Is the Tiger Era Over? Brandel Chamblee Thinks So

[boogielicious]

I've posted a total of 3-4 times on Tiger- which is pretty minimal considering 25% of the threads on here are about him. Apologies to the Tiger choir boys who post your praise "over and over again" on every Tiger thread...I guess it's only negative Tiger sentiments that aren't tolerated here. Good to know. Keep waiting on that next major for him, I'll be happy to eat crow if I'm wrong.

Please try not to inflame things with your posts.  This is an example of fanning the flames.  You are entitled to your opinion.  But when you insult other posters who disagree with you, it makes matters worse and may create other negative responses.

[skydog]

Not trying to insult anyone with a differing opinion. Just trying to point out how intolerant you and iacas appear to be towards negative Tiger sentiment...acting like I've beaten a dead horse when I've literally only voiced my opinion on the topic a few times.

[boogielicious]

Not trying to insult anyone with a differing opinion. Just trying to point out how intolerant you and iacas appear to be towards negative Tiger sentiment...acting like I've beaten a dead horse when I've literally only voiced my opinion on the topic a few times.

I am not opposed to opinions that state that Tiger may not win again at all.  It is a discussion.  I was pointing out your use of pointed language that is meant more to insight posters who disagree with you to respond in a similar manner rather than providing evidence to support your argument.  I am not a choir boy or in the TW fan club.  I just hold the opinion that mathematically a player who wins at a 26% rate of tournaments he enters may still be in his "era".  He won 5 times last year.

Examples:

The Tiger era isn't over only because delusional fans will continue to hold out hope for the next 5-10 years that Tiger will make a messiah like return to the game. That isn't going to happen; he may win a few more tournaments, but never another major, and his career will go out with a whimper rather than a roar.

Sorry chief, no different than you, just on the other side of the fence. I know for the sake of your livelihood and the popularity of the game you're trying to hold onto false hope that we'll see a Tiger renaissance here that lasts another decade, but deep down we all know it's not going to happen. I've got nothing against Tiger (never rooted for or against him) but like I've said, the sooner the golf world can move on and embrace all the talent that is budding in front of us, the better off the game is going to be.

Nothing above supports your argument other than trying to get an equally emotional response.  Give me an analysis that supports your hypothesis and convince me otherwise.

[9iron]

I wrote this in another thread, and I think it backs up what Brandle is saying about Tiger.

The Tiger Championship Era spans 46 majors that occur starting with the 1997 Masters and extending thru  the June 2008 US Open at Torrey Pines. In that time period Tiger never once had a DNP (did not play) and had only 1 missed cut which occurred at Winged Foot immediately following his father’s death. He won 14 times in 46 chances. Let’s look at this time period closely:

14 wins

8 times 2nd or 3rd

7 more times he finished 4th thru 10th (top 10)

0 DNP (did not play)

1 MC (missed cut)

Tiger’s worst finish besides the lone MC is the only time he ever finished outside the top 30 during his run of championships and that is the 39th place finish in the 2003 PGA. So most of that time he was either winning or he was on the leaderboard where has fans believed he could and perhaps would win.

Now let’s compare this to The Tiger Post Championship Winning Era. This new era began at the 2008 Open Championship and extends thru today, a period where there have been 25 Majors played. Let’s look closely:

0 wins

2 times top 3

7 more times top 10

6 times DNP

2 times MC

Never once played like the Tiger of Championship winning form. Not for four days anyway.

In the Post Championship era Tiger has nearly been just as likely to not play or miss the cut than to make a top 10. The majors are now being consistently won by players that are younger and healthier than Tiger Woods. Tiger not only did not win one major in the last 27 majors, but his time on leader boards where he even had a chance of winning is getting smaller. Let’s look at the 9 events where he placed in the top 10 during the Post Championship Era.

2009 Masters – Tiger shot his only round in the 60’s on Sunday to claw back into a 4 way tie for 6th place with guys like John Merritt and Steve Flesch. He was never within 6 shots of the lead while on the course, so he had no real chance to win. Angel Cabrera beat Kenny Perry and Chad Campbell in a playoff.

2009 US Open – Tiger shot himself out of contention playing the final 4 holes of round 1 in +4 to finish with an opening round 74. He played well after that but never clawed back into the top 10 until the final round. Finished in T6. Lucas Glover would win over a badly fading Ricky Barnes and Phil Mickelson.

