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Tiger Woods's new reality on Tue Jun 22, 2010 1:23 pm
Every so often, an announcer will say EXACTLY what you happened to be thinking. It doesn't happen often, of course, which is why there are more Websites with names like "Fire Joe Morgan" than "Ian Eagle Rules" (which he does). But it does happen, now and again, and over the weekend Johnny Miller said exactly what I was thinking when watching Tiger Woods play. His line: "He looks like everybody else now."
Yes. That was it exactly. That was what struck me watching Tiger Woods play sluggish, then brilliant, then bizarre golf at the U.S. Open at Pebble Beach. His game — genius at times, awkward at others — seemed indistinguishable from the other top players. He hit good shots. He hit bad ones. He charged. He bowed to the pressure. He finished three shots back.
Sure, we all know that Tiger Woods has absurd golfing skills. We all know that he has competitive hunger. We all know that he has a sense of the moment, the way Jordan did, the way Nicklaus did, the way Montana did.
But what made Tiger Woods different was, well, that he WAS different. He simply didn't play the same game other golfers played. He didn't miss eight-foot par putts under pressure. He didn't make double bogeys when the heat was on. Television announcers would say, "That's an IMPOSSIBLE up-and-down," and he would make it up and down. On-course commentators would say, "He really has no shot at the green from there," and he would put it on the green from there. The moments that rattled other golfers did not rattle him. The false breaks and sneaky flag placements that tricked other golfers didn't trick him. The ever-changing scoreboard and momentum that left other golfers unsure of how aggressive to play never swayed Tiger Woods. He didn't win every time, of course, but he never lost. He was a man apart.
The very first sporting event I ever covered was a girls high school basketball game, and it featured a player named Andrea Stinson, who would go on to become one of the great women's basketball players of her time. Anyway, they told me to watch out for her, and I said, "How will I know which one she is?" And they said, "Oh, you'll know." Sure enough: I watched warm-ups and immediately knew. There was something exclusive about her, about the way she dribbled, the way she shot lay-ups, the way she carried herself. She wasn't only better, she was different. That's how it was with Tiger Woods, too. There were the greatest golfers on earth ... and then there was him. Golf is a game of failure, but it wasn't for him. Golf is a game of punishing mistakes, but he worked out reprieve after reprieve. Golf is a game where you can't just will in a long putt because you need it to go in, but somehow Tiger Woods could. He seemed able to muster whatever he needed whenever he needed it.
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Yes. That was it exactly. That was what struck me watching Tiger Woods play sluggish, then brilliant, then bizarre golf at the U.S. Open at Pebble Beach. His game — genius at times, awkward at others — seemed indistinguishable from the other top players. He hit good shots. He hit bad ones. He charged. He bowed to the pressure. He finished three shots back.
Sure, we all know that Tiger Woods has absurd golfing skills. We all know that he has competitive hunger. We all know that he has a sense of the moment, the way Jordan did, the way Nicklaus did, the way Montana did.
But what made Tiger Woods different was, well, that he WAS different. He simply didn't play the same game other golfers played. He didn't miss eight-foot par putts under pressure. He didn't make double bogeys when the heat was on. Television announcers would say, "That's an IMPOSSIBLE up-and-down," and he would make it up and down. On-course commentators would say, "He really has no shot at the green from there," and he would put it on the green from there. The moments that rattled other golfers did not rattle him. The false breaks and sneaky flag placements that tricked other golfers didn't trick him. The ever-changing scoreboard and momentum that left other golfers unsure of how aggressive to play never swayed Tiger Woods. He didn't win every time, of course, but he never lost. He was a man apart.
The very first sporting event I ever covered was a girls high school basketball game, and it featured a player named Andrea Stinson, who would go on to become one of the great women's basketball players of her time. Anyway, they told me to watch out for her, and I said, "How will I know which one she is?" And they said, "Oh, you'll know." Sure enough: I watched warm-ups and immediately knew. There was something exclusive about her, about the way she dribbled, the way she shot lay-ups, the way she carried herself. She wasn't only better, she was different. That's how it was with Tiger Woods, too. There were the greatest golfers on earth ... and then there was him. Golf is a game of failure, but it wasn't for him. Golf is a game of punishing mistakes, but he worked out reprieve after reprieve. Golf is a game where you can't just will in a long putt because you need it to go in, but somehow Tiger Woods could. He seemed able to muster whatever he needed whenever he needed it.
more products:
Callaway X-22 Irons
Taylormade R9 Driver，
Callaway LEGACY Driver
Ping G15 Driver，
Ping Rapture V2 Irons
TaylorMade R11 Driver
