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Was There Ever Any Question?
Posted by The Chosen Blogger on Mar 16, 2008
5 and 0….
Let’s say that one more time…
5 and 0…
Now, in most sports, 5 and 0 may indicate a good start…but only if your competition didn’t consist of cupcakes and no-names. 5 and 0 is and indication that you have the potential to have a good season…
5 and 0…
Tiger Woods is now 5 and 0 in his last five starts. He has not lost a golf tournament that he has played in…that is almost unheard of in golf where you are not only competing against the best of the best of the best, but against tricked out golf courses that would have the rest of us 15 handicappers struggling to break a Ben Franklin (add to that the fact that Bay Hill’s greens were less than satisfactory…rolling at different speeds due to the dreaded Nematode).
5 and 0…
The guy comes back from a less than mediocre Thursday and Friday…several shots off the lead…and rolls in a 25 foot birdie on 18 that broke severely right to left, an amazingly difficult shot, and it wasn’t even in question. On Saturday he hits a feather soft fade around a tree to within 7 feet of the pin (birdie…was there ever any question?) and follows that on the next hole with a screaming draw to within 4 for a tap in…just enough to put him in a tie for lead after starting the day in the middle of the pack.
Now I ask you…was there ever any question?
Was there ever any question that Woods would win Bay Hill after burying the competition in each tournament he has played in the last seven months?
Was there ever any question that Woods would win Arnold Palmer’s tournament for the fifth time ever?
Was there any question that Woods would collect his 65th victory and tie Ben Hogan in total victories?
Was there ever any question that Tiger would simply find a way, even though he was having a less than stellar week striking the ball?
Is there any question as to whether he is not the greatest golfer of all time…..perhaps even the greatest athlete?
He could conclusively answer both of these questions with his play this year…
And I, for one, hope he answers in the affirmative by winning every damn tournament he enters….
P.S. I know you Auburn fans are anxiously waiting my fearless prediction….sorry about the delay…I have a job and that has precluded me from the careful analysis and thought that goes into my prediction. It is coming soon…so stay tuned.
Tiger Woods Makes the Field Play Worse
Posted by The Danza on Jan 29, 2008
According to a recent study done by Jennifer Brown of Berkeley, statistics can actually be tacked onto the theory many people seem to have while watching other golfers play against Tiger: that these golfers tend to play worse when Tiger’s playing his best. You can find a review of the piece here that goes into far more detail about the 35-page paper than I wish to, with an added bonus of referring to the classic Glengarry Glen Ross clip with Alec Baldwin’s motivational sales speech:
I do find the study interesting in that they were able to actualize what I’ve been thinking for years now. I’m not taking anything away from Tiger, because he’s an extraordinary golfer (in my opinion, the best of all-time), but you can see from the demeanor of play and facial expressions during interviews that the other guys are frustrated at the impossibility of beating Tiger. I do disagree with the study and review in that I think that it has a lot to do with intimidation as well, but that intimidation eventually leads to frustration as the score margin stretches farther and farther.