2009 PGA – Tiger led wire to almost wire, but he faded badly on the back 9 on Sunday and lost to Y.E. Yang. Tiger had a 4 shot lead after 36 holes and lost by 3 after that Sunday 75. This is where his aura of invincibility ended.

2010 Masters – Tiger was in a tie for 3rd after two rounds but did nothing special on the weekend. Other players posted some low scores and Phil Mickelson ends up at -16. Tiger finished at -11 never threatening on Sunday.

2010 US Open – Played at Pebble Beach, the site of one of Tiger’s historic wins. Tiger starts slowly but shoots himself into contention with a brilliant Saturday 66. Fades on Sunday with a 75 to finish in a T4 position with Phil Mickelson 3 shots behind the winner Graeme McDowell. This event, along with the 2009 PGA Tournament, was probably his best chance in the post championship era, but he shot 75 on Sunday.

2011 Masters – Again Tiger was in position, but a poor Saturday 74 doomed him. He played well on Sunday to claw back to T4, 2 shots behind Jason Day and Adam Scott and 4 behind winner Charle Schwartzel but he was coming from way too far behind to ever get into the lead.

2012 British Open – Tiger was always lurking but never really threatened. He trailed by 3 shots after round 1, 4 shots after round 2, 5 shots after round 3, and 4 at the end. Six different players in the final top 15 shot a score low enough that had Tiger equaled it he would have won, but he shot a Sunday 73 to finish 4 shots behind eventual winner Ernie Els and 3 behind faltering Adam Scott . Tiger was 7 back when he walked off the course.

2013 Masters – Tiger’s 70-73-70-70 was consistent and workman like, but he never really threatened. Finished T4 with Marc Leishman, 2 shots behind Jason Day and 4 behind Angel Cabrera and playoff winner Adam Scott.

2013 British Open – Tiger opens up 69-71 to get into a T2 position behind Angel Jimenez. He then proceeds to shoot 72-74 on the weekend. Phil Mickelson boat raced the field with a Sunday 66 to win the Claret Jug.

The Championship Era Tiger is right there, either winning or getting close most of the time. The Post Championship Era is filled with DNP’s and MC’s, and when Tiger does contend he gets sort of close at the end but never threatens the actual lead. It is mostly claw backs into the top 10 OR a few times a bad Sunday fade from winning contention.

Today we see younger players taking championships. Men in their prime like Adam Scott, Justin Rose, Charl Schwartzel, Bubba Watson, Rory McIlroy, Webb Simpson, and Martin Kaymer.

[turtleback]

I AM aware of that but maybe I'm not as IMPRESSED as YOU.  Let's make a deal--cut the all caps.  I feel like I'm being shouted at.

But I did go to Wikipedia and check out Vijay.  He did not win five times on Tour in 2004.  He won eight times, including the PGA Championship.  He also won four times in 2003 and four times in 2005, so over a three year period 2003-2005 he averaged a little better than five wins a season.  I assume Tiger was in many, if not most, of those fields.  He was the runner-up on three occasions.

I don't think anybody expects today's Tiger to win at Vijay's pace 2003-2005.  And it's not just the strength of today's field--after all, Vijay won at that rate against a field that included the Tiger of that era--who was indeed dominant.

1) I, am not shouting, Two words in CAPS in 2 full paragraphs is clearly emphasis on those words, not shouting.

2) Saying no one has won as many, means no one has won that number or more.  It is the difference between saying "as many" which means at least and "that many" which means exactly.  I am well aware of Vijay's record without looking at wiki, having lived through it, and followed it.  Because what you won't find on wiki is the fact that Tiger was NOT (oops there goes the emphasis again) in a lot of the fields of events Vijay won because Vijay played a lot of second tier events.  He played great and deserves all the plaudits his accomplishments warrant, but let's be realistic.  And BTW, he won 9 times in 2004, not 8.

3) Of Vijay's 9 wins in 2004, Tiger was only in 3 of the fields he beat.  OTOH, Tiger won once and Vijay was in the field.

4) Vijay won 4 times in 2003.  Tiger was only in one of those fields.  OTOH, Tiger won 5 ties in 2003 and Vijay was in 4 of the 5.

5) In 2005 Vijay won 4 times and Tiger was in 2 of the fields.  OTOH, Tiger won 6 times and Vijay was in the field for every single one of them.

