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archie_struthers

  • Karma: +0/-0
They wilt again ....and not the grass
« on: August 12, 2009, 10:10:58 AM »
 :D 8) ;)

I promise only architecture ramblings going forward but isn't Padraig's collapse the other day further evidence that (while Tiger is absolutely fabulous) his competition just doesn't measure up to the older guys . Isn't Bob May the last guy who really put the heat on him , to which he responded like a true champion.  I'm sorry, but it;s getting more and more clear that the big money of tournament golf breeds mediocrity .  After playing ten holes with my mates last night after work , the "debate" came up again , and the majority extolled the depth and breadth of the talent on tour......"there's sixty great players today"  

sorry IMHO thee is only one   Mr  Eldrick Woods
« Last Edit: August 12, 2009, 10:14:51 AM by archie_struthers »
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Mark Pritchett

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: They wilt again ....and not the grass
« Reply #1 on: August 12, 2009, 10:15:05 AM »
Archie,

Perhaps the issue is not that Tiger's competition is not measuring up with the older guys back in the day, but that Tiger is more intimidating to his competition than Jack Nicklaus.

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Brent Hutto

Re: They wilt again ....and not the grass
« Reply #2 on: August 12, 2009, 10:19:52 AM »
Your conclusion doesn't follow from your premise. There were plenty of guys "wilting" when Jack Nickalus was in contention on Sundays back in the day. The talent pool is obviously deeper today but there is just as obviously a tendency for the best players other than Tiger to perform poorly in more or less head to head matchups with him.

To ascribe that to golf being more lucrative nowadays is just Grandpa Simpson talk, I'm afraid.
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Mark Pritchett

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: They wilt again ....and not the grass
« Reply #3 on: August 12, 2009, 10:24:56 AM »
Brent,

I think Tiger is more intimidating to the best players in his era than Jack was to Watson, Trevino, Player, etc.  Perhaps that is why players like Bob May and Rich Beem were able to somewhat challenge Tiger (the had nothing to lose), but the "better" players have had little success against TW. 
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Niall C

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: They wilt again ....and not the grass
« Reply #4 on: August 12, 2009, 10:52:19 AM »
Quote from: Mark Pritchett on August 12, 2009, 10:15:05 AM
Archie,

Perhaps the issue is not that Tiger's competition is not measuring up with the older guys back in the day, but that Tiger is more intimidating to his competition than Jack Nicklaus.



Mark
Interesting point. I've long thought that Woods opponents get it tougher than Nicklaus's in so much as they do a lot more press these days where Tigers superiuority is constantly thrown at them. The advertising alone would give them an inferiority complex. No wonder they all have shrinks.

Niall
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Kenny Baer

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: They wilt again ....and not the grass
« Reply #5 on: August 12, 2009, 10:56:51 AM »
I would argue that

1. Tiger is better than Jack and almost never falls apart when he is at the top of the leaderboard; therefore never giving his opponent a chance to catch him; many times Tiger enters the final round of a major with a 3 shot lead and he is not going to shoot 2 over par and give the guys behind him a chance; I can think of several times big names behind him threw some good stuff at him but to shoot 62 in the final round of a major is close to impossible.  EX/ 07 PGA @ Southern Hills: Ernie Played awesome but was to far back to catch him; 1999 PGA @ Medinah with Sergio; 2001 Masters David Duval; 2002 US Open Mickelson;   Don't think that Watson was shooting final round 65's to catch Jack; often Jack did not play well at the end: you don't finish 2nd 19x in majors without having played some poor final rounds.  

2. The fields are so much deeper that the "Best" players do not have as many opportunities to go head to head.  Mickelson's record against Tiger is not bad at all; especially as of late.  It seems that they are not at the top of the leaderboard in Majors all that often.  Where I bet you could go back to 76-82 and Watson and Jack had 15 Majors where both finished in the Top 5.  I would think Tiger and Phil have maybe 3 or 4 majors since 97 where both have finished in the top 5.  The last 2x I remember Tiger and Phil going head to head Phil outplayed him,  2009 Masters and the 2007 Fed Ex Playoff at Boston.
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Tom_Doak

  • Karma: +2/-1
Re: They wilt again ....and not the grass
« Reply #6 on: August 12, 2009, 10:59:56 AM »
Rocco put the heat on him, and he responded then, too.  But I agree with you, it doesn't happen as often as it should.

I think there is a lot more depth of field now, and as a result nobody but Tiger has gotten comfortable with winning and none of them EXPECT to win very often.  Whereas in the 1960's, if you didn't win fairly often, you couldn't make a living.
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archie_struthers

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: They wilt again ....and not the grass
« Reply #7 on: August 12, 2009, 11:04:45 AM »
 ;D :D ;)


 like the Grandpa Simpson deal,  never have watched the the "Simpsons"  much   but do you really do you really think that the players today are losing sleep for coming in second.  Don't think so !  As much as Harrington is a fabulous overachiever, I 'd bet dimes to donuts that he didn't go out and practice Sunday night after losing .....and he's a gamer ....It just doesn't matter as much when you are making tens of millions of dollars ....I'm on grandpa's side ...I think

They have pretty much thrown in the towel as far as  beating Tiger, and  unlike Avis , don't appear to try harder to catch him.
 wouldn't you think that someone would throw a rubber snake at him or something???? Or wear a fright wig to the first tee.....something , anything!!!  lol

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