Looking out my window watching the snowflakes drop I started to think of the finest foul weather players. Tom Watson comes to mind immediately. Who else could play when the going got tough?

I would take Tiger over anyone else in the business. Once the weather gets too bad, skill doesn't matter as much, more luck. When its really bad, you just have to get the lucky breaks moreso than hit great shots.

??


I have a bucket load of disagreements with that line of reasoning, but if nothing else...Tiger wants as little luck in the equation as possible...


There doesn't really seem to be a debate on this based on records...Watson is amazing in the slop...

What I meant was that as long as the weather is not off the wall terrible, I would take Tiger. After the weather gets really terrible, you may as well flip a coin to determine who is best. In driving rain, 45 degrees and a 30 mph wind, all bets are off.

Hardly, don't you think terrible weather brings the best to the top?

They may not be the best and probably not the smartest either, but I would take this crew over four days of bad weather golf ...

I was staying at a friend's house in Chicago the week that Scott Verplank won the Western Open as an amateur.  Scott was staying at my friend's as well, for the same reason -- free housing!  

When he was ahead on Saturday evening and the forecast was for rain on Sunday, all he said was "I've had a lot of my best success in the rain."  And he went out and won it.  He'd also won the U.S. Amateur on a rainy final day.  So my vote goes for him.

Looking out my window watching the snowflakes drop I started to think of the finest foul weather players. Tom Watson comes to mind immediately. Who else could play when the going got tough?

Best I ever saw was Christy O'Conner Snr. Himself.

Bob

Bonus Question: Who did Verplank defeat?  How many holes did they play? No chicago guys are allowed to answer-I was at Butler that weekend also,Tom.Great Tourney in 1985.

Didn't he beat Thorpe in a play-off? Give me some credit Jack, I was two.

Phil, Good answer 4-4 ,4-5 in the playoff. As an Evans Scholar I was on the "job" at that tourney great finish. Hats off to your Packers for a fine season . Sam, youth is no excuse for knowledge-the secret is in the ----history books not the dirt.

I was staying at a friend's house in Chicago the week that Scott Verplank won the Western Open as an amateur.  Scott was staying at my friend's as well, for the same reason -- free housing!  

When he was ahead on Saturday evening and the forecast was for rain on Sunday, all he said was "I've had a lot of my best success in the rain."  And he went out and won it.  He'd also won the U.S. Amateur on a rainy final day.  So my vote goes for him.

I'm sure you'll get a long line of people on board with you on that one...

I have even won a tournament in the rain...

I would take Tiger over anyone else in the business. Once the weather gets too bad, skill doesn't matter as much, more luck. When its really bad, you just have to get the lucky breaks moreso than hit great shots.

I'm with Sully and others...simply don't agree.  What type of lucky breaks?  

From all the accounts I've seen, heard & read, Watson has to be at the top.  

**And, of course, he had some foul-weather success on the way to winning eight majors five of them at the British Open and 39 times on the PGA tour. In the 1979 Memorial, with the temperature struggling to reach 40 degrees and winds whipping around 30 mph, Watson shot a 69 in the second round to take control.

Several of his contemporaries have said that round at the Memorial has to be one of the best scoring rounds of all time.  Apparently it was hellacious that day and his 3 under par round lapped the field.  The average score that day was 79.4.

Tim,

Tiger shot 81 that day at Muirfield.  His highest score ever as a professional.  Heck...probably his highest score since he was 10 years old.

Isnt it a case that players dont necessarily play better in bad weather , its just that they dont let it affect them as much as others ?

Last July , standing behind the 3rd tee at Carnoustie , Stephen Ames and Sean O'Hair are waiting to tee off .

Suddenly there is a gust of wind and you can feel its starting to pick up .

Stephen Ames announces ""Well if they think I am f***ing staying out here battling with this f***ing s**t , f***ing up my swing for the rest of the f***ing week............F**k it , I am going in ![/i]

Missed Cut !

With the mention of Tiger in foul weather play, it brings to mind what I consider to be the absolute dumbest thing that I have ever heard a player state about another competitor after a round.

On the Friday of the 2002 Open at Bethpage, extreme weather wreaked havoc on the field. Michael Allen who would only distinguish himself by qualifyinmg for the Open, when asked about his play through the rain and how Tiger had handled the poor weather so much better than everyone else said:

“The front nine was just horrendous for a while, and he was three under par. He was just playing through it. My friend came up and said, ‘Hang in there. You’re doing all right. Everybody’s struggling, except Satan. He gave his soul to the devil or something.”

Considering what just happened to Kelly Tilghman and Seanor at Golfweek, Michael got off pretty easy on this one with most everyone (except me) forgetting he actually said this...