6) So to recap, in the 2003-2005 period you brought up, Vijay won 17 times but Tiger was in the field for 6 of them.  Tiger won 12 times and Vijay was in all but one of those fields.  So your claim that Vijay's record is extra impressive because of your assumption that Tiger was in many or most of the fields turns out not to be the case.  Almost all of Tiger's wins came against Vijay and just over one-third of Vijay's wins came over Tiger.

So, as someone famously said, you are entitled to your own opinion but not your own facts.

It is interesting, however, that you are not impressed with a 5 win season in which 3 of the 5 were in the most prestigious events after the majors with top-notch fields, yet you are so taken with Vijay's stretch of winning at essentially the same rate over a 3 year period when so many of the wins were second tier.  It makes me wonder why that is.

[phan52]

The "Tiger Era" is over. Yeah, he won 5 times last season, but fully a third of Tiger's total PGA Tour wins were on those same five courses. Not a criticism. Horses for courses, as it were, and he is wise to set his schedule with the course as a part of the equation. I'm sure everybody does, Half of Phil's Tour wins are on the West Coast.

But he hasn't won a Major now in over 6 years. There are multiple reasons for this, including missing some due to injury, but he really hasn't competed in them either. I expect that he will win more Majors; he is too good not to and another one of his favorite courses is Augusta National so I believe that is his best chance. But, yeah, the "era" is over and has been for a while.

[cfritchie]

Clearly there are those that are Tiger "haters" and love that band wagon. I thought it'd be interesting to compare some facts of Jacks and see where his "era" was.

Jack won 10 majors in 10 years - 1962 to 1972 --- Tiger won 13 majors in 10 years

Jack then won 4 majors in 5  more years ---Tiger won 1 major in year 11, his last major and Tiger hasn't won since 2008, 6 years

Jack won his last three majors in 8 more years - The longest span for Jack was 6 years between his 1980 PGA and his 1986 Masters

I suspect had the internet been around many would have said the Jack era was over after he won his 14th major in 1975 when he went 3 years before winning another. Then it took two years to win 2 and six years to win his last.

My point is all the great ones go through a period where they are "the man", then things slow down and they are only able to capture that greatness every now and then.

Tiger is at 14 and if it takes 11 more years to get to 18 like it did Jack it won't take anything away from Tigers career like it has not diminished Jack's.

Jacks major winning span was over 24 years...

So I guess it would be fair to see where Tiger stands in 2021....So That is 6 and 3/4 years to win 4...my money is still on Tiger...

How random is all of that?

[Spitfisher]

