Golf - classic or dud

I'm old enough to remember those Nicklaus-Watson showdowns in the late '70s--wouldn't it be amazing to have Tiger and McIlroy go at it one Sunday in a major? All during Tiger's era of dominance, no one ever really stepped up to take him on; it was amazing how people fell apart all around him during majors. That's not meant to take anything away from him--obviously, his brilliance is what drove the head game. You get the feeling that McIlroy's more ready than anyone ever has been, especially in view of the fact that he's already had his "character-building" meltdown. Short term at least, this may be good for Tiger--it may spur him on. (Or maybe he's gone for good, or maybe McIlroy's just a blip; I have no idea, but I'm hoping for that showdown.)

if sergio starts putting again there'll be three of them tbh

^ No way.

McIlroy is not a blip (xp)

I'm inclined to agree, but I can think of two or three others who made almost as big a splash and then faded.

I'm inclined to think McIlroy will never do this again. As in, he may win many many majors, but not like this. Just an awesome, but one-off, career performance.

The most impressive things is to have come back from the humiliation at the Masters. Don't think I've ever quite seen it like this in any sport - it usually would take a year, maybe more, to re-group.

I checked Tiger's majors, and three times he blew away the field; three of his first four were by margins of 12, 15, and 8 strokes. Of the next 11, two were by five strokes, six were by 1-3 strokes, and three were playoffs.

yup, and McIlroy is not Tiger Woods.

yeah this is ridiculous, I don't want this to be like the LeBron/Michael Jordan thing where everyone has to collectively say "let's stop comparing kids under 24 to Tiger Woods". but I would definitely bet big on McIlroy winning at least 4 more this decade. this is a once in a lifetime performance but I don't even think McIlroy's peaked yet. in addition, Day is looking pretty sharp too and is only 23. Tiger's got his work cut out for him if he's gonna beat Nicklaus

I think R.Mc has one big advantage over Tiger -- Earl Woods didn't put a golf club in his hands when he was a baby. He's got the game and talent of Tiger without having the category-5 mental stress hurricane "I Am Tiger Woods" going on in his head 24/7.

Yeah, and I hate to say it but at the moment I feel like it's more likely than not that Tiger is done.

Live fast, die young, leave a nice well-defined divot.

lol

the only thing i'd worry about with rory is that his eerie resemblance to van morrison becomes a weight he can't deal with as he grows older

can't tell you guys how awesome it would be if McIlroy and Tiger both had a 2-3 stroke lead on the rest of the field on Day 4 of some major

can't see how this victory has proven rory's fit to take on tiger 1-on-1 in those circumstances- nobody was near him for the past three days tbf

well if not Rory then Jason Day or someone like that - basically we're seeing an influx of awesome young golfers that I haven't really seen before in my life, the type of golfer that everyone was hoping would come up to challenge him over the past decade and a half. We all know about Tiger's insane dedication and work ethic so I'm wondering if this inspires him to train harder than he ever has. Obviously one major is not an indication of a great career but after watching McIlroy for the past year this seems like it could be the beginning of a ridiculous career, especially since he's probably not as good now as he's going to get.

well yeah i do think mcilroy is exceptional, aside from the point i was making, but in the next four years there'll be at least one more along, and in the four years after that there'll be another.

we're just seeing the results of the tiger boom in golf from 2000 or so onwards

so where does that leave Tiger?

i guess this is the question that everyone has - seeing a McIlroy/Day/Sergio rivalry is going to be nice, but if Tiger becomes a legit threat it'll make every major a must-see event

tiger's a phenomenon but tbh with the coming through of an influx of tiger-inspired kids, allied to his public breakdowns, tbh i'd like to see odds on garcia collecting more majors from now til they both retire

I think R.Mc has one big advantage over Tiger -- Earl Woods didn't put a golf club in his hands when he was a baby. He's got the game and talent of Tiger without having the category-5 mental stress hurricane "I Am Tiger Woods" going on in his head 24/7.

