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Is 2014 a make or break year for Tiger?


Jakester23
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At 38 and playing on 4 major venues where he has had at least some success is this a make or break year for him to get his first major since 2008?

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At 38 and playing on 4 major venues where he has had at least some success is this a make or break year for him to get his first major since 2008?

Make or break in what sense? No major means he'll never win another? Won't catch Jack? Will fade into obscurity like David Duval?

I think the answer to all three is a resounding "no".

Tyler Martin

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Who the heck knows. It's like trying to predict where the market will go. I'll go out on a limb and predict something bizzaro will happen this year at a major :-)

Steve

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At 38 and playing on 4 major venues where he has had at least some success is this a make or break year for him to get his first major since 2008?

I don't see it as make or break if he gets his physical issues sorted out.  If he doesn't, then I think he's pretty much done.  If he can't finish 4 rounds, and play well in doing so, he's never going to catch Jack's major record.  Time is slipping away, and he isn't getting any younger.  This thing with his back could be career ending.

Rick

"He who has the fastest cart will never have a bad lie."

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I meant in terms of breaking Jacks record. I feel like he has 6-10 more years of being able to compete in all for majors.  Id also say another 5 years beyond that for the Open and the Masters.

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I feel like he has 6-10 more years of being able to compete in all for majors.  Id also say another 5 years beyond that for the Open and the Masters.

You think he's going to be competing for the Open and the Masters at 53?

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Maybe not every year but I feel if health he can be like Tom Watson a few years ago and have a shot. So yes I do. Someone is going to win a major at 50+ why not the GOAT.
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Maybe not every year but I feel if health he can be like Tom Watson a few years ago and have a shot. So yes I do.

Someone is going to win a major at 50+ why not the GOAT.

His body is already damaged goods.  Do you really think that he will be competitive in to his 50's?  I'm not sure that he'll make mid 40's right now.

Rick

"He who has the fastest cart will never have a bad lie."

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His body is already damaged goods.  Do you really think that he will be competitive in to hIs 50's?  I'm not sure that he'll make mid 40's right now.

I do. Im not saying that hes going to be#1 in the world but he still will be a threat. In the next few years I think we're going to see him start gearing everything around only the 4 majors.

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Right now he swings too hard and fast to have any consistency, as other have mentioned he is very banged up due to over use, injury and what could very well be PED. use from earlier years. It wouldn't surprise me and it shouldn't surprise anyone and his injuries are consistent with outher athletes that did so. The ones he likely used were not illegal or discovered at the time. but this subject is suited for another thread. The expectations of woods, I would compare to a high performance car with excessive mileage and was not properly maintained. Perhaps in disrepair. I believe looking back his swing change was a mistake and he lost valuable time in his career. He'll never admit this. His reported lifting and training is well documented from some of his coaches as being too much strength conditioning, when we all know its about tempo, balance and consistent ball striking. His long term strategy of being curt with the press and a recluse, is now coming back to haunt him and clearly is now in his head. Jacks record could very well be safe and no one should ever compare jacks age while he played. For example from 1962 thru 1986 I believe I read somewhere he only withdrew only twice. Don't misunderstand me, I am fully aware of his record, no one can take that away from him, but that was then and this is now.
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I do. Im not saying that hes going to be#1 in the world but he still will be a threat. In the next few years I think we're going to see him start gearing everything around only the 4 majors.

. His focus and training has been around the majors for over a decade, he has stated this. Why would there be any change in the future? Right now he only plays in what maybe 20 events and he seems to take a lot of time off in between them to. Some guys have already played over 10 already this season.

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Right now he swings too hard and fast to have any consistency, as other have mentioned he is very banged up due to over use, injury and what could very well be PED. use from earlier years. It wouldn't surprise me and it shouldn't surprise anyone and his injuries are consistent with outher athletes that did so.

Yeah, a back injury… that's so common among athletes who used PEDs. Or… not. It is, however, quite common among golfers .

His other injuries - he tweaked his neck at TPC Sawgrass. He has had issues with his knee (since a child - it's been operated on three or four times now spanning almost 20 years), and then his achilles on the same foot (common for one injury to create another, especially given the stance on which he injured it at Augusta (beneath Ike's tree, IIRC).

In other words, I think you have no real basis for saying this at all.

