Tiger can win against anyone other than Stricker simply by finishing second. If Stricker wins the Championship, he wins the cup. Only K. J. Choi, Rory Sabatini, Mickelson and Stricker can beat Tiger, if he fails to obtain any points at all. Only Mickelson and Stricker have any realistic chance of beating Tiger (he’s bound to make some points, and only needs about 1000 to lock out Sabatini and Choi).
As for East Lake: this has been an incredibly hot and humid summer in the South. But, yes, I suspect that it was a bit silly of the Tour to choose an Atlanta course for a tournament in September. There is a reason that Augusta National closes down during the summer. :smack:
Stricker and Tiger are the best putters of the contenders, although Mickleson has had a great year in that regard - they are likely to suffer the most if the greens are as bad as they say. The field will creep up on them if they lose that advantage.
So, if Mick wins, Tiger has to finish tied for 2d or worse. What if someone else wins and Mick or Sticker finish 2d or 3d?
Basically I’m wondering how high these 3 need to finish for what results. Say Tiger is in the top 5 - how high must Mick or Strick finish to beat him?
Last place this week gets 395 points. That would give Tiger 113,028. So Stricker would need approx 3500 points to win, and Mick about 4500. Any idea what places give those numbers?
Maybe they should let Mick and Strick play best ball against Tiger to make it interesting!
I guess if the conceit is to identify the best player of the year, it only makes sense that Tiger wins it.
Essentially Mick/Strick need to finish 1st or 2d to have any chance, no matter what Tiger does. Well, Strick could finish 3d if Tiger finishes dead last or skips the tourney, but I don’t see that happening.
Boring only in that the outcome was pretty clear from about the ninth hole on (if, indeed, it wasn’t made clear by the shot on six).
Tiger is in a league of his own. When he shoots a par round, people wonder what is wrong with him. All other players, when they shoot par, no one blinks at it (even Phil, Ernie, Furyk (who was NOTICEABLY absent as a top competitor during the playoffs), Vijay). Tiger has won an incredible one-half of the last 30 or 31 tournaments he has entered, if I understand correctly. There simply is no other golfer in the history of the game who has accomplished that.
Maybe the Tour should let others take him on in two-man scramble teams.
Yeah, but the competition was stiffer back then.
Those guys played more frequently instead of having the luxury of picking and choosing their spots.
Tiger benefits from modern technology… :dubious:
Screw it. I’ll readily acknowledge that Tiger is by far the best player out there today. Has been for the past 10 years, and should continue to be for at least the next 10 (if he chooses to keep playing).
If he isn’t the best player of all time, he’s certainly in the top 2 or 3.
But I also maintain that as a golf fan, I find it boring to have the same guy win between a quarter and a third of the tourneys he’s in. In fact, the only way he loses is if either he is playing lousy that week, and/or someone else is incredibly hot. Hell, how many times has he opened with a 75 or so, people start asking if he will make the cut, and on Sunday, there he is, at or near the top of the leaderboard?
I think most sports fans would admit that as much as they like to see their team blow the other team out, for sheer enjoyment day in and day out, they’d prefer to watch a close game.
Someone will come along soon enough to challenge him. Junior golf is full of 11-12 yeor old kids who can shoot in the 60’s. One will have the mental toughness that Tiger has and start to beat him. Adam Scott, Sergio, Mickleson - they all have the game that Tiger has, they just crack at times where Tiger doesn’t. There are hundreds of golf coaches and sports psychologists studyung Tiger and soon enough a kid will come along that they can work with. Who thought a Federer would appear so soon after Sampras?
I love seeing the best ever at their peak. I made it a point to see Jordan, Gretzky, A-Rod, Tiger in person, even dragging along my kids. Someday their kids will be saying “You got to see Tiger in person?!” His dominance doesn’t bother me.
So, you apparently totally missed watching what happened in Boston, where Tiger was totally done in by Phil Mickelson on the final day, despite Tiger playing relatively well for the tournament, and Phil wasn’t what one would call “light’s out?” :dubious:
You are right, though, that in the absence of competition, it does make it less exciting to watch. I, though, and most golf fans, don’t watch for excitement so much as to watch for really good shot making. Since I play a lot of golf, I can appreciate exactly what it is Tiger and the others can do with the ball.
I saw Boston.
So how many times have Phil - or others in the top 5 or 10, been in the final group with Tiger, and Tiger hasn’t won? I’d be surprised if it was more than 10%.
Shot an 82 today - with 2 7s on the back! My drives were a thing of beauty to behold. On one hole I crushed it, caught the top of a ridge, ground was rockhard, and there might have been a bit of a tailwind. That drive was between 290-300. Would have been barely acceptable for those guys. in-freaking-credible.
