I hate to make my first substantive Blog 2.0 post to be on such a downer of a subject but the recent Tiger Woods car accident and related injuries is, quite possibly, the biggest story in the world of TGS. In my mind, there is no doubt that Tiger is the greatest golfer of all time. He will not match Jack's 18 Majors and now he will be unlikely to get even the one more victory he needs to surpass Sam Snead for the most professional wins all-time (even putting aside for a second that Snead's claim to the record is totally bogus). Nothing against Jack, who is great and certainly the second best of all-time but he simply did not have to go against the depth of the level of competition that Tiger has, especially since about 2005.
As of yesterday, Tiger was transferred from UCLA, where he had his 10+ hours surgery to piece his shattered right leg and ankle back together (one silver lining is certainly that the massive leg injury occurred to his right leg, not his left leg). And, God only knows what such a violent crash did to his fragile back. I mean something that looks like this has to have jarred the back.
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| I mean, HOLY SHIT! |
Right now, the question of whether Tiger ever plays professional golf again really doesn't matter. He's lucky to be alive. We lost Kobe a year ago; thank the Good Dude we -- and most importantly his family -- didn't lose Tiger on Tuesday.
10. 1996 Vegas Invitational
This one won't be on a lot of other peoples' lists but this is the one that started it all -- Tiger's very first PGA Tour victory. Tiger was always The Chosen One. He had already won three straight US Junior Amateurs and three straight US Amateurs but the pro game is a whole different ball of wax, as they say. There have been plenty of Next Big Things in golf -- even those that won US Amateur Championships -- who ended up never making it (Ricky Barnes comes to mind most prominently).
Of course, few would have doubted, even then, that Tiger wasn't going to end up being Tiger, but the professional wins have to start somewhere and here is where it started for the GOAT.
9. 1994 US Amateur
Played at TPC Sawgrass, this was the first of three straight US Amateurs, where Tiger is remembered for becoming not only the youngest US Amateur Champion (18 years old) but also with the biggest come-from-behind victory (6 holes down at one point) (and also the silly-ass hat he was wearing).
8. 2018 Tour Championship
This is the win that confirmed that Tiger 3.0 was legit back. Throughout the Spring and Summer, he had come close in a few tournaments (I really thought he was going to win the Valspar) but he hadn't broken through with the W.
7. 2001 Players Championship
Three words: Better Than Most.
6. 2006 Open Championship
A ho-hum 2-shot victory at Royal Liverpool for the Cat's second straight British Open title didn't set any records but it was the first Major victory since the death of Earl and, once it was over, the emotions he showed in hugging Stevie said it all.
5. 2005 Masters
Tiger bogeyed the 17th and 18th to blow a 2-shot lead and get forced into a playoff with Chris DeMarco. Tiger, of course, won on the first hole of that playoff, to win his fourth Green Jacket and ninth Major overall. That's not what this tournament will be remembered for, though. I'll let Verne take it from here:
4. The Tiger Slam (2000 US Open, Open Championship and PGA Championship; 2001 Masters)
Simply the greatest accomplishment the sport has ever seen and whatever number two is isn't particularly close. This is where The Big Cat showed us exactly what he was.
US Open at Pebble Beach. Tiger (-12). Second Place finisher Big Ern (+3). FIFTEEN SHOTS. In a US Open. At Pebble. Simply unheard of. My favorite story from this championship, however, is that it almost didn't happen because Tiger, unbeknownst to him, was down to his last ball on Saturday.
Open Championship at St. Andrews. Tiger (-19). Big Ern again in second (-11). Not quite as impressive but still an eight shot win in a major is not supposed to happen. 19 under at a British Open is not supposed to happen. But the fun would continue.
PGA Championship at Valhalla. This was tougher than expected thanks to journeyman (and trivia question answer) Bob May. Both finished at 18 under (a PGA Championship record and five shots clear of the next guy). May shot 72-66-66-66. As Stevie said in the Golf Channel's documentary recap on this tournament, can you imagine shooting three 66s and NOT winning? Tiger won the three-hole playoff by one. This was the first time a player had won three Majors in the same calendar year since Hogan did it in 1953.
The Masters. Imagine the pressure heading into this tournament. No one had ever held all four Major titles at the same time. It was all anyone was talking about. And then to go out and do it? Absolutely insane. Tiger didn't take the lead until the third round and ended up beating Duval by 2 and Phil by 3. And thus was born the Tiger Slam. Something never accomplished before and not likely to be accomplished ever again.
3. 2008 US Open
Just epic Tiger. Played in his childhood backyard at Torrey Pines where he's won like 40 times. Rocco Mediate really took him to the limit in this one. Tiger had something like a 12-15 footer on 18 to force a playoff (which he of course made). The next day, they tied again in the 18-hole playoff with Tiger finally sealing the deal on the first hole of sudden death.
Why is this so high on the list? Because Tiger played the entire tournament ON A TORN ACL and with a STRESS FRACTURE in his leg. He won the US Open basically on one leg.
He'd undergo surgery and miss the remainder of the season. We all know what happened over Thanksgiving while he was recovering.
2. 2019 Masters
After the knee injury. The fire hydrant. The parade of mistresses. The next door neighbor. The sex addiction therapy. The divorce. The DWI. The mug shot. The multiple knee surgeries. The multiple back surgeries. The activated glutes. The chipping yips. The spinal fusion surgery. After all of that, who would have written Tiger Woods off? Pretty much everybody. Who would have ever thought he'd have another Major in him? Pretty much nobody. And yet ... And yet ... HE WON THE FUCKING MASTERS!!!!!
RETURN TO GLORY!!!!!!
1. 1997 Masters
The one that started it all. 21 years old. 40 on the front in the first round. 30 on the back. 18 under overall. 70-66-65-69. Winner by 12(!). This is the one that told the field they'd be playing for second most weeks for the next DECADE.
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| First of Five. |
