At this point I’m wondering if Tiger is even human?
Forget about the Woods vs. Nicklaus debate. A half-decade from
now that won’t even be an issue. About the only debate left is
whether or not Tiger is even human. Give that guy a DNA test.
On Sunday at Torrey Pines in La Jolla, Tiger won his seventh PGA
Tour event in a row! That’s just four wins away from tying the
all-time mark that Lord
”
Iron
”
Byron Nelson set in 1945
– the one record in golf that no one ever thought would be or
could be approached, let alone broken.
At this point I’m wondering if Tiger is even human?
Forget about the Woods vs. Nicklaus debate. A half-decade from now that won’t even be an issue. About the only debate left is whether or not Tiger is even human. Give that guy a DNA test.
On Sunday at Torrey Pines in La Jolla, Tiger won his seventh PGA Tour event in a row! That’s just four wins away from tying the all-time mark that Lord “Iron” Byron Nelson set in 1945 – the one record in golf that no one ever thought would be or could be approached, let alone broken.
Now here Woods is just five away from breaking it. If the guy were a mere mortal, I would still bet my money that Nelson’s streak would hold up but all bets are off when it’s Woods who is swinging the club.
Not only is the streak amazing but also the win alone last week at Torrey Pines marked the 55th of his career – and he’s only 31! In other sports you could say that his career was coming to a close, but in golf, players typical don’t hit their playing prime until they are 32. Talk about a scary thought.
It’s truly amazing to watch what Tiger is doing for the game. To put it in perspective, what Michael Jordan accomplished in his heyday in the NBA is child’s play compared to how Woods is dominating his colleagues on Tour each time he enters a tournament.
Is anyone ever going to step up and give this guy a run for his money? I doubt it.
He’s so far ahead of the competition on Tour right now that about the only people who could challenge him are either Superman or a young Jack Nicklaus in his prime. Since Superman doesn’t exist and Jack Nicklaus doesn’t own a time machine, Tiger Woods should be able to keep sailing past the competition each week like a 1960s muscle car going up against a 2001 Geo Metro.
I can remember watching Woods on the early 1980s show “That’s Incredible!” At the time he was showcased as a 5-year old, who routinely broke 40 for nine holes on a regulation course. It’s clear to me now that there were no embellishments during the taping of that episode.
Woods Breaks Record at Masters!
I can just see it now. The way his scheduling is set up and the way the tournament’s fall, he could be trying to break Nelson’s record on Master week. Can you imagine the media hype for that tournament? They’ll probably be a thousand cameramen on every hole trying to rip off the Sports Illustrated cover shot.
But break the record or not, as far as I’m concerned, what Woods has done is already miles more impressive than Nelson’s streak.
For starters, in Nelson’s time, the fields weren’t nearly as deep. He only had to beat a handful of top golfers each week, not the 100-plus players that could break 65 any day of the week that Woods routinely has to chastise on Sundays.
On top of that, in 1945 there was a little event known as World War II that was going on. Nelson, a hemophiliac, didn’t have to serve in the armed forces as a result of his ailment, but many other players did, which allowed him to clean up on the watered-down Tour that year.
About the only blemish on the current Woods’ streak is that he himself doesn’t agree with it.
Woods doesn’t consider this a true winning streak because he has lost once in Europe and twice in Asia since September. But it still counts in the PGA Tour record books, and the only question is when it will resume.
Woods was headed for the Dubai Desert Classic after accepting his check for winning the Buick Invitational, and he was not sure if would play his next PGA Tour event at the Nissan Open Feb. 15 in Los Angeles or the World Golf Championships-Accenture Match Play Championship in Arizona a week later.
Personally, I’d like to see Woods give the locals a thrill and try to keep the streak going at next week’s AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am. But as he’s hinted before, he’s not real fond of the distractions of that tournament, which puts rich amateurs and celebrities side-by-side with the professionals for three days. It’s a fun tournament, sure, but it’s also a distraction that could certainly jeopardize Woods’ streak. It sure would be fun to watch in person, though.
But like most of us, I guess I’ll have to watch it unfold on television.