I wrote this in another thread, and I think it backs up what Brandle is saying about Tiger. [SIZE=14px] The Tiger Championship Era [/SIZE] spans 46 majors that occur starting with the 1997 Masters and extending thru  the June 2008 US Open at Torrey Pines. In that time period Tiger never once had a DNP (did not play) and had only 1 missed cut which occurred at Winged Foot immediately following his father’s death. He won 14 times in 46 chances. Let’s look at this time period closely: 14 wins 8 times 2nd or 3rd 7 more times he finished 4th thru 10th (top 10) 0 DNP (did not play) 1 MC (missed cut) Tiger’s worst finish besides the lone MC is the only time he ever finished outside the top 30 during his run of championships and that is the 39th place finish in the 2003 PGA. So most of that time he was either winning or he was on the leaderboard where has fans believed he could and perhaps would win. Now let’s compare this to [SIZE=14px] The Tiger Post Championship Winning Era. [/SIZE] This new era began at the 2008 Open Championship and extends thru today, a period where there have been 25 Majors played. Let’s look closely: 0 wins 2 times top 3 7 more times top 10 6 times DNP 2 times MC Never once played like the Tiger of Championship winning form. Not for four days anyway. In the Post Championship era Tiger has nearly been just as likely to not play or miss the cut than to make a top 10. The majors are now being consistently won by players that are younger and healthier than Tiger Woods. Tiger not only did not win one major in the last 27 majors, but his time on leader boards where he even had a chance of winning is getting smaller. Let’s look at the 9 events where he placed in the top 10 during the Post Championship Era. 2009 Masters – Tiger shot his only round in the 60’s on Sunday to claw back into a 4 way tie for 6th place with guys like John Merritt and Steve Flesch. He was never within 6 shots of the lead while on the course, so he had no real chance to win. Angel Cabrera beat Kenny Perry and Chad Campbell in a playoff. 2009 US Open – Tiger shot himself out of contention playing the final 4 holes of round 1 in +4 to finish with an opening round 74. He played well after that but never clawed back into the top 10 until the final round. Finished in T6. Lucas Glover would win over a badly fading Ricky Barnes and Phil Mickelson. 2009 PGA – Tiger led wire to almost wire, but he faded badly on the back 9 on Sunday and lost to Y.E. Yang. Tiger had a 4 shot lead after 36 holes and lost by 3 after that Sunday 75. This is where his aura of invincibility ended. 2010 Masters – Tiger was in a tie for 3rd after two rounds but did nothing special on the weekend. Other players posted some low scores and Phil Mickelson ends up at -16. Tiger finished at -11 never threatening on Sunday. 2010 US Open – Played at Pebble Beach, the site of one of Tiger’s historic wins. Tiger starts slowly but shoots himself into contention with a brilliant Saturday 66. Fades on Sunday with a 75 to finish in a T4 position with Phil Mickelson 3 shots behind the winner Graeme McDowell. This event, along with the 2009 PGA Tournament, was probably his best chance in the post championship era, but he shot 75 on Sunday. 2011 Masters – Again Tiger was in position, but a poor Saturday 74 doomed him. He played well on Sunday to claw back to T4, 2 shots behind Jason Day and Adam Scott and 4 behind winner Charle Schwartzel but he was coming from way too far behind to ever get into the lead. 2012 British Open – Tiger was always lurking but never really threatened. He trailed by 3 shots after round 1, 4 shots after round 2, 5 shots after round 3, and 4 at the end. Six different players in the final top 15 shot a score low enough that had Tiger equaled it he would have won, but he shot a Sunday 73 to finish 4 shots behind eventual winner Ernie Els and 3 behind faltering Adam Scott . Tiger was 7 back when he walked off the course. 2013 Masters – Tiger’s 70-73-70-70 was consistent and workman like, but he never really threatened. Finished T4 with Marc Leishman, 2 shots behind Jason Day and 4 behind Angel Cabrera and playoff winner Adam Scott. 2013 British Open – Tiger opens up 69-71 to get into a T2 position behind Angel Jimenez. He then proceeds to shoot 72-74 on the weekend. Phil Mickelson boat raced the field with a Sunday 66 to win the Claret Jug. The Championship Era Tiger is right there, either winning or getting close most of the time. The Post Championship Era is filled with DNP’s and MC’s, and when Tiger does contend he gets sort of close at the end but never threatens the actual lead. It is mostly claw backs into the top 10 OR a few times a bad Sunday fade from winning contention. Today we see younger players taking championships. Men in their prime like Adam Scott, Justin Rose, Charl Schwartzel, Bubba Watson, Rory McIlroy, Webb Simpson, and Martin Kaymer.

Well done! simple! conscience. Clearly we are seeing a different phase out of tiger. today I read the following and thought it was an interesting take on the majors and tiger's situation. I love the analogy below. I always though someone trying to start an uncooperative gas weed wacker was another. Know other refection I had of the OPEN, was on one hole Tiger had a great iron shot, beautiful, perfect, tight to the pin......yet when the camera panned on him he was grimacing, tight jawed almost angry looking. maybe he needs a reminder he is carrying a golf club, making millions rather than carrying a gun in some hot, dirty god forsaken sh*thole in Iraq. I digress... This is what I read today, someone's refection of Woods, coming in 4th to last place at the OPen. Quote Now that his back's fixed, Tiger Woods can go to work getting his driver fixed, or his driver skills, at least. Rory McIlroy loves to hit driver. When he is on, McIlroy will hit it just about everywhere, with impunity. It's the giant advantage McIlroy has over Woods today. It's the advantage Adam Scott has over Woods. It's the advantage Bubba Watson has over Woods. It's the advantage just about every top-10 player has on Woods, who sometimes looks like a man yanking a bandage off a wound when pulling driver out of his golf bag. Woods can still be so good with his irons, with his short game, with his putter, he'll continue to win, but it's harder work against these major championship challengers if his game plans are designed to avoid hitting drivers. With his back fixed, with his strength and speed coming back, so may that driver, a tool that could go a long way to helping him beat these younger challengers who stand between him and Jack Nicklaus' record. – Randall Mell quote

[cfritchie]

This is what I read today, someone's refection of Woods, coming in 4th to last place at the OPen.

