I doubt that he will repeat his amazing run of the past, but can he get back to near normal? The last few tournaments he appears to be really pissed with himself and you can’t play PGA tour golf that way.
He started driving poorly and you can’t win PGA tournaments when you are frequently playing from the rough.
You can’t make a lot of putts if you are usually 35 ft. from the hole.
Others have lost the mental battle, will Tiger?
This thread is better suited for IMHO. I’ll move it for you.
Cajun Man
for the SDMB
Well, getting married will do that to someone. I predict a lul in abilities for a little while, then he’ll get more pissed at himself and make a huge impact…Even if this was it for him…I was extremely impressed with his records and ability.
http://www.tsn.ca/columnists/james_duthie.asp
Should explain Tiger’s funk. But it’s not much of a funk. Hell, I’d like to be in that funk.
Well, if I woke up next to a Swedish Supermodel every morning, the last thing I’d be concentrating on is my golf game, if you know what I mean. :hubba-hubba:
Tiger Wood’s in a funk, but Tiger Woods Wood isn’t. He was always good with the woods.
I have no doubt that Tiger will win more majors and a lot more tournaments… but he’ll never dominate again the way he did a few years back. Three years ago, I was sure he’d pass Jack Nicklaus’ all-time record for career majors. Now, I don’t think he has a chance.
That’s partly because the rest of the field has worked hard to catch up to him, and partly because he’s come back down to earth. But even if he gets his desire, his health (I think he’s been in more pain than he’s let on), and his short game back, there’s one thing he CAN’T ever get back: the intimidation factor.
How many times did we see brilliant golfers fall apart down the stretch, just because they knew Tiger was lurking, a few strokes back? Tiger didn’t just beat his opponents, he got into their heads. But Tiger has lost that edge, and he won’t ever get it back. Every player on tour respects Tiger immensely, but nobody fears him any more. I think Rich Beem showed everybody that it’s possible to stare Tiger down, and beat him.
Tiger is still great, and he still has championships ahead of him- but he’ll have to earn them. The competition isn’t going to roll over and play dead in his presence any more.
P.S. Leave the Swedish model alone! Did marriage take away Jack Nicklaus desire to win, or Michael Jordan’s, or Joe Montana’s? Did dating beautiful actresses take anything off Pete Sampras’ serve? Of course not! Tiger’s girlfriend is not the problem.
Woods, strokes, head, supermodel, balls…
Good golf thread.
I couldn’t agree more with the last paragraph. I don’t want to get into Tiger’s private life, if he has one, but there is absolutely no reason to assume that he woke up next to a model only after marriage.
I agree that he will probably get back to a good game. Just the same it isn’t guaranteed. David Duval was as good as they get and now has trouble breaking 80 on the courses the tour pros play.
Same, same with Ian Baker-Finch, although he didn’t have a very long time of showing he was good.
There is such a small difference between super-good and just good in pro golf that to let your confidence slip just a tad can be disasterous.
[monty python]
Oh, you’re no fun anymore!
[/monty python]
No more intimidation factor? Eh, sorta, but a golfer who can hit 320 off the tee and make turn-the-world-upside-down recoveries shouldn’t even need the mind game.
Pack catching up? Please. This is just a nice way of saying “not friggin’ underacheiving every damn tournament anymore”.
Marriage? Yeah, right. How do you account for Mickelson’s year so far?
Injury? Well, I’ve hinted that this may be more of a problem than he’s letting on, but it certainly hasn’t stopped him from some amazing rounds.
No, I tell you why he can’t win. It’s the curse of every young phenom, everyone who takes the world by storm out of the gate.
HIGH EXPECTATIONS.
Whatever the sport, whatever the position, whatever the reason, this is the kiss of death. It’s a complete no-win situation. Woods gets more pressure on himself every tournament. If he wins, it’s no big deal, because he’s supposed to. If he finishes 2nd or 3rd (and he has many times), he was off. If he collapses…which every professional golfer in history has done at some point, some of them very successful (does the name John Daly mean anything to you?)…it’s a catastrophe, and he never hears the end of it.
He’s won four majors in a row. He’s made mind-blowing sand saves over a ton of trouble to tight pin placements. Now his luck has reverted to a semblance of normality. All those crushing drives have taken their toll on his back. Mickelson’s finally gotten his head out of his butt and is now committed to winning. Els is peaking. Singh is going for a place in history. More and more young guns are winning left and right. Daly…Daly!..is undergoing a renaissance. Through it all, Woods still has held the #1 spot in the world rankings forever and is #7 on the money list. And because of the impossibly high expectations, this is somehow a disappointment.
Anyway, I’m sure that he’ll win a few more tournaments, but I still think that he’ll give up full-time touring before age 40 and quit completely before he’s old enough for the Senior Tour.
I also think that he will win more. And like you, I think it unlikely that he will have a streak like the one in the amazing years. Winning at all on the PGA tour is difficult enough. Winning twice in a year is super tough. Winning, what was it 5 times? is out of sight. Anyway time will tell.
The back thing is interesting. Not all golfers have back problems but Woods hits the ball over 300 yards and looks like he’s working at it. Fred Couples hits the ball over 300 yards and looks like he’s doing it from an easy chair. Both have back problems.
Hmmm, maybe I can’t hit the ball very far because I’m not hard enough on my back! I’m not going to need it much longer anyway, maybe I should let go.