game of golf than anyone in history. All of us have him to thank in one way or another when it comes to golf, though I'll let someone else make the list of reasons.

[newtogolf]

All the talking heads want to be the ones to predict a great athletes demise, so they can say they were the ones that saw it first.  When the baseball season started all we heard was that Pujols was done, now that he's batting 271, has 12 HR's and 48 RBI's no one is talking about him.

We've seen them all at one point or another stick their necks out and claim Tiger is done and he consistently proves them wrong.  He's got a lot of good golf years left, he keeps himself in excellent condition and he appears to be working out the new Foley swing, yet guys like Faldo still want to cheap shot him.  I think there's a bit of jealousy in play because Tiger has such control over their destiny.  People watch golf when Tiger is contending, and no matter what they do or say no one else can move the needle like Tiger does.

[zipazoid]

It's the 24/7 cable channels with too much time to fill, and they gotta say something, so why not find someone to say he's done? It no longer matters whether it's correct or not or if it is even based on any facts - it's a person's opinion.

[TN94z]

I think it's just a matter of who can get the "I told you so" out first.  They all want to lay claim as the first person to say whether he is done or whether he is back.  It's quite amusing to watch the bandwagon change

[BruceMGF]

I just don't understand why this is called "The Rory Era".

[tristanhilton85]

Originally Posted by bplewis24

The better question is whether or not he is better than Phil Mickelson right now?

Well, they both seriously contended at a major and then lost it on the final day and weren't in contention for the other one, Tiger has 3 wins this year and Phil has one, so I'd say that right now Tiger is better.