I think the last sports thread I saw in CS got chased, so hopefully this is in the right place. Anyhoo:
I am so glad that Tiger Woods did not win or even contend on Sunday at the British Open. There is little that is more boring to me than watching Tiger win some tournament, major or not, by 10 strokes and listen to the announcers all fawn over him. Tiger is undoubtedly an amazing golfer. But he’s not the only golfer in the world, although TV golf could easily leave you with that impression. (Think Ahmad Rashaad and Michael Jordan.)
It’s BORING to see Tiger (or the Yankees or the Lakers) win all the freakin’ time. On Sunday, there was a great sense of competition and drama, since there were several people who had a real chance at winning. I’d take a four-man playoff over Tiger winning by a dozen any time. This is the first major in a long time that I actually watched and enjoyed since it wasn’t the Tiger Woods Love-In.
BTW–what is it with French golfers? Had Thomas Levet learned NOTHING from Jean Van de Velde? They both should have easily won, but their sheer lunacy to hit driver on 18 with a 1-shot and 3-shot lead (respectively) cost them the tournament, although Van de Velde’s wading into the burn was probably more stupid.
Again, I know Tiger is amazing and it’s not his fault that he’s often so much better than anyone else. But there’s no joy in watching a rout.
Tiger Woods is, obviously, the best golfer in the world, and probably the best of all time (if he continues at a tiny fraction of his current pace, I’ll remove the “probably” in a few years). SO, I don’t mind that the press fawns over him. The guy is good! He deserves the praise and the attention.
But what gets me is…
Look, when Tiger wins, it’s fine by me if he gets the headlines. But when Tiger loses, why does he STILL Get the headlines?
Today SHOULD be Ernie Els’ day. This should be HIS moment in the sun. This should be HIS turn in the spotlight. But having seen half a dozen newspapers today, I’ve seen that most of the headlines are “Tiger Roars Back to Make Par,” or “Tiger Shoots 65.”
When Tiger wins 6 tournaments in a row, the only golf story in the media is “Tiger is the greatest.” And that’s as it should be. But when he plays 6 tournaments in a row without winning, the only golf story in the media is “What’s wrong with Tiger? Why is he in this slump?”
Ernie Els is a hell of a golfer, a man with 3 majors to his credit. No, he’s not usually as good as Tiger, but THIS weekend, at least,
he was a lot BETTER. It would’ve been nice to see the winner get just a tiny fraction of the media attention for WINNING that Tiger got for shooting an 81 on Saturday.
Yep I’ll have to agree it was very nice NOT to have Tiger on all day Sunday. I actually enjoyed watching it yesterday since we got to see lots of people play and not just Tiger.
As for the French I’d like to know that too, I mean even I know you don’t go for birdie when you’re winning on the last hole when you can just as easilly make bogie.
I was very proud when my favorite golfer, also mentioned in the OP in CS, Mark O’Meara finished better than Tiger.
You all are darn right it was nice to watch highlights from the other players.
Tiger is who he is, a media darling. He’s a deservedly great golfer, and makes those highlight reels for a reason. But when Tiger gets those 6 shot leads on Saturday, I have a tendancy to not even watch on Sunday, as the playing is for seconds and not to the caliber when there is a multiple possibility for first.
I shamedly admit it was nice to see the highlighs of his bad day. I watched Saturday, them playing in the rain and though to myself the score was payback for the U.S. Open.
I should also say I sat transfixed watching the last few holes of this. How could you have not been broken hearted when Ells doublebogied? I sat, cigaretteless through the playoff.
Sorry I missed this thread a few days ago. I was surfing for Ino’s tribal thread and stumbled upon it. I’m glad I did. I wonder where WillGolfForFood is?
Tiger Woods has done for golf what nobody else has been able to do. That is, increase interest and viewership in this normally very mundane sport.
I have never taken an interest in golf, don’t play, didn’t watch, unless my buddy Fuzzy was playing.
With Tiger however, it’s different. Tiger is the Joe Montana of golf. I could watch him all day long, and have, many Sundays.
He had what was probably the worst round of his career on Saturday and yet there were no tantrums (are you listening Mr. Daly?).
There is a reason why the others (Phil-man-bra, Sergio-waggle, etc) don’t win. Though they may be excellent golfers, they had the misfortune of being on the tour at the same time as the greatest golfer that ever was.
Side note: Tiger, when you get tired of shagging that nanny, I’m here for ya babe. Oh and Joe, this applies to you too, Jennifer must be looking a little old these days.
Honey, I think you’ll find that Jack Nicklaus and Arnold Palmer did quite a bit for golf as well. If it wasn’t for them, Tiger would not be in the position he is now–just as Larry Bird and Magic Johnson renewed interest in basketball and paved the way for Michael Jordan.
Yes, Tiger is awesome and has done great things for the game. But Tiger isn’t the only golfer out there. The British Open was a prime example of how even the greats can’t be perfect, especially in a game so difficult as golf. With the way TV hypes only Tiger, I wouldn’t be surprised if a great many people missed out on an exciting tournament simply because Tiger wasn’t going to win.
I’d also hold off on the greatest “ever” label until he wins 10 more majors (which is entirely possible).
Note to tournament course designers. Tiger likes to hit it long. Long courses are his favorites. Therefore stop lengthening the courses. Look at what the Brits did (kept it short) and how competitive the Open was.
Making holes longer due to the “Tiger Effect” makes it more pronounced, not less. Sheesh.