Why Tiger Woods will Never Pass Jack Nicklaus

December 15, 2009 by admin
Filed under: Golf Betting 

Just about three weeks ago it was foregone conclusion in the mind of every single golfing fan in the world. No doubt. No issue. No problem.

Tiger Woods, the greatest golfer in the world and arguably the greatest golfer ever, would shatter Jack Nicklaus’s record of 18 major victories. He’d beat it by at least 4 to 6 and possibly 10 championships. Not only would Woods shatter the Golden Bears’ record, but he’d also win all four majors in a single year.

That’s how good Tiger Woods was…or is, depending on who you talk to. But as the scandal continues to erupt, like a never-ending Mt. St. Helens of disgusting news, as the mistresses seemingly come out of the celebrity gossip woodwork (were up to 16 by some accounts), the question doesn’t become whether or not Woods will surpass Nicklaus in the number of major victories but whether or not Woods will ever even attempt to pass the Golden Bear.

The truth is that even before the scandal there were signs that Tiger was on the decline. Sure, there has been speculation that Woods’ recent problems in majors was due to the guilt he’s been subject to because of his infidelities, but I’m not exactly sure that’s the case.

Here then are some reasons why Tiger Woods may never win the 4 majors necessary to tie Jack Nicklaus and, more importantly, break Nicklaus’s record.

Woods May Never Reach Nicklaus in Major Victories. Here’s Why:

  1. The knee injury: Golfing fans can’t forget that Tiger suffered a knee injury in 2008. Sure, he came back and led the PGA Tour with victories in 2009 but in majors he played downright awful at times. Save for his run in the USPGA, Tiger didn’t look anything close to the man who had won 14 previous major tournaments. Some might say it was all mental. It think a lot of it has to do with his knee. Tiger is a power hitter and power hitters must be perfect physically in order to hit the ball as far as they need to. If they have trouble getting distance, then they tend to push things. Tiger pushed things at least a few times in all of his major attempts in 2009. That’s one of the reasons he failed.

  2. The short game: Phil Mickelson changed his putting grip late in 2009 and look what happened? He beat Tiger the last two times they’ve faced each other, the Tour Championship and the WGC-HSBC in China. Tiger needs to do something to get his short game back to where it was. Maybe, his short game never was that great overall but just great in flashes which is why Tiger always succeeded on long par 4s and par 5s. He used his power to get into a position for an eagle and then more often then not got close enough for the birdie after the eagle attempt. Not so with a power game that just doesn’t have as much power as it used to.

  3. Unlike most other golfers, at the age of 33 Tiger has hit his peak: The argument is that most golfers don’t hit their peak until around the age of 35 or so. That’s true if your game is based on playing up and then attacking once you hit the green ala Tom Watson or Kenny Perry. That’s not Tiger’s game. Tiger is all about attacking, attacking, attacking. His physical abilities were deteriorating in 2008 which is why he suffered the knee injury. Maybe, all of the years of partying have finally caught up with him. In any case, his game requires terrific stamina and Tiger just didn’t have it in 2009 in the major tournaments.

  4. The mental game: Yes, Tiger is suffering mentally, but it has nothing to do with his infidelities. Tiger flat out choked against Y.E. Yang in the USPGA and couldn’t get it together in the Masters, U.S. Open or British Open. Woods has always been a hot head on the course. Now, he’s a hot head who can’t do the things that he used to be able to do. How will a man who can’t control himself with the ladies and liquor control himself against guys like Phil Mickelson and Padraig Harrington? He can’t which is why Phil has beaten him the last two times they’ve played against each other.

  5. The intimidation factor is gone: It was gone before 2009 started. Now, it’s really gone. Nobody is scared of Tiger anymore. It had nothing to do, by the way, with him sleeping with porn stars. Tiger lost to Y.E. Yang in the USPGA. Every other golfer in the world saw it. There is no universe out there where Y.E. Yang should beat Tiger Woods. Yet, it happened.

  6. The competition is better: Sure, Tiger has beaten Sergio Garcia, Ernie Els, Colin Montgomerie, Phil Mickelson and Retief Goosen to win a major, but the competition now is absolutely fierce. As Woods struggles with his home life, Rory McIlroy has quietly become the European version of a young Tiger, Rickie Fowler has been working towards his PGA Card, and Padraig Harrington and Phil Mickelson have been changing their games and realizing that they’ve got to step it up in order to beat the youngsters. That’s the thing. McIlroy, Fowler and even Anthony Kim are all improving by leaps and bounds while Woods is trying to keep his personal life from getting into the media and losing endorsements. When Woods does get back, he’s going to not only have to deal with Lefty, Paddy, Ernie Els, Kenny Perry and Steve Stricker, but he’ll have to deal with the young guns as well.

  7. They’re major tournaments for a reason: It’s just tough to win a major. Tiger didn’t win a major in 2003 or 2004 and now 2009. Golfers only have four chances a year to win a major. It’s hard enough to do without taking any time off, but now, for the second year in a row, Woods is taking time off at the start of the season. Will he be ready for the Masters? The first major of 2010? Doubtful.

Taking time off to rebuild his personal life may be the right thing for Tiger Woods to do, but it might also lead to an end result that just a month ago nobody dreamed of. That end result is that Tiger Woods will never reach Jack Nicklaus’s record of 14 major championships.

Unfortunately, Woods never breaking the Golden Bears’ record has suddenly become a real possibility.

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