i thought he was going to break hank aaron’s home run record.
p.s. yes i remember him talking about joining the tour.
It is not about Tigers age. It is about his mental condition and focus. I don’t know anyone who thinks Tiger is too old to compete. But we all know the damage he did to his aura and his concentration. Can he get them back? It can only be determined when he wins. Until then he and all the golf fans have to wonder. There are a lot of football players and baseball players who thought they could compete on the golf tour. I believe old QB John Brodie actually did on the senior tour. But I can think of no other.
He had one win and 12 top tens in his career and became a golf announcer. His wife remarked that he was going to go through his entire life without holding down a regular job.
There been several athletes from other sports that have tried.
Rick Rhoden (Baseball pitcher) got a Sr tour card a few years ago.
Johnny Bench tried to get a Sr tour card and failed
Jon Smoltz may have the best chance to do something on the Sr Tour.
of course Charles Barkley has 2 and half years to get his game in shape.
Barkley is close. He is going ti redo his game left handed. His right hand swing is so ugly, it could not be salvaged.
If Jordan jumped straight to golf in 93 after his first retirement I have no doubt he would have made the PGA Tour. His dedication and drive was great enough that I do think he could have broken the barrier. And yes, that does mean I think golf isn’t as hard as a team sport like basketball (or baseball, which Jordan tried to do).
Not a chance. Jordan was never even a top level amatuer golfer. A women’s beach volleyball professional, (Gabby Reece?) dedicated herself fulltime to trying to make the LPGA tour. She had a fulltime coach and no distractions in her life. She just trained and practiced every day. I don’t think she ever broke 80.
The talk of Jordan trying to become a pro golfer in the 80’s was a joke. He never made any attempt at it. He didn’t hire a coach or try to compete on any of the mini-tours. He was never more than a recreational golfer and never tried to be more than that. If he was serious about it, you’d have seen him do those things.
Even a very good amateur is miles from being good enough for the tour. The world is full of 0 to 5 handicappers . They would starve on the tour.
I’ve been fortunate enough to play with some VERY good golfers with + hcps. It is astounding to hear how critical they can be of their game, and to matter-of-factly they state that they are nowhere near the pros.
For anyone who thinks MJ could have made the PGA, do you think he would have been more or less likely to make the majors in golf or baseball?
I do think, however, that he might have had a chance to make the senior tour. Not a lock by any means, but that is at least a more realistic possibility.
Will be interesting to see how Tiger does next week.
MJ is 6’ 6". Has there ever been a golfer on tour that tall? At some point, height becomes a handicap in golf.
Jerry Rice tried to make it on the Nationwide Tour this year, and I think he struggled to break 90.
Phil Blackmar was 6’7". A journeyman pro on the PGATour
Gordon Sherry won the British Amateur. He was 6’8".
There are plenty of golfer just shy of 6’6". Former Masters winner George Archer was 6’5". Dustin Johnson is 6’4". Robert Karlsson, from Sweden is 6’5". Mickelson is 6’3".
I don’t think it is a question of taller golfers cannot play on tour. IMO, there just aren’t as many people that are that tall. And if they are athletically inclined, there are more glamorous sports to pursue..
Probably the best tall golfer compared to peers was Carol Mann. She is 6’3" and won about 40 LPGA tournaments and she is in the Hall of Fame.
Not Tiger related, but Appleby just shot a 59!
Appleby was struggling and he just played 11 tournaments in a row. If Tiger did that, I think he could work it out but golfing competitively every month or so won’t get the job done.
Second one this year. The first one was under lift, clean, and place conditions at the John Deere (not a hard course), so it was understandable. These old courses like the Greenbriar just don’t stand up to modern golf especially if the greens are soft.
Near me, Cherry Hills Country Club was one of the great courses in the world, but there is no way that it could host a professional men’s tournament anymore. Today’s golfers would crush it.
There could have easily been another 59 yesterday at Greenbriar, as it was there was a 60, a 61, and three 63’s. Only seven of 78 golfers failed to break 70 yesterday.
Wikipedia indicates that the course was recently lengthened to 7500 yards, so perhaps the US Open will return this decade (despite the high altitude mitigating the distances to a certain extent-2018 is the the only open year left tho). They are going to Merion in a few years (which was also lengthened)-but that isn’t a course that you can necessarily bomb it on.
I thought the new groove rule was suppose to take care of the good scores. LMAO
The USGA just forced the clubmakers to invest millions of dollars retooling their equipment.
They also created a new market.
Since when is the USGA supposed to be creating new markets for club makers. I don’t think that is in their mission statement.
That is a byproduct of every ruling. When they change ball specs, some of the old balls are not legal. Make a ruling limiting driver length of head size, suddenly many in use are obsolete.
Just down the road from me, they did everything they could to toughen Medinah, and the pros absolutely beat up on it last time around. 2012 Ryder Cup coming up, but I can imagine Medinah fading into obselescence. Especially when the area has new courses the likes of Erin Hills and the others up at Kohler WI that were built with today’s pros and equipment in mind.
On a golf course that Tiger “has owned” for the last 12 year, Tiger shoots 74 (4 over) at the WGC Bridgestone tournament. He only beat 8 golfers out of 81.
Tiger has won 7 tournaments at the Firestone Course in Akron.