Tiger Woods.

 29.8.2021.

An American sportswriter posted his story about the 25th. anniversary of Tiger's pro career yesterday. Tiger made his debut as a pro at the Greater Milwaukee Open on 29.8.1996.  He was just 4 months past his 20 at that time. He broke 80 at age 8 in 1984. I'd just gotten my 24 handicap about that time. To play to a single handicap (81) would take me another 20 years.

I'd moved to Seremban in 1995. I'd followed Tiger since they televised his 3rd consecutive US Amateur title in 1996. Like his first Major one year later at the Augusta Masters 1997, where his opening 9 holes was for 40 (4 over par), this US Amateur was also won from behind at the second round of the finals. I have not stopped following Tiger since, every time it's on tv, regardless of the 12-hour time difference. Translated another way, it's "no Tiger, no golf" for me. 

This occasion of his 25th year as a pro must not pass without comment. Golf has been my one addiction since a friend brought it to me 34 years ago. Except I found it at 43, and Tiger at 2. And I'm still trying to find that elusive sweet swing that once in a very long while comes and disappears again. I can understand the very rare special talent that Tiger surely possesses to make him the great golfer that he is. Tok Molod is forever crying "Jemenez", or "Garcia" and whoever just appears to lead the ongoing competition on tv, and he's serious about it, too.  Ong and I share the true admiration for the talent of Tiger. I reminded Ong about this date yesterday, but no comment has come back so far.

The sportswriter listed the 25 great achievements in the 25 years. He seemed to have got it. But I would rather give it my angle.

At the top I would put the 3 consecutive wins at the US Junior Championship, 1991 to 1993 from age 15, followed by the 3 consecutive wins at the US Amateur Championship, 1994 to 1996. Sports writers call it "the six-peat".  15 is not the tough age entering a national Junior golf tournament, although you are playing against the same field of people. And to win it for 3 consecutive years is  incredible. But to follow that up with the tough US Amateur tournament that is repeated 3 years in a row, again, is just crazy, and is truly unbelievable. No one else has done it. Not even Nicklaus. Some golf experts even believe that the US Amateur ranks with the Majors. 

The percentage of his wins against the starts is the second great achievement. For the PGA tour, Tiger has won 82 from 359 starts (22.8%) That's more than once every 5 entries. That includes 15 Majors, second only to Nicklaus (18). But Nicklaus has only 73 PGA wins and 2 Amateur titles. To top it up, Tiger also held all 4 Majors simultaneously when he won  the US Open, the Open, and the PGA Championship in 2000, and the 2001 Masters, for the "Tiger Slam." Again, no one else has done that. 

The third achievement has been the consistency of play as the measure of golf talent, and don't I know this, playing my club everyday it doesn't rain. Tiger has made 142 consecutive cuts in 7.5 years. He has the longest continuous reign as World No. 1 at 683 weeks. Second is Greg Norman with less than half, at 331. At the 2000 Open at St. Andrews, without once using his driver, Tiger never once went into any of the 112 bunkers, and these were real men-traps. I've been to St. Andrews, in 1989. Comeback is a test for steadfastness. In all his Junior and Amateur wins, in his first Augusta Masters win, as well as his 2019 win there, and his play-off win in 2008 US Open, there was unwavering steadfastness when not leading the tournament.

Tiger gave what appeared to be unjustified over-confidence, boastful even, in the interview by a fellow pro soon after turning pro, when he said he intended to always play to win, that second "sucks". Curtis Strange smirked "you'll learn".  But  Tiger won 2 of 7 starts (26.8%) as a pro. He won his first Major in his second year by 12 strokes. Strange  learned. So did all of us, including his fellow pros. 82 PGA wins,  41 European Tour wins, and 24 other worldwide wins have shown that Tiger certainly has learned.

Of course, the money made is the ultimate measure of success. According to Forbes, Tiger has earned a grand total of more than 1.6 billion.  156,382,473 (less than 10%) has been earned on course, the rest off course. The total works out (excluding 2021) to 64 million per year, or 5.3 million per month, or  177,778 per day for 25 long years. Not bad.

Sure he can afford the mansion, the yacht, the jet and the 100 million alimony.

Will there be another Tiger Woods?

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