Reilly on Tiger

No, but he is unlikely to race out to a big lead and put those majors away in the first three days. Nobody does that anymore, and I seriously doubt Tiger is going to achieve that kind of domination over the field again. And he has never been a final-day comeback kind of guy. So it isn't a good formula for him.

When Nicklaus won in '86, he trailed by four shots going into the final round and shot a 65. That isn't a Tiger kind of day.

 

I think for a lot of people to concede that Tiger is better than Nicklaus, he will have to beat Nicklaus's record by a couple and win a major as late (after 46) as Nicklaus did.

 

That's a given.
So as it stands, is Tiger the second best of all-time? Is he better than Snead, Nelson, Sarazen and Hogan?
I think so. If he never wins another major I think he ranks No. 2 all-time.

I don't think Phil, at 43, is at the top of his game. A late-bloomer in terms of a major winner, but not a guy at the top of his game. He's not a week-in, week-out favorite. I don't even think he's a guy tapped to win most events. Contend? OK. Win? Meh. I'd say he and Tiger are on nearly equal terms now - though Tiger has more regular season wins than Phil.
Not sure either will go into another major as a favorite, but it wouldn't be unforeseeable if they win.
Given Phil's history at the Open, I had NO faith he would win Sunday evening. I also didn't think Tiger had a shot to win given his play at the Memorial. Injury aside, he is still having trouble finding the fairway off the tee.

 

Hasn't Tiger been the favorite in both majors this year? And isn't he already the 7-1 favorite for the British Open next month?

 

I'll bet he was the favorite for at least a couple of the majors last year.

 

There was also this one earlier in the week:

http://espn.go.com/espn/story/_/page/usopenreilly130614/taciturn-tiger-leaves-us-wincing-us-open

Now, with the one, this line sticks out for me, but not necessarily for exactly what it says or means on the surface:

"Do you like your chances?" I asked him Friday.

"Yes," he said.

Now, I was in the flash area, which, well, was set up in someone's back yard. Whatever. It was fine. And there were about 100 other media there when Tiger was in the flash area. And everything else Reilly quotes Tiger here is available on the transcript.

But I was there, and please, PLEASE someone correct me on this if they were also been there: Did Reilly actually ASK this question? Because I honestly don't think he was the one who asked.

I'm not saying he for sure didn't. Just waiting for confirmation, because I thought it was someone else.

 

He should be the favorite at Muirfield. He's liable to win it. It's the course suited to what he can do now.

 

How many times have we heard that in the last few years?

 

1. I think most would agree that when he burst on the golf scene he revolutionized the sport in several ways.
2. By doing so, he raised the bar for all pro golfers. For everyone not named Tiger Woods, it was either try to beat his ass or be satisfied cashing checks for second place and below. That basically meant that for the last 15 years, it's been Woods vs. The World. Everyone was coming after him.
3. As Charles Pierce noted, Woods put his body through a wringer with every big swing. The torque he created at age 25 is difficult if not impossible to continue and maintain at age 35. Woods has had some injuries and he also has been changing coaches in an attempt (I assume) to figure out how to keep hitting golf shots in 2013 like he used to hit 'em in 2000.
4. In my opinion, Tiger Woods became Eldrick Woods when he hit the fire hydrant. When he was Tiger he could win majors, marry the trophy wife, become a family man while still engaging in freaky off-the-books sex. In other words, he was bullet-proof Tiger Woods would could do anything.
5. Even if his ego has allowed him to brush off the "shame" of being outed as a sex-crazed womanizer, the shields on the Starship Tiger Woods are down. He might win another major or two, but I don't think he has the game to win many more and the other golfers aren't scared of him. He's vulnerable. He fucked up. He's just like the rest of us, though he's a better golfer than almost all of us. He's just not the BEST golfer. To me, he's just another pro golfer. Nothing wrong with that. He's just not Tiger Woods of 10 years ago.

 

I would be curious how many times in the last decade has there been a major where Tiger was healthy and playing where he wasn't the favorite. I'm sure it's happened a couple times, but probably not many.

 

I have no idea. I watch golf. I don't watch golf shows.