Phil or Tigers Career

[GolfLug]

Tiger, overwhelmingly. Unlike Phil, he doesn't have a 'major' hole...

 

[billchao]

3 minutes ago, 14ledo81 said:

Maybe true, but Phil can choose between the two.  Right now, Tiger does not even have that choice.

Honestly I don't think Tiger cares that much, given what he has already accomplished. You just accept it as part of your life and your priorities change.

And more importantly, I wouldn't care about not having that choice, and given the question is about putting myself in their position, I pick the shorter and more accomplished career.

10 minutes ago, 70sSanO said:

Phil is healthy and I'll take health over legacy any day.

Hopefully he'll follow Watson's career path and play for years on the Champions Tour and show up for the PGA exemption tournaments as long as he can.

With his RA, I don't think he will be able to play as long as Tom Watson.

[Golfingdad]

1 hour ago, billchao said:

Given what the two have accomplished? Option 1. There's nothing else to prove unless you really think 19 is that important, or even reachable, so if anything I see the injuries as a sign that it's time to move on. At the very least it is a good excuse to stop playing if the drive isn't there.

I believe it has to be a grind. You can't just expect to show up at an event and be great. You're still practicing, traveling, making appearances, playing in pro ams, talking to the media, etc. Trying to shoot low scores in 60° rainy weather and 25mph winds seems a lot less enjoyable than kicking it back in Florida doing whatever.

@14ledo81 and @70sSanO both touched on this already, but you're looking at it from a fame/legacy standpoint, whereas I'm looking at it from a "who would I rather be" at this point standpoint.  I would much rather be a multimillionaire who is super famous and can CHOOSE to continue to play golf if I want to (and apparently Phil does, so it can't be THAT much of a "grind") than be a multimillionaire who is super famous and is unable to play even if he wants to after having several surgeries.

Health and life moving forward trumps what a bunch of strangers think of me

1 hour ago, boogielicious said:

I guess you don't count an auto-immune disease as injury. When he was first diagnosed, you could tell it was wearing on him by Sunday. It is not going to get better either. The surgeries stink, but Tiger transcended the sport as a player.

Wasn't aware of that.  Also, forgot about the arthritis too.  But still, I've had a taste of fairly serious back issues and I don't see how either of those can be as bad.

[newtogolf]

10 minutes ago, Golfingdad said:

@14ledo81 and @70sSanO both touched on this already, but you're looking at it from a fame/legacy standpoint, whereas I'm looking at it from a "who would I rather be" at this point standpoint.  I would much rather be a multimillionaire who is super famous and can CHOOSE to continue to play golf if I want to (and apparently Phil does, so it can't be THAT much of a "grind") than be a multimillionaire who is super famous and is unable to play even if he wants to after having several surgeries.

Health and life moving forward trumps what a bunch of strangers think of me

Wasn't aware of that.  Also, forgot about the arthritis too.  But still, I've had a taste of fairly serious back issues and I don't see how either of those can be as bad.

From a who I'd rather be, definitely Phil, he looks like he's living the dream.  Guy is always smiling and just seems to be having a good time.  He also seems really well liked by others on the Tour.  

[billchao]

25 minutes ago, Golfingdad said:

@14ledo81 and @70sSanO both touched on this already, but you're looking at it from a fame/legacy standpoint, whereas I'm looking at it from a "who would I rather be" at this point standpoint.

No. If anything Tiger's fame is waning because he is no longer relevant. Phil is still getting on the leaderboards so he is the more visible of the two.

From a "who would I rather be" standpoint, I want to be the guy who can spend a lot of time with his young kids over the guy who can spend less time with his older kids. It just happens that being the golfer with the more accomplished career and the better legacy makes the decision to stay home that much easier for me.

If I had another major to win to complete the career grand slam, I'd be a lot more motivated to keep playing than rest on my laurels.

33 minutes ago, Golfingdad said:

I would much rather be a multimillionaire who is super famous and can CHOOSE to continue to play golf if I want to (and apparently Phil does, so it can't be THAT much of a "grind") than be a multimillionaire who is super famous and is unable to play even if he wants to after having several surgeries.

Doesn't matter what Phil thinks. In this context, it matters what I think, and I see playing and traveling on tour to be a grind, so if I am going to be a multimillionaire golfer, I choose to be the one with the better resume.

41 minutes ago, Golfingdad said:

Health and life moving forward trumps what a bunch of strangers think of me

Tiger's health is probably decent enough if he stops stressing his body. It's not like the man is disabled. Is it good enough to return to competitive golf? Probably not, but as I mentioned, if I were in his shoes, I don't care about that anyway.

