Tiger Woods-no longer dominant or important?

musicismylife78

is tiger woods done?

watching the tourey yesterday, you'd think the golf world had all but moved on from tiger and annointed a new hero and leader.

I think its obvious if tiger never plays again, or never wins another major he will probably be reguarded as the 2nd best golfer of all time. which of course is a hell of a legacy.

but i think its pretty obvious that something changed in him after the car accident. i long argued he had gotten bored with golf. that he spent literally every second of his life obsessed with this sport, and maybe he got bored, maybe winning and beating everyone got tiring for him. I mean really, beyond winning 5 more majors he's pretty much accomplished all that could be accomplished on a golf course. as i said, he;s already considered by most to be the 2nd best golfer of all time. i think he got bored.

but my question is, do you think tiger will win another major? will he win his 19th major before he retires? will he retire in a few years? is he done? Jordan is the obvious example of someone who dealt with personal struggles and took a break and came back better than when he left the game. is tiger of that breed?

i used to be a major fan of his, but his personal life has really turned me off. I think the guy has serious issues.

EmBleve

by 'the car accident', are you referring to the beating of his car with the golfclub wielded by his now ex-wife, and subsequent 'accident'? If so, then, yeah, I think his personal life has somewhat clouded his professional accomplishments, although they canNOT be disputed.....but he is done as far as I can see..even if he does something else extraordinary in professional terms..he will always be overshadowed by that...the REAL him came out..

Cliffy6745

4 knee surgeries don't help, especially with that swing. I don't think he got bored but I think something certainly changed mentally during his "time off". I do think he will win another major or two or maybe 3 but no shot at 5. If he can get his knee back in shape and healthy, a big if, he has 10 more years on the tour, who knows what could happen. He's too good not to win a couple more, if healthy.

Johnny Abruzzo

Don't forget - he has gotten older. Nobody can fight age forever. The event and the knee surgeries are obviously factors as well, but I would say age is the #1 reason for his decline. All sports are young men's or women's games.

musicismylife78

i was watching a 60 minutes interview with him today from 2006. he said, he would leave the game when his best, wasnt good enough. when he gives his best and cant win. Its interesting because that is arguably where he is currently.

i do think him not winning 19 majors would eat him alive. it seems like its been the driving force, the most dominant idea in his life, for his entire life. and not everyone will agree his is the best of all time until he wins 19. With him it was always about this. 19. 19. 19. He had that number taped on his childhood wall, even as a small kid. i think for him to retire and give up the chance at that, would be one of the toughest things he's ever done.

One would think or hope he's learned alot since the accident and scandals. maybe he views other things, like family and his children, as more important than 19. one would hope anyways.

musicismylife78

Johnny Abruzzo wrote:

Don't forget - he has gotten older. Nobody can fight age forever. The event and the knee surgeries are obviously factors as well, but I would say age is the #1 reason for his decline. All sports are young men's or women's games.

true but with tiger i think its a more spectacular downfall though. how many people seriously thought this kid would win 19 majors in 1996. not many. and look how close he's come to it. I do think he lost himself. I mean, back in 2000 or whatever, i and millions of others thought tiger would win way more than 19.

Glorified Greg

STEROIDS!

CH156378

Glorified Greg wrote:

STEROIDS!

:think:

The Juggler

guy's been hurt the last couple years and he's gotten a little older. that's about it. i could care less about his personal life.

once he's fully healthy, i don't see a reason why he won't be able to still make a run at 19. like johnny said he'd probably got at least another 10 decent - solid years left in him.

nicklaus was about tiger's age when he won his 14th....and 46 when he won his 18th.


threads like this and people doubting him make me want to root for him even more though.

and as far as him still being "important," just look at how much lower the tv ratings are when he's not participating.

LloydXmas

Glorified Greg wrote:

STEROIDS!

Sadly. I wouldn't doubt it. I just hope its not true.
however; golf is mostly a mental sport. That whole scandal probably messed him up pretty bad.

I think he'll bounce back and win another major. Not this year. Maybe 2012 (PGA championship or the 2013 masters)

Glorified Greg

I agree he has gone through alot. His own fault mostly. He's already been linked to a Dr. that was a steroid pusher. (Dr. Anthony Galea who was busted distributing HGH) No hard evidence. He got huge. Remember when he first came out? He was a twig. Then he can bench 350 lbs. Steroids not only help your strength, but all aspects of your perceptions. Usually athletes get hurt after taking them because they have built their muscles up but their tendons cannot keep up with the growth. I golf myself, I know it is the HARDEST SPORT hands down! Just you and the ball. You can't argue his accomplishments nor take them away, but me personally I have my doubts.

The Juggler

Glorified Greg wrote:

I agree he has gone through alot. His own fault mostly. He's already been linked to a Dr. that was a steroid pusher. (Dr. Anthony Galea who was busted distributing HGH) No hard evidence. He got huge. Remember when he first came out? He was a twig. Then he can bench 350 lbs. Steroids not only help your strength, but all aspects of your perceptions. Usually athletes get hurt after taking them because they have built their muscles up but their tendons cannot keep up with the growth. I golf myself, I know it is the HARDEST SPORT hands down! Just you and the ball. You can't argue his accomplishments nor take them away, but me personally I have my doubts.

he was also 19 or 20 years old when he became a pro right? not saying he did or didnt take steroids but he was still a young kid at that point. it's conceivable that he got that much stronger without any illegal help.

Bronx Bombers

People are a little too quick to be burying Tiger in my opinion. He hasn't won a major lately but neither has the current number 1 who certainly hasn't played as well as Tiger has the past few years in majors. Tigers finished in the top five 3x since the scandal and 6 of the 9 he's played in he's finished in the top 10 since the surgery. He's going to be 36 this year but he still has time and I wouldn't be so fast to write off arguably the greatest golfer of all time.

Hogan won 6 majors including 3 US Opens after his car accident which happened also when he was 36. Jack won 4 majors after 38 winning each of the majors which is really impressive. Recent modern winners over 40 Payne Stewart (42) Vijay (41) O'meara x2 (41) I wonder how much or even if Rory would have won by if he had a Tiger on his tail.

Horos

Cliffy6745 wrote:

4 knee surgeries don't help, especially with that swing. I don't think he got bored but I think something certainly changed mentally during his "time off". I do think he will win another major or two or maybe 3 but no shot at 5. If he can get his knee back in shape and healthy, a big if, he has 10 more years on the tour, who knows what could happen. He's too good not to win a couple more, if healthy.

His knee is the problem. If he doesn't change his swing style he's just going to continue reinjuring his knee.

Johnny Abruzzo wrote:

Don't forget - he has gotten older. Nobody can fight age forever. The event and the knee surgeries are obviously factors as well, but I would say age is the #1 reason for his decline. All sports are young men's or women's games.

Wouldn't say age is a factor in any sense. Golfers can perform at the top of their game well into their 40s.

The Juggler wrote:

guy's been hurt the last couple years and he's gotten a little older. that's about it. i could care less about his personal life.

once he's fully healthy, i don't see a reason why he won't be able to still make a run at 19. like johnny said he'd probably got at least another 10 decent - solid years left in him.

nicklaus was about tiger's age when he won his 14th....and 46 when he won his 18th.


threads like this and people doubting him make me want to root for him even more though.

and as far as him still being "important," just look at how much lower the tv ratings are when he's not participating.

:thumbup: He's got over 40 more tries to get the 5. I say he has a good chance.