Making the cut and having the highest score on the weekend is a long way from finishing 4th to last. Just ask David Duvall. If we define current greatness by the most recent winner of the Masters...well Tiger beat him this weekend...

[Zeph]

The man has been injured since March and played two tournaments since. Let him recover, let him practice and let him get tournament reps in. Wait until next year before you judge too harshly. After all, he did win five times last year, but some seem to consider it bad since he didn't win any majors.

His days of smashing the field is probably over, but his era is still here, and it will be his era until he retires.

[WUTiger]

Tiger created the mold for the 21st Century golfer, and others have achieved similar playing ability.

For the next decade, Tiger will be among the "10 guys to beat" if you want to win a major tourney.

He can win more majors, if he would just go out and play golf. You can almost hear the wheels grinding in his head if he's having a bad hole.

[boogielicious]

I wrote this in another thread, and I think it backs up what Brandle is saying about Tiger.

The Tiger Championship Era spans 46 majors that occur starting with the 1997 Masters and extending thru  the June 2008 US Open at Torrey Pines. In that time period Tiger never once had a DNP (did not play) and had only 1 missed cut which occurred at Winged Foot immediately following his father’s death. He won 14 times in 46 chances. Let’s look at this time period closely:

14 wins

8 times 2nd or 3rd

7 more times he finished 4th thru 10th (top 10)

0 DNP (did not play)

1 MC (missed cut)

Tiger’s worst finish besides the lone MC is the only time he ever finished outside the top 30 during his run of championships and that is the 39th place finish in the 2003 PGA. So most of that time he was either winning or he was on the leaderboard where has fans believed he could and perhaps would win.

Now let’s compare this to The Tiger Post Championship Winning Era. This new era began at the 2008 Open Championship and extends thru today, a period where there have been 25 Majors played. Let’s look closely:

0 wins

2 times top 3

7 more times top 10

6 times DNP

2 times MC

Never once played like the Tiger of Championship winning form. Not for four days anyway.

In the Post Championship era Tiger has nearly been just as likely to not play or miss the cut than to make a top 10. The majors are now being consistently won by players that are younger and healthier than Tiger Woods. Tiger not only did not win one major in the last 27 majors, but his time on leader boards where he even had a chance of winning is getting smaller. Let’s look at the 9 events where he placed in the top 10 during the Post Championship Era.

2009 Masters – Tiger shot his only round in the 60’s on Sunday to claw back into a 4 way tie for 6th place with guys like John Merritt and Steve Flesch. He was never within 6 shots of the lead while on the course, so he had no real chance to win. Angel Cabrera beat Kenny Perry and Chad Campbell in a playoff.

2009 US Open – Tiger shot himself out of contention playing the final 4 holes of round 1 in +4 to finish with an opening round 74. He played well after that but never clawed back into the top 10 until the final round. Finished in T6. Lucas Glover would win over a badly fading Ricky Barnes and Phil Mickelson.

2009 PGA – Tiger led wire to almost wire, but he faded badly on the back 9 on Sunday and lost to Y.E. Yang. Tiger had a 4 shot lead after 36 holes and lost by 3 after that Sunday 75. This is where his aura of invincibility ended.

2010 Masters – Tiger was in a tie for 3rd after two rounds but did nothing special on the weekend. Other players posted some low scores and Phil Mickelson ends up at -16. Tiger finished at -11 never threatening on Sunday.

2010 US Open – Played at Pebble Beach, the site of one of Tiger’s historic wins. Tiger starts slowly but shoots himself into contention with a brilliant Saturday 66. Fades on Sunday with a 75 to finish in a T4 position with Phil Mickelson 3 shots behind the winner Graeme McDowell. This event, along with the 2009 PGA Tournament, was probably his best chance in the post championship era, but he shot 75 on Sunday.

2011 Masters – Again Tiger was in position, but a poor Saturday 74 doomed him. He played well on Sunday to claw back to T4, 2 shots behind Jason Day and Adam Scott and 4 behind winner Charle Schwartzel but he was coming from way too far behind to ever get into the lead.

2012 British Open – Tiger was always lurking but never really threatened. He trailed by 3 shots after round 1, 4 shots after round 2, 5 shots after round 3, and 4 at the end. Six different players in the final top 15 shot a score low enough that had Tiger equaled it he would have won, but he shot a Sunday 73 to finish 4 shots behind eventual winner Ernie Els and 3 behind faltering Adam Scott . Tiger was 7 back when he walked off the course.

