BILL ELLIOT T
Just when I begin to think that this time he’s down if not yet out, he comes back after his zillionth operation, flips over to Japan and wins his 82nd PGA title. I give up. He doesn’t.
Yes, Tiger Woods still manages to bemuse, confuse and impress. There is more to pro golf than Tiger but, at 43, he continues, irritatingly to some, to overwhelm everyone else. The PGA Tour players may anoint Rory Mcilroy as their man of the moment, others might edge their way towards the Major force that is Brooks Koepka, but, really, as 2019 grinds towards a close, does Woods really have a serious rival for Golfer of the Year? Not in my house, he doesn’t.
His Masters win – a victory for determination over probability and a reaffirmation that his close, physical presence on the course during the most jittery times does more to unsettle fellow competitors than a 3-wood over 250 yards of water – offered the old game’s moment of the season. Nothing else carried the impact across the sporting world of this 15th big win for a man who really should be sitting in a comfy chair in Florida and quietly reviewing his career given the problems that have enveloped him in recent years.
Instead, he’s preparing to both skipper and play in a Presidents Cup before gearing himself up for another tilt at a Masters. Extraordinary doesn’t quite capture it. Golf has been lucky to have him at his best and now the old game is even luckier to have him around again.
When I sat a few yards from him this summer during a press conference at The Open, I was shocked at the weary, listless, clearly knackered man who was trying half-heartedly to big up his chances of a win that week. I feared that the challenge of entering once more the biggest jousting fields was proving too much for even his steel-trap mind. Once again, I was wrong when it comes to trying to assess this bloke. Write him off one week and chances are he’ll win the next.
Incidentally, someone with a lot of time on their hands has worked out that by winning in Japan and topping $120million in PGA Tour prize money, Woods has averaged $95,603 per round since turning pro. Per ROUND for goodness sake. Of course, this is both testimony to his talent and dominance but also to the numbing amount of money available these days.
At the same event in Japan, Sergio Garcia and Rory Mcilroy both kerchinged their way past $50million in prize money, while Paul Casey had to settle for banking a cheque that tip-toed him past $30million. By contrast, Jack Nicklaus won just over $5million during a career that wasn’t too shabby, and even though back then 20 bucks bought a man a big night out, the hike in earning opportunities nowadays is eye-watering.
A big chunk of this loot is down to Woods and his impact on the game over the last couple of decades. For years the PGA Tour didn’t need a marketing plan when it came to negotiating contracts with commercial companies, they just muttered ‘Tiger Woods’ and hoisted up a chart showing the sensational growth of TV audiences when he rode into town. Okay, there was a bit more to it than that, but not much.
Eventually even his iron will may wilt as his focus wavers and his body screams for him to stop, but until then we should all just sit back and enjoy his continued presence and cherish the thought that, one way or another, there really has never been anyone like him. Who is Golfer of the Year? Are you kidding?
Meanwhile, the lines between winning and losing remain as slim as ever. Tyrrell Hatton’s victory in another lucrative Rolex Series week in Turkey after a six man play-off dramatically underlined this thought. Hatton won because he is now an accomplished, experienced elite-level pro who enjoyed the necessary sliver of good fortune during a play-off.
Matthias Schwab lost out because these strands of luck eluded him when he needed them most. Schwab, however, was the player who impressed me most over the week – his focus steady, his demeanour calm, his playing intelligence obvious. I expect Hatton to once again grace the European Ryder Cup team and I will be surprised if Austria’s embryo star is not in the team room alongside him. Woods, of course, will be next door.
“Does Tiger Woods have a serious rival for Golfer of the Year? Not in my house”