Although he expressed optimism about a return to competitive golf, Tiger Woods also acknowledged it is possible he might not play again. “I don’t know what my future holds for me,” Woods said during a news conference at Liberty National in advance of the Presidents Cup, where he is serving as an assistant to U.S. captain Steve Stricker. In his first public comments since April fusion surgery — his fourth back surgery — Woods got the majority of questions in a news conference with assistant captains for both the U.S. and International teams. Last week, Woods released a lengthy statement on his website in which he said he had begun hitting 60-yard shots but was not yet cleared to hit full shots due to the limitations on twisting recommended by his doctors.
October is the the six-month mark, and Woods said that is roughly the point at which a good bit of the healing should be done. “Overall, I’m very optimistic how I’m progressing,” the 14-time major champion said. “Like I said, the pain’s gone, but I don’t know what my golfing body is going to be like because I haven’t hit a golf shot yet.
“So that’s going to take time to figure that out and figure out what my capabilities are going forward. And there’s no rush.” H/T – ESPN
Say it ain’t so Tiger! We’re not ready to lose you entirely. Listen, If Tiger Woods never swings another club on the pro tour, he’s the greatest golfer of all time in my opinion. I’m sorry but total majors just simply aren’t the one and only standard for being the greatest golfer of all time. Important? Yes. Most important, debatable, but probably. So important that it cant be overcome by other factors? No, not even close.
Some quick examples comparing Tiger and Jack Nicklaus:
Carrer total wins:
Tiger: 79
Jack: 73
# Of Years as Tour Money Leader
Tiger: 10
Jack: 8
# Of Years as Tour Win Leader
Tiger: 12
Jack: 6
Scoring Average In Majors
Tiger: 70.82
Jack: 71.41
Score Vs Par In Majors
Tiger: -109
Jack: +73
# Of Years With Lowest Average Score on Tour
Tiger: 9
Jack: 0
Zero. Not one time in his entire career did the great Golden Bear have the lowest average score on tour. This is probably the most telling stat. ZERO times. Like really? But he’s the goat cause he had four random extra weekends in a major where he bested the competition? Sorry but that doesn’t do it for me. That’s like saying Babe Ruth is the greatest baseball player even if he had never led the league in any of the triple crown categories.
The second stat that jumps off the page is Score vs par in Majors. This is significant because it shows just how much of a misrepresentation total major wins can be. Sure Jack has 4 more Major wins than Tiger, but did he play as well as Tiger in those Majors? The answer is clearly no, and it’s not even close. Over 180 stroke difference?! That’s an absurd amount.
So going by total Major wins to determine the greatest golfer of all time is cute and all, but it simply doesn’t paint the whole picture, when you dive into the numbers, the answer is clear, Tiger Woods, today, is the greatest golfer in human history.
Not to mention I never even brought up the “Tiger Effect.” The aura around him. It’s unlike any other athlete. His dominance for a 10-12 year stretch was something we had never seen before and probably will never see again. His ability to hit the best shot possible in the biggest moments was insatiable. It was infectious to watch Tiger in the Sunday red in the lead. Something that you cannot describe with words, you can only recognize when you’re witnessing it. I could not have been happier to have the privilege to watch every swing of it.
Now that’s out of the way, I’m still not ready to see Tiger go for good. I won’t believe it, probably ever. I’ll always be a “Tiger’s Back!” guy. I’ll always long for that Tiger walk on Sundays. That look he had. The confidence he exhumed. It was downright electric. And it cannot be replaced, it can only be replicated, by Tiger himself. So take your time Eldrick. Get yourself right. If that’s 6 months, one year, 5 years, get yourself right. Let’s do this one more time for real. Let’s give the greatest career the sport has ever seen one more chance at a revival. All you need is one. One more tase of that winning lifestyle and it’s all gonna come back.
Here’s to seeing you hoist a Major trophy just one last time…followed up by 4 more to end with 19 and shut all these Major loving jabronis up.
