Tiger Woods Master Catch-All Discussion

[Golfingdad]

I wonder how much the Master's ratings will deteriorate if Tiger WD's. If he doesn't play, CBS better hope that Mickelson, McIlroy, Scott, and/or Bubba is close to lead after Saturday.

At non-Majors, I would imagine that the ratings plummet when Tiger fades away, but at the majors, I don't think it matters nearly as much.  Obviously it will matter some, but they won't hurt for viewers.  Especially at the Masters, since it has a much smaller, and concentrated field, it's highly unlikely that there won't be some names there at the end.

[Rick Martin]

I wonder how much the Master's ratings will deteriorate if Tiger WD's. If he doesn't play, CBS better hope that Mickelson, McIlroy, Scott, and/or Bubba is close to lead after Saturday.

Real golf fans will watch everyday.

[iacas]

Real golf fans will watch everyday.

You keep saying that… as if it matters. :) "Real golf fans" is a small section of the market. Tiger moves the needle among way, way more than "real golf fans."

Also, far more "real golf fans" than you realize only watch when Tiger is playing and contending. I know of several. They'd rather play golf than watch, but they'll take time out of their day to watch possibly the greatest player of all time.

[newtogolf]

Real golf fans will watch everyday.

You keep saying that… as if it matters. :) "Real golf fans" is a small section of the market. Tiger moves the needle among way, way more than "real golf fans."

Also, far more "real golf fans" than you realize only watch when Tiger is playing and contending. I know of several. They'd rather play golf than watch, but they'll take time out of their day to watch possibly the greatest player of all time.

Erik is 100% right, I'd re-arrange my day so I could see Tiger compete on Sunday in the Masters, I'm not going to do that for anyone else.  People that hated baseball watched it to witness Bonds chase the HR record, the same goes for Tiger in golf.  He makes people interested in golf.

I doubt anyone will ever dominate golf in the way that Tiger has and would be shocked if anyone even came close to winning 10 majors in their career going forward, Phil is the closest active golfer with 5 right now.

[Hammer 4]

I must be old or something..? I'll watch no matter who's playing...

[Rick Martin]

I must be old or something..? I'll watch no matter who's playing...

and I couldn't care less if the TW-jock sniffers don't watch....their loss.

[Hammer 4]

Everyone is Entitled to watch what they want, no right or wrong about it.

[jbishop15]

and I couldn't care less if the TW-jock sniffers don't watch....their loss.

That's a bit harsh, isn't it? I don't think it's really fair to call someone a "jock-sniffer" because they only watch golf when Tiger plays. Like iacas said, a lot of "real golf fans" only watch when Tiger plays because they'd rather be playing otherwise.

[MS256]

I have no idea if I'm a "real golf fan" or not. I enjoy it and usually have the TV on a golf tournament if there is one going on and I even took the family to a couple of tournaments. (So I suppose I am a fan?)

The biggest difference for me when Tiger is in the mix is that if I don't watch it live I am certainly going to record it. If he's not in the mix I more than likely won't and sometimes even if I do I just delete it without watching it unless I hear somebody say something about it that I want to see for myself.

I guess I always wanted to watch athletes performing above all of the others with a chance to break records and do things that have never been done...Call me crazy.

[Rick Martin]

That's a bit harsh, isn't it? I don't think it's really fair to call someone a "jock-sniffer" because they only watch golf when Tiger plays. Like iacas said, a lot of "real golf fans" only watch when Tiger plays because they'd rather be playing otherwise.

What if someone said "I"m an NFL fan. I only watch games if Tom Brady is playing"? I'd question if that person was seriously an NFL fan. I think that person is a Tom Brady fan (jock sniffer).

[jbishop15]

What if someone said "I"m an NFL fan. I only watch games if Tom Brady is playing"? I'd question if that person was seriously an NFL fan. I think that person is a Tom Brady fan (jock sniffer).

First of all, it's not the same thing. Football is a team sport, golf is not. Tiger Woods is like a team of his own. A more accurate analogy would be if someone said "I'm an NFL fan. I only watch games when the New England Patriots are playing." Doesn't sound so bad.

Plus, even if your analogy was accurate, you don't get to decide what a fan is. Calling someone is a jock-sniffer is really rude and really exclusionary, which is the entire reason golf has such a hard time gaining members. And, like I said before, many "real golf fans" only watch when Tiger is playing because they have other things to do in their lives.

[iacas]

What if someone said "I"m an NFL fan. I only watch games if Tom Brady is playing"? I'd question if that person was seriously an NFL fan. I think that person is a Tom Brady fan (jock sniffer).

I'm a football fan. I only watch games the Steelers are playing, and sometimes I don't even watch all of them. I'm a hockey fan, but I only watch the Penguins games, typically, and sometimes I miss them. But I read about them every day, and talk about them with fellow fans, and so on. I also play hockey when I can.

I'm a golf fan. Hell, Rick, my entire freaking life IS golf. I agree with @jbishop15 - you not only get to decide who is or isn't a "fan," but the way you're going about it is rude and narrow-minded. Your Tiger hate is clouding your judgment.

