Comparing The Competition

Daniel Wexler takes on the tricky task of comparing the quality of Tiger's primary competition vs. Jack's in an ESPN.com piece.

I thought this was interesting from Al Barkow:

 "The players giving Tiger his competition are just as good as those who Jack faced in terms of pure talent, but they don't have the heart, the guts, the tenacity, maybe even the sense of pride that the [Tom] Watsons and [Lee] Trevinos had."

Why, one wonders, would such things be lacking?

"It has to do with money," Barkow continues, "although no one likes to say that. But today's players are so rich they don't have the real need for money the previous generation had, and are also so incredibly pampered and spoiled from the day they took up the game that they don't know how to respond to the dominant player. Watson, Trevino et al, gave Jack a good go and took him a few times head-to-head. I can't see anyone out there today giving Tiger that sort of competition. They don't need to."

"The courses I like are the ones where you have the option to play different shots."

Sports Illustrated featured two classic only-SI-can-do-it features that made weeding through the usual mishagoss of player profile stuff worth the effort. If you love baseball, don't miss Tom Verducci's piece on umpiring for a day, and if you love golf, definitely check out John Garrity's Tiger 2.0 cover story.

Highlights from the Garrity piece:

But here is Tiger, elbows on the table, working me like a cold-call broker. His business goal, he says, is to get to "a place where my family can be financially secure."

Sheesh, and I thought J.D. Drew talking about job security for his family was a tad much after he opted out of 3 years and $33 million!

His course-design work will be "a partnership between me and the owner of the property; I'm trying to provide a product they'll be happy with." His brilliantly successful endorsement deal with Nike, a multiyear contract recently renewed for a reported $100 million plus, is about "providing products that consumers will enjoy." He sums up: "We are in the providing business."

I wonder, for an instant, if Tiger is trying to sell me a fixed-rate annuity.

Beautifully stated.

There is understandable curiosity about Tiger's foray into course design. Typically, a champion golfer either partners with an established golf architect—Arnold Palmer with Ed Seay, for example, or Ben Crenshaw with Bill Coore—or hires a staff of practiced landscape engineers and architects a la Jack Nicklaus, whose design company has produced 310 courses in 30 countries. Tiger would seem to be leaning toward the latter model (he took advantage of Nicklaus's generous offer to let Bell visit his North Palm Beach offices to study the golf course operation), but he turns vague when asked who will actually read the topographical maps and produce the construction drawings.

In L.A., Tiger had assured me, "I will not be hiring some guy to design a golf course. I'll be hands on and involved in it." He was more forthcoming about his design philosophy. "My tastes are toward the old and traditional. I'm a big fan of the Aussie-built courses in Melbourne, the sand-belt courses. I'm also a tremendous fan of some of the courses in our Northeast."

"I'm not one who thoroughly enjoys playing point B to point C to point D golf," he continued. "The courses I like are the ones where you have the option to play different shots. I enjoy working the ball on the ground and using different avenues." "Like Royal Liverpool?" I asked, naming the English course on which Tiger won the 2006 British Open using a 19th-century arsenal of low, scooting tee shots (played almost exclusively with irons and fairway metals) and ground-hugging approaches.

He smiled at the memory. "Liverpool this year and St. Andrews in 2000 are the only times I've seen the fairways faster than the greens. You hit a putt from the fairway, it was running one speed. It got to the green, the putt slowed down." His smile broadened. "That's not like most golf courses, but that's what I like to see. It fits my eye."

Now, Nicklaus has been criticized for building holes that fit his game. Will Tiger be questioned for building designs that fit his eye?

"Tiger Woods is cherry picking his way into history?"

That's the question a bold (but unsigned) GolfWire commentary asks:

 Is it too late to change our mind on the question of whether or not Tiger Woods is cherry picking his way into history?

 A third straight victory at Doral Resort and Spa's Blue Course Sunday in the WGC-CA Championship suggests that Woods, smart man that he is, might be building a resume largely filled with tournaments he knows he can win.

Why is this bad? Well, we're not saying it is.

Doesn't he have a right, as an independent contractor, to set his schedule as he sees fit? Oh, yeah, he does.