― Mr. Patrick Batman (WmC), Monday, June 20, 2011 1:05 PM (3 hours ago)

i disagree with this - tiger was a machine and never really had any stress/nervousness/anything bascially ever in his career until this recent weird situation

until

not just the stress tho, he seems to have recurring niggling injuries that might be exacerbated by stress but might just be the kind of deterioration that some athletes are prone too

and riding everything

yeah i think that's pretty obviously separate from the kind of mental issues WMC was referring to, idk

xxp

yeah fair enough kk, it didn't inhibit him for long enough i suppose

i mean i suppose due to his supersuperstardom he had a larger and rougher fall than rory would have / could ever have if he found himself in a similar situation but who knows, tiger's situation, like the man himself, was pretty unique

i disagree with this - tiger was a machine and never really had any stress/nervousness/anything bascially ever in his career until this recent weird situation

Whether it was visible to us or not, you think there was no stress there? I think Tiger's spent the past 2 years finding out you can't be a machine for 30 years without repercussions. He doesn't have any frame of reference for dealing with the repercussions mentally. Meanwhile, as NV points out, his joints are showing signs of breaking down after holding together an incredibly powerful frame and musculature. He's got to completely rethink post-machine life, mentally and physically.

just like john connor

tiger's going to figure out why we cry

beautifully worked

i mean, seriously, if you had to bet, how many more majors can Tiger win at this point?

can? or do i think is most likely? or do i think is plausible?

I think he's got one more in him before he comes apart in a big gibbering mess.

how many is most likely? does he still have any shot at the record or are the odds too stacked at this point?

like, I wouldn't bet that he'd never win a major again, because he has so many chances at it, but he's definitely racing against time

i don't think he can get the record now

wd consider a bet on him never winning another right now. otoh if he can get his head together and rebuild his game away from the glare of the fame monster - big "if", obv - he could be playing and winning for plenty long enough to completely eclipse Nicklaus. i think there's enough to his game that he could come back as good as he's ever been, but he's got a shitheap of obstacles to overcome first.

he needs rory to trash talk him again

i sort of feel the same way about this as i do about Jordan's comeback in Washington - the odds are so stacked against him, but if anyone could do it, it's him right?

His long game is so reliant on hulk-strength + torque = clubhead speed...his joints are saying "no, fuckit, ENOUGH." Gonna have to remake himself into Corey Pavin Mk 2...

but if anyone could do it, it's him right?

I don't see any reason why that's true.

because he's got such a ridiculous drive to improve and crush the competition unlike really any other golfer out there besides a few of the greats. i have the feeling that if it is even a little bit possible that he will find a way to do it.

then again, that competitive edge seems to have been lost in him as of late

ok now I'm convinced that Bee OK is one of your sockpuppets

put down the cliches, man

Tiger's got heart. Tiger wants it more. He will roar again. But can the young guns catch him?

there's something to be said for the idea that Tiger had the one of the greatest temperaments for the big tournaments and that it's quite possible that he can recover his mentality, if not his physique

The average age of people carrying clubs here in St Andrews has dropped by about 30 years in the past couple of days. Admittedly this is during the time when people are playing their yearly game of tennis, so maybe the oldies are doing that.

there's something to be said for the idea that Tiger had the one of the greatest temperaments for the big tournaments and that it's quite possible that he can recover his mentality, if not his physique

i kinda wonder if the whole house of cards falling down put paid to that mentality too, which must have been a construct of sorts.

but if anyone could do it, it's him right?

I don't see any reason why that's true.

― Mr. Patrick Batman (WmC), Monday, June 20, 2011 5:07 PM (1 hour ago)

because he's tiger fuckin' woods man, come on

he used to be

you're acting like he's just another guy - dude was awol for over a year and out of nowhere legit contends for the masters

the british will be at st andrews twice and pebble beach probably once in the next 9 years, plus augusta every year. he's not getting shut out for sure

idk if he'll come back as good as he's ever been - don't know if we'll see a golfer on that level for a few decades, who knows - but if he can even approach that level you can't count him out

we'll see who's closer to right as the years pass. Like I said, I think he has one more major, his '68 Comeback, left in him. Beyond that --

::shrug::