Tiger on his technique
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dschultz6072
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Gary Player said 19 times.
Man alive. Look at the wiki link for him. He was top 10 in nearly every major for 20 years straight.
Looks like I missed him! OK, there were 2 - HI and LT. Jack had a 6 year gap and then won his last. Looks like then at BEST Woodsy has one more major in him. As I'm not a stats, stats and damned lies kinda guy, I'll be betting against Woodsy in all the majors. I'll let you know how much I make out of it!
Just curious as to how one would go about measuring such an intangible. You suggest that Nicklaus was "unfazed" by finishing second so many times. Are you then implying that Tiger is fazed? I was always a huge Jack fan but I can't recall Jack hitting as many clutch shots as Tiger has starting from his US Amateur wins to the present.
hp12c
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As much as I root for Tiger I would do the same, money is money.
The game at the highest level is only known by so very few. By definition. Its a elite club. But my 2 cents is it seems to have something to do with a heightened kinesthetic sense or awareness and the presence of mind in the heat of battle to feel it. Remember Jack describing the one iron shot at Pebble in 72? I believe that is true. They may not have perfect swings but their ability to self correct info perfect impact is FAR above the other levels including the rank and file tour players. Call it talent , inspiration, or genius but there is an intangible there that the rest of us are not privy to. and the higher the stakes this innate sensitivity is raised to some supernatural level. we mere mortals may never know the source of that wellspring but having been around the game for 50 years I believe there is something to this. What else explains TW winning with flaws and different patterns and teachers? Pure genius is my guess. Any trained eye can look at a video and tell someone when they're out of position but how the hell do they get it back into position in like . nothing time?
I think it's the ability to block out all distractions(noise,fear of failure,fear of success,fear of losing,fear of humiliation,etc) and just be in your own little comfortable cocoon.Concentration at it's highest and deepest level,almost zen like.This explains how Jack can fit in 5 swing thoughts under pressure where the mere mortal cannot even handle one.It also explains how Tiger can hole a must make 15 footer despite having the biggest galleries in history with the inevitable accompanying noise which have destroyed many of his playing partners.
magicmarker
New
NO
But you do have to look at the make-up of a guy that is the most clutch front runner of all time. Why hasn't he strung together a bunch of clutch shots to come from behind and win a tournament on the back nine on Sunday. I am NOT saying either is fazed. I'm saying that they are very different in how they perform depending on how they stack up against the field.
One of them you chase or he chases you down. The other doesn't chase you down but if he gets ahead, you can't catch him. Differences.
You're right. Being the leader is much more difficult than being the chaser. Tiger has won 51 times after being the 54 hole leader which means he has chased and won 25 times. If you recall Tiger's US Am wins would you call that chasing or leading?
For me this is the key piece of evidence that everyone fails to consider when they spout the nonsense that "Tiger can't come from behind to win." He has more come from behind wins than probably anyone else playing golf today.
Kevin Shields
Super Moderator
Speak for yourself. So you would rather spot a world class player shots in the final round?
I truly am speaking for myself and probably 99.9% of the golfing population.
Was Greg Norman a world class player when Faldo beat him in the Masters? How about Rory when he caved on the back nine at the Masters? There is a pressure playing on the lead that isn't the same as playing from behind.
Not me! Let me have that cushion!
Always play to win. Make a gameplan prior to the round based on the circumstances and follow the game plan. Don't play not to lose... always play your game unless you absolutely have to chance it and hope at the end it was enough to claim victory!
I think that everybody would like to believe that playing with a lead is easier than playing as the chaser. I have done both in golf tournaments and for me chasing keeps me aggressive and not tentative.
Every year there are many players who play well for 54 holes on the PGA tour and then collapse in the final round. It is easy to say "play to win" it is another story to go out and do so. Playing in the spotlight with emotions running high is something that not many can do well on a consistent basis.
This isn't about me playing Tiger heads up its about competing in tournament golf with a lead. If you are talking about the club championship at your home club and you know you are better than the competition give me a lead because I will have no worries. If you are talking about the State Am where you might be playing against some of the best amateurs in the country a lead sounds nice but I would have a better shot free-wheeling as a chaser. Every tournament golfer learns to play with nerves but there comes a time when the nerves can get so intense that they can affect your game. It happens at all levels. Jack and Tiger each have/had an ability to get better as the pressure mounts.
magicmarker
New
Yes and No....
Well, to be fair, Rory could've re-taken the lead with the time it took for that train wreck to occur but it didn't happen. Why didn't he just free-wheel it once he fell out of first place.
I recall two instances in which Woods staged a come from behind onslaught that made me a true believer in his unparalleled talent. Both were in Major Championships and both times he did not win. The first was against a lead that Rich Beem had posted in a PGA Championship and the other was against Angel Cabrerra in a US Open. Woods had to pull out all the stops to catch those guys and he started dismantling two courses that seemed to defy such man-handling. It was scary for me to watch.
Old Tom
Old Tom
To be fair, I don't know of too many people who can go from the feeling of despair after cracking under pressure to the feeling of the chaser with the ability to free-wheel. I think that there are a lot of different emotions that a player must deal with and it isn't as simple as just telling yourself to free-wheel.
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