(no subject)
If you watched golf this weekend, maybe you noticed that Tiger Woods has all the shots. That is, he can adjust his swing to each and every shot, in order to produce the unique shot needed for that particular instance. Perhaps even more strikingly, Tiger won the Ford Championship's while missing over 1/2 of all fairways, forcing himself to hit out of bad lies and even the woods. What this tells us is that driving accuracy is like batting average or errors--no longer a relevant stat to winning. It also tells us that the best player in golf history is also the most flexible. No, you won't see Phil Mickelson or Ernie Els hitting dart like 5-Woods off the tea, or playing a draw because it fits there eye. There is only one golfer on the planet capable of pulling off a fade, draw, duck hook, shank, or any other shot when required, and that's Tiger Woods. It's like everyone else on the golf course can only shoot 2 pointers are hit the inside fastball, while Tiger can do it all. It's not that Tiger has any relative weaknesses, but no other player is able to hit such a variety of shots, from any other variety of circumstances. Give Tiger a shovel and a range ball and he'll make 4 on most holes. Give any other pro that and they will head to the showers. Like Jordan, like Sampras, Woods seems to have not only the most physical talent, but the most mental talent: he always brings just enough to win and seems to have a consistency under pressure that only one athlete a generation can find.
I've been a Tiger Woods fan since he was -2 under par at Oakland Hills outside Detroit in the 1996 US OPEN. At that time he was but a long hitting kid, just looking to make the cut. He made some incredible shots that week, shots his 30 year old body probably can't hit now, but he also made some terrible mistakes. He doesn't make those mistakes any more. I remember watching him at the US Amateur held at Pumpkin Ridge the same year and leaving to go golfing with my dad as he lined up a 30+ foot birdie put on 17 down one and looking for a miracle. He holed that put. I found out when I got home 3 hours later that he had gone on too win. Amazing.
Rooting for Tiger is easy, join me.
I've been a Tiger Woods fan since he was -2 under par at Oakland Hills outside Detroit in the 1996 US OPEN. At that time he was but a long hitting kid, just looking to make the cut. He made some incredible shots that week, shots his 30 year old body probably can't hit now, but he also made some terrible mistakes. He doesn't make those mistakes any more. I remember watching him at the US Amateur held at Pumpkin Ridge the same year and leaving to go golfing with my dad as he lined up a 30+ foot birdie put on 17 down one and looking for a miracle. He holed that put. I found out when I got home 3 hours later that he had gone on too win. Amazing.
Rooting for Tiger is easy, join me.