Feature
 
Tigers feat
 
A quick glance at the records on these pages will confirm that Tiger Woods is making a journey into golfing immortality. It seems inevitable that at some time in the next 5 to 10 years he will be crowned as the all time king of professional golfers.
 
Yes, Tiger's feet seem destined to carry him to the previously unthinkable feat of winning 20 plus golf Majors; thus surpassing the current all time winner of 18 majors - the great Jack Nicklaus. (Remember you heard these disgraceful puns here first).
 
Where are we now? Well Tiger has won at least one major title every year since his first win in 1999 till his latest in 2007, with the exception of a 2 year break from 2003 - 2004. This slump coincided with a serious re-think of his golf swing and a break from his long-time coach Butch Harmon. Such a loss of form and/or confidence is very common amongst elite golfers and is sometimes fatal to their careers.
 
The fact that Tiger was able to come through such a serious test and continue his Majors haul answers the obvious question - what will happen when Tiger hits another slump. Answer, he will almost certainly overcome it; a prime pointer to his future prospects for surpassing Jack's record.
 
From his current position of 13 major titles there are three possible outcomes. He will not pass the Golden Bear, equal his record or surpass it, quite possibly by some way.
 
Let's consider the first and second propositions first. What would it mean should he not reach the prize of winning more Majors than any other golfer in the history of the game? The answer must be failure, nothing more or less. His career to this point would still be outstanding; but from this point on (injury permitting) nothing less than 6 more majors is a must. In 10 years, even with a dramatic loss in form, Tiger has averaged 1.3 majors a year. At the current age of 30 he can hope to have a minimum of 10/15 more years of top competitive golf. That means he can happily grab even just one Major every other year and still pass this target. Also, remember, that dear old Jack won the last of his Majors (the 1986 Masters) at the age of 46!
 
However, it certainly appears more likely that the third outcome will result and he will become the all time Major winner. How do we measure this achievement?
 
It is hard to imagine any other individual sport where a competitors' skill is so easily offset by factors other than good old-fashioned luck. There's player form, the course, the weather, the equipment, the ball and of course your opponents. There is also the dreaded cut, should you get off to a bad start! But most importantly there is your ability to strike the golf ball in a wide variety of ways from a wide variety of lies. You are required to impart power into your long shots and subtlety of touch into your short game.
 
Overriding all these dynamics is the simple fact that the biggest enemy to these endeavors is the player himself! Mental toughness and self-belief are what got our Golden Bear his 18 titles and its these attributes primarily that will carry Tiger to his goal. This is where his single biggest advantage lies; he is not the only current golfer to display these characteristics, but he certainly displays them more consistently and more frequently than his peers. This resilience surfaces nowhere more than in his phenomenal putting ability, particularly from 10 feet in. As they say, driving is for show but putting is definitely for the dough (and Majors).
 
Can tiger do it? You bet; watch this site!
 
Alan Clayton - Oct 2007
 
© Major Golf Champions 2008
















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