[boogielicious]

I'm a football fan. I only watch games the Steelers are playing, and sometimes I don't even watch all of them. I'm a hockey fan, but I only watch the Penguins games, typically, and sometimes I miss them. But I read about them every day, and talk about them with fellow fans, and so on. I also play hockey when I can.

I'm a golf fan. Hell, Rick, my entire freaking life IS golf. I agree with @jbishop15 - you not only get to decide who is or isn't a "fan," but the way you're going about it is rude and narrow-minded. Your Tiger hate is clouding your judgment.

Agreed.  Not every tournament draws as much interest for me as the ones with a quality field.  I generally watch my NFL team play and some of the marquee games.  But why watch MNF when two losing teams are playing and you are not a fan of either?

[9iron]

PGATOUR.COM has an article on its front page right now and the title has something to do with whether or not Tiger has lost his air of invincibility. Well, good old Graeme McDowell must have forgotten how harsh Tiger fans can be on those that don't, ahem, show deference. Graeme is quoted a few times basically claiming that Tiger has lost his aura, that the young guys don't think he's got anything on them.

His twitter account blew up faster than your typical weight watcher on the rebound. That will teach him to mind his p's and q's.

I'll watch whether Tiger is in the field or not. There is ALWAYS someone to root for.

[3putter]

PGATOUR.COM has an article on its front page right now and the title has something to do with whether or not Tiger has lost his air of invincibility. Well, good old Graeme McDowell must have forgotten how harsh Tiger fans can be on those that don't, ahem, show deference. Graeme is quoted a few times basically claiming that Tiger has lost his aura, that the young guys don't think he's got anything on them.

His twitter account blew up faster than your typical weight watcher on the rebound. That will teach him to mind his p's and q's.

I'll watch whether Tiger is in the field or not. There is ALWAYS someone to root for.

Haha, I read that article and I found it interesting. I found Horschel's comments funny...

“Guys who played with him made it easy for him,” Horschel says. “Tiger wasn’t doing anything special; he was just making pars and guys felt like they had to do something special to beat him. I think guys get intimidated by him because maybe a lack of belief in themselves.”

Now that he's on tour, he can set out to win at a solid clip like Woods...nothing special after all. Confidence is one thing, the consistent game to back it up is another. I've been a Woods' fan since I started watching golf, and I think his age will be an hinderance to returning to any type of domination we've seen before. However, I would still like to see any of the players now win 8 times between the age of 36 - 38 against the best fields out there.

[Crim]

“Guys who played with him made it easy for him,” Horschel says. “Tiger wasn’t doing anything special; he was just making pars and guys felt like they had to do something special to beat him. I think guys get intimidated by him because maybe a lack of belief in themselves.”

I mean I know Horschel probably knows better than I do, but what a huge cop-out. Just look at last year, 5 big wins at big events like the Players. Majority of the pros at Players are WINNERS. Not everyone is completely intimidated by Tiger and he's not just making pars lol (Firebird).

Tiger is just a stud...and if he ever gets healthy again people will once again realize how incredible he is. Different level sh*t.

[iacas]

Let's keep this to discussing injuries, if possible. Unless @jamo or someone wants to rename it "Tiger Woods Catch-All Thread" or something.

[Rick Martin]

Hank Haney was on his Sirius radio show the other day and argued against this intimation thing - he challenge callers to his radio show to give him specific examples where someone was intimidated. The only one Haney gave into was a tourney where Sean O'Hair collapsed under the intimidation (forget which tourney that was but I think O'Hair shot an 80+ in the round with TW).  Haney says TW was just better than everyone else.

--------------------------------------------------------------

~~Haney: Woods' intimidation factor overblown

~~While he was winning PGA Tour events - and major championships - at an unprecedented clip earlier in his career, Tiger Woods was credited with having one of the biggest intimidation factors in golf, if not all of sports. Time and again, players would struggle alongside Woods while he wore his traditional Sunday red, often reduced from contenders to front-row spectators before reaching the back nine. According to his former swing coach, though, Woods' ability to intimidate his opponents has been blown out of proportion over the years. "I didn't buy into that when people talked about it as much as people talked about it," said Hank Haney during a promotional appearance Tuesday in Times Square. "Tiger won because he shot the lowest score, not because he intimidated his opponents." While Woods has stumbled out of the gates in 2014, he had no such issues from 2004-2010, when he crafted his swing under the tutelage of Haney. According to the 58-year-old instructor, the situation faced by many of Woods' opponents during his prime - playing near the lead on the weekend - often had more to do with players faltering down the stretch than did Woods' presence beside them on the tee box. "Back in the day when you were playing with Tiger, you were playing in the last group," Haney said. "It's hard to play in the last group, no matter who you are playing with. "Everyone says, 'Oh, he can't play with Tiger,'" he continued. "It's hard to play on the lead, and that's hard no matter what tournament it is and no matter who's playing."

http://www.golfchannel.com/news/golftalkcentral/haney-woods-intimidation-factor-overblown/