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A Few Thoughts On Tiger

© Bill Howard

A few weeks ago I wrote an article complaining about the volume of Tiger Woods material clogging the Internet. His win on Monday at Pebble Beach has forced me into a position where I feel compelled to add to the deluge.

First, let me be very clear on one point. Tiger Woods will not win eleven tournaments in a row. As phenomenal as his current work on Tour happens to be, the talent pool is simply too deep for that to happen. There is also a substantial stumbling block along the way. Assuming he plays, the Andersen Consulting Match Play Championship is the biggest hurdle in Tiger's path. Match play tournaments, much to the annoyance of the sponsors, are notorious for sending marquee players to the airport early in the week. Last year Tiger lost to Jeff Maggert in the quarter finals.

Tiger needs five consecutive wins to equal Byron Nelson's long standing record. I don't know which events Tiger has committed to play, but the Masters is the tenth event from where the Tour stands now. The drama of a Tiger Woods effort to catch or surpass Nelson taking place at Augusta National would be surreal. Please join me in hoping the cards fall properly.

As Tiger's improbable come from behind victory unfolded on Monday I couldn't help but think of how it might change the collective Tour player psychology. The last player I recall being regularly capable of charging to a win from so far behind was Johnny Miller in the 1970's. During his heyday, Miller seemed to shoot a 63, 62, or better every time the Tour teed it up west of the Mississippi. If Miller made the cut, he demanded attention from the leaders until his scorecard was signed on Sunday. Tiger Woods poses an even greater threat. On the men's tour, those who have not ceded some of their confidence to Tiger have had some forcibly taken.

Tiger is the center of the Tour universe in the same way Jack Nicklaus once was. He's first on the list to worry about prior to a tournament. Leader board inhabitants worry about Tiger first, and the rest of the field afterward. The other players on Tour are too talented to quake in his shadow, but he is always going to lay claim to his fair share of respect.

The next step in Tiger's march to complete supremacy is racking up some majors. They should be great theater. But what Tiger has done over the past couple of months has made winning one of those four tournaments a lot more likely.