[Steve Salmen]

Had Tiger brought his June 2000 game to Pebble this week, is it likely he would have beaten the field by 15 shots and scored 28 below par?


It's really hard to say. He may have gone even lower because the greens are better now and there was very little wind.

[jeffwarne]

He DID bring his 2000 game to Pebble-compliments of Taylormade.
He just didn't play as well...

problem was, everyone else brought their game compliments of Taylormade,Callaway and ProV1
and played better in easier conditions

[Matt_Cohn]

Had Tiger brought his June 2000 game to Pebble this week, is it likely he would have beaten the field by 15 shots and scored 28 below par?


It's really hard to say. He may have gone even lower because the greens are better now and there was very little wind.

At some point a ceiling effect takes hold. If he brought that game to a regular PGA Tour event where a couple of guys shoot -19, I don't think he would have shot -34. The fact that the setup was so tough was one factor that allowed him to have such a large margin of victory by playing extremely well.


Incidentally, this was easier to compile than I anticipated. Of the events that Tiger won by 8 shots or more, here are his score and the next-best score:


-18/-6
-12/+3
-21/-10
-19/-8
-19/-11
-23/-15
-8/E
-23/-15
-19/-11
-19/-11

[Erik J. Barzeski]

He DID bring his 2000 game to Pebble-compliments of Taylormade.
He just didn't play as well...

problem was, everyone else brought their game compliments of Taylormade,Callaway and ProV1
and played better in easier conditions

Oh my, no. That VASTLY under-rates both Tiger and the modern athlete.

[jeffwarne]

He DID bring his 2000 game to Pebble-compliments of Taylormade.
He just didn't play as well...

problem was, everyone else brought their game compliments of Taylormade,Callaway and ProV1
and played better in easier conditions

Oh my, no. That VASTLY under-rates both Tiger and the modern athlete.

Tiger was quoted multiple times as saying the course played the same (distancewise) for him this year as 2000, and also said that that was despite the fact that he had lost considerable speed.
He didn't play well this year, compared to 2000.


But I know those 66 year olds who are hitting it farther than they did in their primes have just gotten more athletic(Craig Stadler, that modern marvel of fitness just said it on air the other day)


Not saying Woodland and Koepka(and Rose who isn't exactly short) aren't great athletes, just saying they get 10-15% more distance out of their equipment than Tiger did in 2000.


I think we can agree the course played far easier (but excellent) in 2019 due to less wind and less firm/crusty conditions

[Erik J. Barzeski]

I think you over-estimate what the equipment has brought to the game. That’s all.


I think comparing 2000 to 2019 is a fool’s errand regardless of what Tiger said. He shot -12. Woodland shot -13 and didn’t win by 15 or 16. Most of that is on the players. Some of it is equipment.


IMO. Yours differs. I get that. 

[JESII]

Erik, I'm confused. Are you saying Tiger and Woodland played comparably and that the difference in total results was primarily all the other players?

[jeffwarne]

I think you over-estimate what the equipment has brought to the game. That’s all.


I think comparing 2000 to 2019 is a fool’s errand regardless of what Tiger said. He shot -12. Woodland shot -13 and didn’t win by 15 or 16. Most of that is on the players. Some of it is equipment.


IMO. Yours differs. I get that. 

I agree the players are less separated from each other than Tiger was from the field.
I actually attribute that to Tiger influencing many of them as kids to play golf and treat it as an athletic endeavor.


But Woodland shot -13 in less firm, less crusty and less windy conditions, using far superior equipment(as far as distance)


If the 2000 field played this course in the same conditions Tiger maybe shoots a shot or five lower, but the second third place players shoot under par and still lose by 10! i.e. hard to go that much lower than Tiger, but the rank and file does better in the weather induced easier conditions and greens-esp with modern distances.


and make no mistake, I do not think Pebble played easy this week-just not 2000, 2010 or 1992 like

[Jim Nugent]

At some point a ceiling effect takes hold.

I agree.  In the 2000 Open, Tiger didn't miss a putt under 10 feet.  He never 3-putted, and he 1-putted 34 times.  How do you improve on that?
 

[Erik J. Barzeski]

Erik, I'm confused. Are you saying Tiger and Woodland played comparably and that the difference in total results was primarily all the other players?

No.

[Tom_Doak]

Woodland's -13 was also 271 strokes.  Did Tiger shoot 272 or 276?  I can't remember when they switched par on #2.

[Kalen Braley]

It was converted to a par 4.  It was 272...

[Kalen Braley]

Speaking of Tiger, Ernie Els is a prophet!!  He said this about Tiger after his win in 2000.

"We've been talking about him for two years, I guess we'll be talking about him for the next 20. When he's on, we don't have much of a chance." – Ernie Els, on Tiger Woods

[Alex Miller]

https://youtu.be/NIrEU8qrCMo


I'm not going to comment on what score Tiger would be shooting with today's equipment or what Woodland would have shot in 2000, but here's all the televised golf from his U.S. Open. It's a very impressive watch and I don't think it can be questioned that he's a worthy champion.

[Ronald Montesano]

I read EB's 2nd comment to mean, the other players who closed the 15-stroke gap have benefited from fitness, psychology, and different swing styles/paths/movements (not many Monty swings, nor Furyk swings...except from Furyk.)


Unless all the blather about Twist Face and Flash Face technology is simply marketing, technology has advanced the game remarkably. The difference between missing a fairway and not, missing green and not, missing a bunker/other hazard/oob and not, is massively important, and more accurate drives/approaches certainly benefit the golfers. They can bash away, and not fear the sliders of yore. Same goes with the golf ball. The combination of the two, for the elite professional, has allowed them to conquer golf courses in a manner from which the common hack has not benefited.

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