If Tiger wins the Open today...

Its all about how you define "athleticism".

Remember, shooting a free throw is in many respects the same as a 4 ft putt. How many brick a FT in the last 30 secs. of a close game? The mental strain in golf is tremendous. The humbling aspect of golf is phenomenal; you are alone on an island.

Is it as physical as other sports? No.

Tiger's greatness is his ability to dominate in a sport where dominance is simply not allowed because of the sheer odds.

Before 1996, when Tiger came along, post Nicklaus/Watson/Faldo, greatness in golf was defined by at most 3 major titles in a lifetime, Nick Price (Norman won 2). He has 13, staggering. No contemporary of his has more than 3 (Els, Mickelson, Singh.)

 

Jordan was nothing without Pippen </Kobe>

 

Absolutely right. And for those quibbling over the word athlete, how about "person competing in a major and widely watched sport."

 

The best batting average recorded over a season in Major League Baseball's modern era still adds up to a guy getting a base hit less than half the time, so don't talk to me about "a sport where dominance is simply not allowed because of the sheer odds."

 

I think everyone is looking at "athlete" in different ways. Some are looking at his pure athleticism, and others looking at him as just an athlete, a person who plays sports.

The greatest athlete -- in terms of a person who plays sports -- argument begins with Babe Ruth, Jim Thorpe and Michael Jordan. Everyone else can get in line -- for now, at least.

 

Magic Johnson was probably never among the top 100 "athletes" in the NBA.

If there were 312 players in the NBA during his career, and they all ran a 100-yard dash, he would have finished about 200th.

 

But a guy who wins the batting title, though he's competing in a field of 500-plus, doesn't win anything. And he's not competing head to head.

Dominance in golf is amazing because every freakin' week, Tiger is going against a field of the best 144 people in the world at his sport -- people who are a fraction of a fraction of a fraction less talented than him, any of whom can play well on any given day. The fact that he wins as often as he does is astonishing.

 

Shouldn't this go in Sports and News?

I say no. Tiger plays golf. Golf. Golf. If he's the greatest athlete of the past 25 years, I'm Aunt Jemima.

I'd go with Michael Jordan for the greatest athlete of the past 25 years. He's one of those cingular talents that only comes around once every hundred years or so. I can't think of too many players in any team sport who engendered the same kind of fear that Jordan did.

 

F_T, I think you're being brainwashed by your wireless carrier.

 

I don't have AT&T!

 

I guess I should have asked if Tiger was the best at his particular sport than any other athlete in the past 25 years.

Live and learn.

 

Like Kobe, Tiger won't be confused with Jordan anytime soon. (Though I think Tiger's closer, and he never got any help from officials)
Tiger's the best athlete to play pro golf in the last 25 years, probably ever. The guy is just tough. A big part of his success is his talent which keeps him close to the top on most weekends, and he's never "surprised" to be in a position to win a tournament which makes him more mentally prepared to be make the shots he needs.
That said, he made some really stupid plays on Sunday. He should have won the thing by two strokes at least. But he didn't just bag it. he fought through the bad plays and came through.