Tiger - No Athlete can Compare

Since Tiger Woods is injured and rehabilitating his surgically repaired knee, it's a good time to show the world why he has no equal in his sport compared to athletes in other sports.

I wrote an article (see below) in August, 2007 titled, " Tiger - No Athlete can Compare". My reason was the aforementioned paragraph along with wanting to educate people on what a dominant force Tiger Woods has become. In addition, most of us can learn and be inspired from his single minded, laser-like FOCUS. In my lifetime, I never thought I would see someone who wanted to win as much as Michael Jordan but Tiger is his equal in that regard.

The outstanding quality about Tiger is he is only concerned with RESULTS. Anything that gets in the way of results is pushed to the side as many reporters have found out. They want him to be Mr. Media but he only does interviews (except the PGA required ones) on his terms so as to limit distractions. You will never hear a word from his wife, caddie or people close to him because that would be a distraction. His agent at IMG occasionally makes comments as he is allowed to.

He competed in 2 of Golf's Major Championships after my article, The 2008 Masters (came in 2nd) and The 2008 US Open (won in an 18 hole playoff in dramatic fashion).

Tiger now has 14 Major Championships, 4 less than the long standing record.

He will be back in 2009 to continue the quest for "Best Golfer of All Time", which many (including me) consider him to be already.

Happy Gswede Sunday!
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Tiger - No Athlete Can Compare (written August, 2007)

No one is more dominant in his or her sport.

Tiger Woods has inspired me from the moment I saw him play over a decade ago. His dedication, preparation, talent, focus and performance are as the poet John Keats says "A Thing of Beauty". I enjoy watching him just as much today as I did when I saw him annihilate the competition at the 1997 Masters.

In our generation, Tiger is the most dominant athlete in his sport, period. MAYBE ever.

Here's why:

• Arnold Palmer is an icon and a big reason why golf is so popular. He won 7 Majors to Tiger's 13. If we compare Woods to Palmer, the latter becomes irrelevant.
• Two of the best golfers of all time, Gary Player and Ben Hogan each won 9 Majors.
• Tiger's contemporaries, Vijay Singh, Ernie Els and Phil Mickelson have 9 Majors combined. They are in their prime or beyond. Tiger has not even reached his prime.
• There are pro golfers that make a good living like Rory Sabbitini (who famously said that "Tiger looks as beatable as ever") that have won less than 5 PGA tournaments in their career. Tiger has 59 victories. After the comment, Rory is 0-2 in final rounds against Tiger including an 8 stroke thrashing the week before the PGA.
• As much as I have enjoyed other greats like Jordan, Gretzky, Magic, Montana, Bonds, Brady, Federor, Bird, Borg, Jeter, Payton, McEnroe, Ali, etc- they don't even begin to compare in their sport.
• Let's look at one of the greatest athletes of all time, Michael Jordan. Midway in his career, he had 3 championships. For someone in golf to compare, they would need about 4-5 Majors at the midpoint (No current golfers are close except Tiger who has blown that away). Even if you consider Jordan's entire career, Tiger is more dominant NOW in his sport. Jordan has 6 total championships. The equivalent in a golf career would be 8-9 Majors. 13 is Tiger's number.
• No one has accomplished what Tiger has 1/3 or halfway into a career. Can you make a case for Roger Federor (11 tennis majors at 26)? Sure, but tennis is void of ANY serious contenders for Roger and the sport has sunk to pathetic levels of interest.
• Tiger could play until he is 50 if Jack Nicklaus (never in shape or fit) was able to win his last Major, the Masters at age 46. Realistically, he might be only 1/3 into his career.
• At age 35, Jack won his 13th Major. Tiger has done it at age 31
• A CLOSER. This is his best characteristic. 13-0 when leading or sharing the lead in a Major tournament. Has there ever been a better finisher or "moment of truth" athlete?

For those of you that don't consider golf a sport, it sure helps to be IN SHAPE when there are 100-degree days like the ones in Oklahoma last weekend.

Here's a paragraph on Woods from Reuters (August 13 by Mark Lamport-Stokes):

The championship at Southern Hills featured some of the hottest conditions in major history, with temperatures reaching 102 degrees (39 Celsius) during the final round. The ability to maintain focus for all four days was paramount and Woods believes his renowned fitness has always given him an edge in golf's biggest events. "Physical fitness is always a huge advantage, especially when you play any sport and you have heat and anything that wears you down mentally and physically," he said."When I walked up 18, I felt the same way as I did going off the first tee. I felt great. Other guys may have gotten tired and you see their shoulders slumping and dragging a little bit."You should always train hard and bust your butt. That's what a sport is, (it) is to do that. And not everyone considers golf a sport and they don't treat it as such." Woods already has 10 more major titles than any of his contemporaries. The prospect of an improved, fitter Woods over the next seven years can only enhance his aura of dominance.

I thought a classic and crucial Tiger moment occurred at the 2007 PGA when he made the 25-foot birdie on the 8th hole that gave him a 5 shot lead at the time. Big moment, Big result. He has done it time after time. Without that shot, Els or Austin might have tied him as they were playing terrific golf. Tiger never gave them that chance. The great ones never do.

Jack Nicklaus always speaks fondly of Tiger and I admire that about him. He should know greatness in golf better than anyone. Tiger will easily break Jack's Major championship record of 18 as long as he stays healthy. Keep in mind, that Jack's most impressive record may be that he came in 2nd place in Majors a record 19 times!

My prediction is that Tiger will have won 26 Majors when he hangs up the clubs. Over 30 would not surprise me but life and kids could mellow his desire.

Finally, like yours truly...he is married to a Swedish woman. He even hits great shots off the course!

Next stop for Tiger, Masters 2008. The other golf pro's are already trembling.

Can't wait.

Gswede

Gswede playing with clients on Madison Square Garden's court. Competing in an empty stadium is strange but thrilling especially being on the floor of the "World's Most Famous Arena".