[mchepp]

Phil's made just about the same amount of money and always seems to be enjoying what he is doing. The media, the times he wasn't playing all that well, he just seems to enjoy life.

Tiger has had the better golfing career but hates the media part of his job. Really seems to hate it. 

I pick Phil because if I were doing their job he more closely resembles how I would want my career to be. 

[Natural Patrick]

Phil for me and it's not even close. Which is interesting,  because I have never considered myself a big Phil fan.

[Patch]

I'm really old school, and very much in the minority here. I voted other. I would have liked to have Tommy Watson's career. He was quite successful playing against the competition he had back then. 

[David in FL]

5 hours ago, Golfingdad said:

Wait.  Let's twist that back around to reality:  Would you rather be forced to retire at age 40 because of a series of debilitating injuries, or keep playing at 46 (when you clearly do not have to be, nor are you really "grinding" - you're setting whatever schedule you want) because you enjoy it and, more importantly, because you can? 

This!

[boogielicious]

13 hours ago, Golfingdad said:

@14ledo81 and @70sSanO both touched on this already, but you're looking at it from a fame/legacy standpoint, whereas I'm looking at it from a "who would I rather be" at this point standpoint.  I would much rather be a multimillionaire who is super famous and can CHOOSE to continue to play golf if I want to (and apparently Phil does, so it can't be THAT much of a "grind") than be a multimillionaire who is super famous and is unable to play even if he wants to after having several surgeries.

Health and life moving forward trumps what a bunch of strangers think of me

Wasn't aware of that.  Also, forgot about the arthritis too.  But still, I've had a taste of fairly serious back issues and I don't see how either of those can be as bad.

He has psoriatic arthritis, which is an autoimmune disease. 

[pganapathy]

Voted for Tiger purely because his career has more wins and majors.  If you asked me about the playing part, I would want Tom Watson's career.  He almost won a major at 59.  I want to be able to play golf till the last day of my life

[Silent]

The life of Phil, but no doubt the career of Tiger. Even though the downfall is bigger, the peaks are also higher (or at least there are more of them).

[70sSanO]

12 hours ago, Patch said:

I'm really old school, and very much in the minority here. I voted other. I would have liked to have Tommy Watson's career. He was quite successful playing against the competition he had back then. 

While I voted for Phil, but mentioned Watson in my earlier post, other would probably be the selection if more people really thought about having a career like Watson, but also Palmer, Nicklaus, or Player.  Since some of the discussion revolves around a the life outside of golf, what is amazing about the last three is the longevity of their marriages.  I'm not saying the length of marriage is a measure of a career, but it does speak of a stable home life.  Gary Player has been married for 60 years.

John

[boogielicious]

2 hours ago, 70sSanO said:

While I voted for Phil, but mentioned Watson in my earlier post, other would probably be the selection if more people really thought about having a career like Watson, but also Palmer, Nicklaus, or Player.  Since some of the discussion revolves around a the life outside of golf, what is amazing about the last three is the longevity of their marriages.  I'm not saying the length of marriage is a measure of a career, but it does speak of a stable home life.  Gary Player has been married for 60 years.

John

FWIW, off the course Watson did worse than Tiger IMO. Not only did he cheat on his wife, but he stole another players wife. He also had alcoholism issues. So off the course, he's been a bit rough.

[Patch]

17 minutes ago, boogielicious said:

FWIW, off the course Watson did worse than Tiger IMO. Not only did he cheat on his wife, but he stole another players wife. He also had alcoholism issues. So off the course, he's been a bit rough.

I'd still pick Watson over the others. He had a pretty good track record against Nicklaus. Plus, I don't think any humam is with out fault in some form or fashion. I know I'm not perfect. 

[Groucho Valentine]

Is this a real question? lol

Golf seems to have a lot of puritanical daddy issues going on (i dont think there is another sport that canonizes its figures quite the way golf does) but its Tiger in a heartbeat. Not even close. By every evaluation you can use, Tiger has had twice the career that Phil has managed. Anything else thrown into the equation besides results is just noise. 

[boogielicious]

Just now, Patch said:

I'd still pick Watson over the others. He had a pretty good track record against Nicklaus. Plus, I don't think any humam is with out fault in some form or fashion. I know I'm not perfect. 

My Mom thinks I am! 

[Patch]

34 minutes ago, boogielicious said:

My Mom thinks I am! 

MOMS are very cool people. It too me 45 years to convince her she was wrong about how perfect she thought I was.  Even then, she wasn't quite sure.