Erik J. Barzeski —  I knock a ball. It goes in a gopher hole. 🏌🏼‍♂️
Director of Instruction Golf Evolution • Owner, The Sand Trap .com • AuthorLowest Score Wins
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I don't see it as make or break if he gets his physical issues sorted out.  If he doesn't, then I think he's pretty much done.  If he can't finish 4 rounds, and play well in doing so, he's never going to catch Jack's major record.  Time is slipping away, and he isn't getting any younger.  This thing with his back could be career ending.

People were talking about his knee issues being career ending and they haven't been an issue essentially from the time he started working with Foley and developing a swing that took the pressure off.  I am sure he'll be able to do something similar if his back continues to be an issue in completing tournaments (note he's on WD'd 5 times and no more than once a year).

I think Tiger's problem is that he just doesn't play enough and focuses too much on developing confidence through practice sessions.  He only played 16 events last year - less than pretty much anyone on tour.  I know he plays other tournaments around the world, but the travel schedule can't help.  I think he'd just be more consistent if he played in 20-22 a year and mixed in some new venues.

When guys like Ben Curtis have won majors and we see Greg Norman and Tom Watson in contention in their mid to late 50's, anyone saying that Tiger will never win another major are just silly.

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im going to go out on a limb and say yes, it is a make or break year.  i think he has to win a major - if he doesnt then we will be at DEFCON 10.

and i say this being the biggest Tiger fan in the world.  if i could, i wouldve rubbed his back personally to get him back in shape.  however, i think he is on a precipice that will influence the rest of his career.

the biggest moment of his major career recently was when that midget YE Yang looked Tigs in the eye and punched him in the face at the PGA (2009 i think).  since then he hasnt been the same.

so yes, Tigs needs to win a mjor this year.

Colin P.

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im going to go out on a limb and say yes, it is a make or break year.  i think he has to win a major - if he doesnt then we will be at DEFCON 10.

Extra zero there. :)

DEFCON 1 is the highest state of alert. DEFCON 5 js the lowest state of readiness. :)

Erik J. Barzeski —  I knock a ball. It goes in a gopher hole. 🏌🏼‍♂️
Director of Instruction Golf Evolution • Owner, The Sand Trap .com • AuthorLowest Score Wins
Golf Digest "Best Young Teachers in America" 2016-17 & "Best in State" 2017-20 • WNY Section PGA Teacher of the Year 2019 :edel: :true_linkswear:

Check Out: New Topics | TST Blog | Golf Terms | Instructional Content | Analyzr | LSW | Instructional Droplets

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I'd say it like Kevin Dunn in Veep, he'll be at DEFCON f*&k.; :-)

Steve

Kill slow play. Allow walking. Reduce ineffective golf instruction. Use environmentally friendly course maintenance.

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    • Two things I bring up when it comes to this discussion. One is if you have let's say two towns next to each other, one has a population of 10,000 people and the other has a population of 1,000 people. Let's also say that they never play golf against each other. Only among themselves. In the first town, you have one guy who has won 15 events, then a couple of guys who won 6, a couple who won four and a bunch of people who won three, two and one events. In the second town, you have one guy who won 18 events, then a guy who won 11, a guy who won 9, a guy who won 8, a couple who won 7, a couple who won 3-5 and then a few 2s and a few 1s. Who's the best golfer? It's possible it's the guy who won 18, but it's pretty unlikely. Far more likely to be the guy who won 15 in the much bigger town.  In the same way, I view the fact that there is more parity in the 1990 and onwards world than there was in the pre 1990 world as a plus for Tiger. It's much harder to stand out if the fields are deeper, stronger, better. If there are a handful of players who win all of them, that tends to suggest weakness to me, not strength. The other thing is Ed White. Harvey Penick talked about him in one of his books. Ridiculously good at the game, but no one ever heard of him, because he got a job and didn't play professionally. There was no money in it and he needed security, so he took a job that paid him steadily. No clue how many people there are out there like him, but if he was around today, he'd be playing pro golf for sure. If he had played professionally, Penick sure seemed to think he'd have been one of the best of all time. Fred Haas played him in a college match and got stuffed. 40 years later he walked into Penick's shop and saw Ed White's picture on the wall and, after a full career playing pro golf, he said that Ed White was the best player he ever saw. Those 40 years would presumably have included at least some of Jack. I can see why people might say Jack is the GOAT. I don't agree, but I can at least understand why they say it. IMO there is no argument you can make for anyone other than Tiger to be the BOAT though. At least not yet.
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