Aren't there always horses for courses? Yep, and Woods is a thoroughbred on several of them, including that little old invitational next week in Augusta, Ga., where he has won four times already.

So why bring this up at all? Call it a gut feeling, akin to watching a waterfall. You know all about the path of least resistance. Water goes where it won't be impeded. Woods seems to be doing the same -- not that he is avoiding good competition on the way to winning 12 majors and 57 PGA Tour titles. In fact, he usually only competes in the tournaments with the best quality fields.

"Where do you come up with that?"

That's Tiger talking and it translates to, Doug, I think you've crossed under one too many airport metal detectors. Our beloved AP writer's unrequited love of the game led him to dig up a stat that reveals Tiger has had 50 different runner-up finishers in his PGA Tour victories.

The milestone even caught Woods by surprise, based on the fact he said nothing for a few seconds and even then had little to offer except for, "Where do you come up with that?"

Alright Doug, I admit it's amazing (and on behalf of everyone, I thank you for not quoting some player saying how it speaks to the extraordinary depth on the PGA Tour!).

But I thought this bit from Geoff Ogilvy later in the piece was more interesting:

"Here's a better stat," Ogilvy said. "Who's won the most times with him in the field?"

No surprise there, either - Singh with 13 victories, followed by Mickelson at nine.

Now, it doesn't always work both ways, because Woods has been a runner-up 20 times on the PGA Tour. He has been second to Singh and Mickelson three times apiece, with Lefty winning the tiebreaker.

Tiger's Pre-Masters Visits

After winning at Doral:

 Q. How many times in the years you've played the Masters have you gone to Augusta the week before you get there?

TIGER WOODS: Only when there's changes. Only when they decide to rebuild the place.

Q. So most.

TIGER WOODS: Lately.

Tiger At Dawn

SI's Michael Bamberger got up early to be there when Tiger teed off alone Wednesday morning and before the circus atmosphere kicked in.

"He's a phenomenon in the gym."

Golfobserver.com's Lorne Rubenstein, quoting Gary Player talking on Tiger Woods:

"I've seen him do a few things, and it's frightening," Player answered. "Tiger Woods is a phenomenon. He's a phenomenon in the gym. I'll tell you what I saw him do. I was in Dubai five days ago and he was playing in the afternoon. I was over there designing golf courses. I was in the gym. I turned around and he had two 25 pound weights." Player then went into some sort of pantomime while trying to show exactly what Woods was doing with the weights. It wasn't so much the weight Woods was lifting, because 25 pounds aren't much. It was more what he was doing with them, and, Player said, that he was working with them before playing that afternoon. "This is his warmup," Player said. His point was that Woods was being an animal in the gym before he would play a competitive round, and that he had no problem preparing that way. He was fit enough to handle the stress on his body."

Limited Fields and Pace of Play

During Friday's Bay Hill telecast (before I switched back to the NCAAs), Arnold Palmer endorsed limited field events because they're easier to operate and pace of play is faster. (In the same interview he also endorsed the idea of ending Q-School...)

On the subject of Tiger's new D.C. event as a limited field tournament, Ron Sirak pointed out the brewing battle over the emergence of the Tiger Tour.

The situation brewing here--a player revolt against the tour's most valuable player--is both unprecedented and potentially ugly. Beem says the players can override the PGA Tour Board with a two-thirds majority. If that happens it will formalize what we already know. There is the Tiger Tour--and then there is everything else. And the players will be biting the hand that has fed them well.

Now, I know this is probably an oversimplification of the issue, but it seems that pace of play should be the real issue here.  Tiger this week:

TIGER WOODS: Oh, I always liked reduced fields, because obviously play moves along a lot faster. You get around in a much more rhythmical pace. You know, I think that's important.

You can't blame the rank-and-file for today's pace of play, just as you can't blame the elite players. It's in everyone's best interest to adjust to the tepid pace of the rest of the field. This corresponding response has allowed the situation to fester as it has.

I guess it's hard to fathom how a problem that is so clearly impacting spectator interest (on the "Tiger Tour" or run of the mill PGA Tour stops) and lies at the heart of this limited field debate, is not being addressed more forcefully by the Commissioner and the Policy Board?