2013 Masters – Tiger’s 70-73-70-70 was consistent and workman like, but he never really threatened. Finished T4 with Marc Leishman, 2 shots behind Jason Day and 4 behind Angel Cabrera and playoff winner Adam Scott.

2013 British Open – Tiger opens up 69-71 to get into a T2 position behind Angel Jimenez. He then proceeds to shoot 72-74 on the weekend. Phil Mickelson boat raced the field with a Sunday 66 to win the Claret Jug.

The Championship Era Tiger is right there, either winning or getting close most of the time. The Post Championship Era is filled with DNP’s and MC’s, and when Tiger does contend he gets sort of close at the end but never threatens the actual lead. It is mostly claw backs into the top 10 OR a few times a bad Sunday fade from winning contention.

Today we see younger players taking championships. Men in their prime like Adam Scott, Justin Rose, Charl Schwartzel, Bubba Watson, Rory McIlroy, Webb Simpson, and Martin Kaymer.

This is an example of a nice analysis.  It will be interesting to see when Tiger's career is over whether this time period is an anomaly or a trend.  Jack went through a similar period.

[Aguirre]

Chamblee is, IMO, the best analyst in golf, but he does seem to get a bit carried away with his Tiger criticism.

I can't remember the stat, but sometime last year Tiger had the most top 10s or top 5s in majors since he won at Torrey Pines in 08.  This despite not having won any titles.  And, whenever he stays healthy, he inevitably takes over the No. 1 spot in the rankings.

If Tiger can stay healthy, I can assume, even based on the last six years, that he'll be the best golfer.  But by how wide a margin?  To win five more majors, he can't be an Adam Scott or even a Vijay Singh number one.  He's got to be closer to a Tiger Woods number one.  And I can't tell if that's possible until he gets his broke ass body together.

[CraiginKSA]

Tiger reminds me of the once dominant power pitcher in baseball who has lost a few MPH off his fastball.  Where he once used to overpower courses and his competitors, now he can no longer reach back and hit that amazing shot.  So he has to reinvent himself as a junk ball pitcher, going with a knuckleball, off-speed stuff, thumbing it up there trying to get it in the hole.  As his body could no longer withstand that violent, whipping action, he's going to what, the fourth swing of his career to save his knees, back, elbow, achillees etc.

Anyone who thinks he's done is begging. He wont contend in every tournament, but he will still be able to put it together for four rounds 5 or 10 times per season and will contend for many years to come.

[flopster]

Tiger has to get the driver back in his bag, once he starts hitting fairways everything else will follow.

[Mulligan Jeff]

Tiger will certainly dominate a given number of tournaments in the future, he is too great to not dominate. But it is simply too early to expect a sharp game out of Tiger when you consider his back surgery only four months ago. He should have taken the year off to recover physically and mentally and then return in 2015.

[9iron]

One more bit of analysis.

The Championship Era Tiger had the lead at the end of a whopping 41 rounds of Major Championship Golf. He finished within a shot or two of the lead 7 times in his non winning events. These are events where HE is very close and you don't know that he will not win until the very final putt has dropped.

The Post Championship Tiger has held the lead after only 3 rounds of Major Championship Golf, with all three of them coming in the 2009 PGA where he would lose to Y.E. Yang. When they tee it up at Valhalla it will be 5 years since Tiger has even led a single round of any major championship. Additionally, only that 2009 PGA and the 2010 US Open at Pebble is there any sense on Sunday that Tiger could possibly win (he is simply too far back in the others to challenge at the end), and even in those events he finishes 3 strokes back.

41 rounds with the lead vs. 3 rounds with the lead, and 0 rounds inside the past 5 years. That speaks volumes.

The more closely you are willing to look at the evidence, the more clear it becomes that we are dealing with two different Tigers. The one who refused to lose vs. the one who doesn't or can't win. Two different men. How or why is not so important. It is what it is.

[Hoganwoods]

Tiger will fix this issue and be back to #1.  No one on tour is consistent enough to compete in world ranking points with a guy who wins 5 times or more a year.  He's not even 40 yet and he just got off back surgery.  People have short memories and forget about last year.  As for the majors, I have no clue.  Even last year it looked like a mental block once he got into contention.

I read somewhere that tiger should get himself a deep faced 3 wood for his tee shots and that might not be a bad idea.  If he can roll it out there 310, he would be ok.  I'm not sure he would agree though.