Who knows what would have happened, but it would have shown more about who each of them are as players and competitors. Why did everyone love Tiger playing Ames after his trash talking, or when Vijay's caddie popped off? Can a golfer stay mentally tough enough to concentrate on execution when there are numerous distractions, not the least of which is despising your competitor. It shouldn't matter, you should concentrate on your own game, but in that environment with one of them rarely criticizing a fellow competitor (IMO rightly so) what would happen on one of the biggest stages? I'd tune in and don't think it would be any sideshow at all, 2 gladiators in their arena.
Thank you for giving answer and I can't fault you for making that surmise, but I myself don't understand what or how it would show about the playing or competitive character that I won;t have known in advance. It would be/is a shame (again to me) to have a war or words or a heightened crowd atmosphere or animus cause one golfer to be off his game...it wouldn't be weakness to me (and valor to the better), just a misfortune that the exhibition was altered by animus context. So if it worked, should the next opponent of the vanquished go the press or do somethign similar because it puts the man off his game.
I've followed golf fairly closely in this Tiger era, and I really don't remember either incident you recounted. And Stephen Ames in particular is about the most forgettable golfer this side of Brandel Chamblee (the golfer). Even so, saying that "everyone love[d]" the matchups, because of this is not saying
why..... AND how do you measure how much it supposedly helped?Does anyone question any multi-winner (no less major champions Woods and Singh) how tough they are as competitors to begin with? Anyone (and I mean anyone) who has made the PGA tour and sustained is a f'n tough competitor.
Last for now...I do not look at golfers as gladiators... I played competitive HS and college golf twenty and thirty and forty years ago and have been a participant in Open championship qualifying ....never once felt or was told of feeling like a gladiator...just a nervous golfer trying not to loose my shit, with confidence and doubt coursing through my fingertips.
I marvel at what these guys do...it's ruined to me if the enterprise is compromised (my word) by something because a guy shit talks in front of a microphone.