Reason 3,916 That Tiger Woods Names His Yacht Privacy And Probably Wants Nothing To Do With People In General...

...from "Def Poet" Alvin Lau, courtesy of reader Jon, who clearly wants upset me:

“If I really wanted to use raw power..."

From Rich Lerner at TheGolfChannel.com...

A quick perusal revealed that on the subject of “inferior equipment” Phil was joking, suggesting that Tiger dominates without having gone to the super high tech gear most players had already put in their bags---the longer drivers, lighter shafts and monster heads. He wasn’t bashing Nike, but people took the ball and ran with it anyway like Steve Nash and the Suns.
 
In any event, in the parking lot after his pro-am round, Tiger did open up to a small circle of reporters and while talking about power in the modern game unintentionally exonerated Phil on the long ago inferior equipment comment. “I don’t use raw power,” said Tiger. “If I really wanted to use raw power I’d go to a spinnier ball and a lighter shafted driver like most of the guys and get an extra 20 yards.” So the verdict’s finally been rendered: Phil Mickelson, innocent on all counts on the charge of defamation of a manufacturer’s character.

Well let's not go that far. 

Why Tiger Hates Coming To The Press Tent, Vol. 301

After his opening round 64 at Bay Hill...

Q. Does Elin still cook pasta?
TIGER WOODS: She does.

Q. Do you still eat it?
TIGER WOODS: Of course. (Laughter).

That's great, remind him of the food poisoning his wife gave him!  

"The secret to getting Tiger to play in an event, by the way, is to hire him."

Gary Van Sickle won't please Tiger with this SI.com column essentially outlining his playing schedule for the next few years:

The secret to getting Tiger to play in an event, by the way, is to hire him. Vickers never tumbled onto that fact or wasn't able to get it done. Woods explained his absence from the International, which he played twice and never returned, by saying he simply didn't like the golf course at Castle Rock, Colo.

The smartest operators were Buick, which signed Woods to an endorsement deal, with Tiger subsequently making the Buick Invitational at Torrey Pines and the Buick Open in Grand Blanc, Mich., regular stops on his schedule while also also appearing at the Buick Classic at Westchester; and American Express, which guaranteed Tiger's presence in its World Golf Championship events by inking an endorsement deal.

Looking ahead, the fallout from Tiger's commitment to play regularly in the new Washington event means one less tournament he's going to play the rest of the year. Unless he's going to add to his schedule -- which seems unlikely -- adding a Tiger here means taking a Tiger away from somebody else.

And...

So let's do the math: that's four majors, a Players, two Buicks, three WGCs and possibly four FedEx Cups. That's 14 tournaments. He has won four times at Bay Hill and lives only a few miles from the course. That's 15, the Tour minimum, and the same number he played last year.

"The question stands: Tiger, are you listening?"

Garry Smits should be receiving a scolding lecture from one of Tiger's stenographers after this column suggesting that appearances in some other cities would only add to his credibility when talking about growing the game:

Woods has frequently said he wants to bring golf to kids and minorities. Wouldn't a great way be entering, just once per five years or so, Tour events he has never or rarely played? Wouldn't that be great for the charities of those events?

What if Woods played Tour events in Houston, Los Angeles and Tampa, cities with large African-American and Hispanic populations? What about the Zurich Classic and the shot in the arm he would give the New Orleans area?

Right now, the events with Woods in the field are healthy. Too many that don't get him are struggling.

Perhaps it's unfair to Woods that he makes or breaks events, but there it is.

The question stands: Tiger, are you listening?

IM'ing With The Commissioner...Tiger Edition, Vol. 2

Hard to believe my NSA sources had time to pick up this Tiger Woods-Tim Finchem instant message exchange, what with all the time they put in on the Libby jury deliberations. Anyway...

twfPGATOUR©: Tiger, are you there?

TWPrivacy:  Hey Timbo. Sup?

twfPGATOUR©: I just wanted to thank you for today, I felt like it went very well. So great to have a monopolistically coterminous brand like AT&T on board isn't it?

