Phil or Tigers Career

[bkuehn1952]

Tiger's career.  My life.

[70sSanO]

1 hour ago, Groucho Valentine said:

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. 

Okay... let's talk Barry Bonds, his 762 homers, and not being elected to the hall.

John

[Groucho Valentine]

2 minutes ago, 70sSanO said:

Okay... let's talk Barry Bonds, his 762 homers, and not being elected to the hall.

John

What does that have to do with anything? Tiger hasn't been suspected of doing anything illegal to advance his career. 

[Gunther]

27 minutes ago, 70sSanO said:

Okay... let's talk Barry Bonds, his 762 homers, and not being elected to the hall.

John

And I hope he, Clemons, and ARod are always left out. 

[70sSanO]

33 minutes ago, Groucho Valentine said:

What does that have to do with anything? Tiger hasn't been suspected of doing anything illegal to advance his career. 

Not saying that about Tiger, just saying that "every" sport canonizes who it wants to and dismisses who it wants to dismiss.

John

[RH31]

Since Tiger's career includes debilitating back injuries requiring surgery, I went with Phil.

The minor back issues that I have suck. Major back issues are life altering and must really suck.

[Groucho Valentine]

1 hour ago, 70sSanO said:

Not saying that about Tiger, just saying that "every" sport canonizes who it wants to and dismisses who it wants to dismiss.

John

I think assuming that fans and sports writers are going to dismiss Tigers achievements out of some kind of resentment or piety and pretend he never existed is a little silly

[newtogolf]

While Tiger has won a few tournaments since 2008 and almost won a Major, his career fell off sharply after 2008.  Phil at 46 has been playing competitive near injury free golf for almost 13 more years than Tiger.   So while Phil doesn't have the tournament victories and Majors, he's enjoyed a much longer career without all the surgeries which has to count for something.  

[70sSanO]

16 minutes ago, Groucho Valentine said:

I think assuming that fans and sports writers are going to dismiss Tigers achievements out of some kind of resentment or piety and pretend he never existed is a little silly

Not saying that.  Everyone knows that he was probably the greatest ever based on his wins, especially majors, over a short time frame.

But I will say that I am not sure that he will receive the same reverence as Payne Stewart.  I realize that Payne died in a tragic accident, but his legendary status has surpassed his career accomplishments.  Not saying anything bad toward Payne, but the public and the game have truly celebrated him.

John

[Golfingdad]

4 hours ago, Groucho Valentine said:

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. 

Remember, the question isn't "who do you think was more successful?"  but rather, "who would you rather be?"  Those are entirely different questions.

[newtogolf]

29 minutes ago, Groucho Valentine said:

I think assuming that fans and sports writers are going to dismiss Tigers achievements out of some kind of resentment or piety and pretend he never existed is a little silly

No, but he hasn't had a great relationship with golf or the media thus far into his career.  When you look at Arnie, Gary and Jack, they have and continue to be ambassadors for golf, I see Phil stepping into that role but not sure Tiger will.  Tiger has been very successful while acting almost like an outsider from the core golf community.  

[Chris223]

I'd rather have Phils because of the longevity.  Phil just seems to enjoy playing golf.  He never looks unhappy on the golf course.  I agree with whoever said he hopes he plays a long time like Watson, I do too.  I also live like 5 minutes away from where the Champions Tour Dicks Open is played and look forward to hopefully seeing Phil there in 4-5 years.  

Speaking of Tom Watson though... Is he essentially retired from competitive golf? I don't even see him playing Champions Tour events anymore.  

 

[krupa]

I changed my vote (or maybe voted twice) to Other.  I was thinking about this topic in the car and realized that probably the most respected living golfer is Arnold Palmer.  With what he accomplished and how he's thought of now, I want that.

[Gunther]

36 minutes ago, krupa said:

I changed my vote (or maybe voted twice) to Other.  I was thinking about this topic in the car and realized that probably the most respected living golfer is Arnold Palmer.  With what he accomplished and how he's thought of now, I want that.

Probably just semantics but I'd say Jack is most respected and Arnie is most loved.  

[krupa]

45 minutes ago, Gunther said:

Probably just semantics but I'd say Jack is most respected and Arnie is most loved.  

That's fine too.

[mvmac]

If we are talking about golfing career then it's easily Tiger for me...I mean duh 

If it's "who's life would you rather have?" then I'd go with Phil. I wouldn't want to deal with the level of Tiger's celebrity and the injuries.

[newtogolf]

7 minutes ago, mvmac said:

If we are talking about golfing career then it's easily Tiger for me...I mean duh 

If it's "who's life would you rather have?" then I'd go with Phil. I wouldn't want to deal with the level of Tiger's celebrity and the injuries.

I don't think the original question by Cowherd meant to isolate the career accomplishments from the rest of what each endured up to this point.  If you want all the Major wins Tiger achieved you have to take the injuries, indiscretions, surgeries and the rest of it with them.  

I gave it some additional thought and switched my vote from Tiger to Phil.  We can only speculate but from a fan perspective, Phil has had a very good golf career and overall appears to have a happier life.  

[Groucho Valentine]

16 hours ago, Golfingdad said:

Remember, the question isn't "who do you think was more successful?"  but rather, "who would you rather be?"  Those are entirely different questions.

The poll said career. So i assumed thats the question.