Aug

21

Ruthlessly boring? Tiger dominates again.

Filed Under Sports: PGA 

Can a ruthless display of disciplined golf be boring? That is the question I am asking myself after Tiger Woods won the PGA Championship on Sunday. The win is Tiger’s third in as many starts; his second straight major and his twelfth overall. Only Jack Nicklaus (18) stands between him and the record for major wins. This should be exciting right? But in all honesty for anyone but the die-hard golf fan I am not sure Sunday’s victory was anything but foreordained and boring.

After three rounds Tiger was tied for the lead with Luke Donald at fourteen under par. Heading into the final round the questions was: could Tiger lose? Obviously you don’t get rich betting against Woods. Tiger has never lost a major when he held or shared the lead after 54 holes. Tiger was coming into the PGA on a hot streak after a remarkable display of skill and determination at the British Open and a repeat of that showing at the Buick Open. Was there really any doubt who would win?

Despite the strong argument for yet another Tiger win, there was some hope that things might turn out differently. First of all, this was not your typical imposing major course. The No. 3 course at Medinah Country Club wasn’t a push over exactly, it played fairly and had its share of challenges, but neither was it a grueling US Open test of will. Players could and did go low. Traditionally, Tiger likes to win at courses that demand mental and physical toughness; two categories in which he excels.

Also contributing to the feeling that Tiger’s win streak might finally come to an end was the quality of players within reach. Luke Donald, one of the better young players in the game and as a Northwestern graduate with a home in the area he had a strong fan base at the course outside Chicago. Mike Weir, a former Masters winner and beautiful ball striker, was within two shots. Mike Oglivy, reigning US Open Champion, was three shots back. Shaun Michael, 2003 PGA Champion, was four shots back as was Sergio Garcia who challenged Tiger Woods on this very course at the 1999 PGA. Surely one of these talented players would shoot a low round and Tiger’s major win streak would end.

Yeah, right. Instead Tiger continued his methodical and disciplined play shooting 68 for a five-stroke victory. Let’s count the casualties. Luke Donald joins a growing list of Tiger’s major playing partners who struggle. Of his twelve major wins only Chris DiMarco (2005 Masters) and Bob May (2000 PGA) have scored better than Tiger in the final round. On Sunday Donald never made a birdie on his way to a 74. Things just never went his way. He had a number of lip outs and always seemed to be giving Tiger a read on crucial putts rather than knocking it close and putting pressure on Woods.


Mike Weir looked to have a solid round going – he was within one shot of Tiger at the fifth hole - until troubles on the back nine ended his chances. Three under after ten holes, Weir had three bogeys and a double on the last eight to finish with a 73. After an opening hole birdie Geoff Ogilvy had a bogey and two doubles on the front to disappear. He limped home with a 74. Sergio Garcia handled the pressure of a major much better than he did at the British Open, but bogeys at 7 and 8 derailed his chances even though he eagled the par five 17th for a final round 70. Good but not good enough.

Everyone had hope for a little drama and so searched for a rivalry. Phil Mickelson had been crowned the official rival after winning the Masters and after two rounds as Tiger’s playing partner there was still hope. But Lefty bogied the final hole on Saturday and the first hole on Sunday and fell out of contention. He struggled to a 74 and a tie for sixteenth. Chris DiMarco can usually be counted on to give Tiger a run for his money, but not this week. With three rounds in the seventies he never really made a charge and finished in a tie for twelfth.

No, Tiger never really felt any pressure and so was able to just play his game. With a hot putter he eschewed risk and just aimed for the middle of the green. If the long putts went in, great, if not, then he had a tap in par. It all went exactly as planned – with the exception of his lone bogey on 17 - he began the day with a 10-foot birdie and ended it with a tap in par. Along the way he drained two 40-foot birdie putts; had a couple of gorgeous saves out of the sand and deep rough; and basically put it on cruise control on the back nine. When you lead the field in greens in regulation and have a hot putter things are bound to turn out well.

The only excitement left was the race for second place. 2003 PGA Champ Shaun Michael wrapped that up, despite a bogey on the final hole, with a solid 69. Adam Scott jumped into a third place tie with Luke Donald with a 67. Scott could have had second to himself but bogied 16 and 18. Clearly a low round was out there but no one close to Tiger was able to find it.

It is interesting to think how fast things have changed over the course of this major golf season. After his win at the Masters Phil Mickelson looked liked the clear rival to Tiger everyone was looking for. He had won consecutive majors, two out of the last three Masters, and a third of the last nine majors. When Tiger missed the cut at the US Open at Winged Foot, Mickelson seemed poised to stake his claim for dominance.

Instead, he staged one of the most unforgettable collapses in golf history. Ogilvy claimed the US Open and Mickelson’s psyche was left in tatters. Since then Tiger was won all three tournaments he has entered including two majors. He has collected wins 49, 50, and 51 and now has more major wins than anyone except Jack Nicklaus. He has won two majors in a year for two years in a row and seems more dominant than ever.

The problem with this dominance is that it seems like a story we have seen before. Yes, golf purists and die-hard fans love watching Tiger dominate. Yes, there is something cool about watching arguably the greatest golfer to play the game. But I think deep down we enjoy it more when he is challenged. We want to see the best players in the game rise to the challenge and give Tiger a run for his money. Just like the in the Super Bowl, we don’t want blowout wins in the majors but down to the wire finishes.

In the ten years Tiger has been playing as a pro we have seen players rise up and challenge him. Ernie Els, the hot young golfer on the world stage until Tiger stole the spotlight, seemed ready to provide some competition but, despite two major victories, always seems to play the runner-up role. Vijay Singh had a fantastic year in 2004 and even took Tiger’s #1 world ranking from him at one point. But Singh, who is in his forties, has missed the cut at the last two majors. More recently Phil Mickelson seemed poised to challenge Tiger, but has fallen back again – at least temporarily. He remains a fan favorite, but can’t seem to find the consistency he needs to challenge Woods.

Young guns like Adam Scott, Geoff Ogilvy, Sergio Garcia, and Luke Donald seem to have the game to be the next Tiger Woods, but so far the glare of the spotlight has been too hot. They may fight their way into contention but always fade when a major is on the line.

So things remain as they were. There is Tiger and then there is everybody else. Everybody else: back to the drawing board. And those of us bored with Tiger’s dominance; at least we have the consolation of knowing we are watching history in the making.

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