TWPrivacy: Yep, very exciting stuff.

twfPGATOUR©: And of course it's just great to be back in the Washington market, where we always wanted to be. Well, without Ralph Shrader involved.

TWPrivacy:  The Booz Allen dude?

twfPGATOUR©: Yes.

twfPGATOUR©: More importantly, the military serviceman and women component of this D.C. re-branding really is playing nicely in the early pushback.

TWPrivacy:  Yep, and maybe we can even do a little for Walter Reed too?

twfPGATOUR©: Is he the VP of Platform Protocol at Schwab?

TWPrivacy: No, that's the hospital with the mice and mold.

twfPGATOUR©: Of course.

TWPrivacy: So what can I do for you Tim? We're third in line here at Dulles and I might lose you.

twfPGATOUR©: Oh great, we're 7th up here, taxing in the Falcon.

twfPGATOUR©:  Well I just wanted to thank you for wearing the FedEx themed tie and shirt today.

twfPGATOUR©: I'd do one of those smiley icons after that, but we have them shut down in the company instant messaging. Security issues.

TWPrivacy: Uh, okay. Not sure what you mean, it was just a suit and shirt and tie.

twfPGATOUR©: Say Tom Wade is here, our EVP and CMO. He says thanks for wearing the FedEx Purple with the FedEx Light Platinum suit.

TWPrivacy: Well actually, it wasn't intentional.

twfPGATOUR©: Tom says that in the future if you are interested, you can read all about their brand color regulations here: http://www.fedexidentity.com/guidelines/FedEx_Guidelines.pdf

twfPGATOUR©: One thing, Tom was hoping you'd note that the purple you wore today was a little different than the PANTONE 2685 that defines the FedEx brand.

twfPGATOUR©: And not to be too picky, but the grey suit was a little off from the PANTONE Cool Gray 6 that Tom says brings the entire FedEx brand come together.

TWPrivacy: Thanks Tim, I'l make sure to get this off to my Nike people. Anything else?

twfPGATOUR©: No that about does it, just wanted to thank you again for you help and support here.

twfPGATOUR©: Oh and one other thing. Uh, the limited field concept, how did my explanation of the hot weather and slow play go over you think?

TWPrivacy: I saw one of the writers shake his head in a positive way.

twfPGATOUR©: Excellent. It's just, you see, I'm going to have a little trouble with the Board on this, since we're not really adding a playing opportunity for a portion of the membership.

TWPrivacy: Well, that's why you have the 5 directors that you appoint, and 4 player directors.

twfPGATOUR©: Good point. Well thanks again Tiger for this very special day. Oh one other thing, could you ask Mark Steinberg to give me a call tomorrow?

TWPrivacy: Actually Tim, this is Mark. Tiger had to step away.

twfPGATOUR©: Oh...

TWPrivacy: It was me all along. Say, I'll be in after 8, and you have the cell.

twfPGATOUR©:  Right. Safe travels.

TWPrivacy: You too Tim.

Tiger's New PGA Tour Commercial

Doug Ferguson writes about Tiger's new PGA Tour ad, filmed during his Nissan Open week off.

While at home in Florida two weeks ago, Woods did three spots for the PGA Tour. One of them was a voiceover, and the other two were scripted roles promoting the FedExCup.

"Clearly, having Tiger do these spots is a very nice element of the campaign," tour spokesman Ty Votaw said. "It’s always good to have your No. 1 player participate in these things. He’s someone who resonates with our fans, and to see him in this kind of context is something the fans will enjoy."

Ty, no mention of texture?  And I had it marked on my PGA Tour MBASpeak bingo board! Oh well. 

Mark Steinberg at IMG said PGA Tour commissioner Tim Finchem approached him late last year and they found a spot in Woods’ schedule — coincidentally, it was the week of the Nissan Open, which Woods skipped for only the second time in his career.

Coincidentally, I think that's the week that he was undecided about playing up until the last minute!

Uh there's your confirmation: that lovely westside traffic really did leave a bad taste in his mouth. Can't say I blame Tiger.

This should also put to rest the silly stuff about him skipping Riviera to protect his streak.