Name one person in this thread that is hating on Eldridge? I cannot find one. He is the best athlete on the face of the earth...period.

 

Eldrick u mean?

He raised the bar. No one can jump over it now. He's the best ever.

 

Well, don't think I'd take it that far... A world-class competitor in his particular sport though!

 

I find that a common statement from non-golfers and those easily swayed by the media.

You can make that type of statement about ball players to some degree. As they still use a wooden bat to hit a ball thrown by a human arm. I know, conditioning is better and balls can be livelier and bats as well but...the game has still changed little from it's origins.

Golf on the other hand...

The condition of the courses today versus just 25 years ago... The uniformity of the greens and the grass in the fairways and rough...and then the biggie. The equipment, meaning club faces, shafts and the ball. And the competition...yes there are many more talented players on tour than say 30 years ago but 30 years ago you were either in the top 5 or so or you made squat. So you had a very tight and strong group of 5-10 players who HAD WON MAJORS AND KNEW HOW TO! You would never hear anyone then say "well we are all just playing for second"...for example Nicklaus had Trevino, Weiskopf, Player, Palmer, Snead, Watson, Ballesteros, Miller, etc etc etc who were all major multiple major winners who PLAYED TO WIN. Not just to get in the tip 20 and pull down a nice cheque.
The PGA also didn't pander to the elite players as they have for Tiger.
For example: The Masters. Nicklaus was (with his inferior equipment) nearly as long a hitter as Tiger. Actually as long with his irons. So the Masters (which he won 6 times over the course of 26 years) was a great set up for him. But you didn't see the PGA LENGTHEN THE COURSE under the quise of making it play fairer to the shorter hitters! Give me a break! They lengthened the course for Tiger to win. Cause he is good for the PGA and revenue. They also didn't pick a US Open course that Nicklaus won at 6 times before...lol
I could go on for hours about the disparity in the game today versus other era's. I am not disputing Tigers ability or hating on him..
One thing though.....
Nicklaus was never fined for swearing on the course by the PGA. Tiger is the most fined player in PGA history. Nicklaus never threw a club once in 30 plus years. Tiger threw two on Sunday alone. Nicklaus never slammed his driver in disgust into the ground after a bad drive. Nicklaus raised his putter in triumph with a grin on his face after draining along one, he never once stood there pumping his fist or pounding his chest like Eldrick. In fact before Tiger, golf was never about being in someones face...
Nicklaus taught thousands of golfers how to win and lose graciously.
Tiger so far has not held a candle to the example he so desperately wants to be compared to.
By the way this is just my opinion. I respect yours so...try to keep the hater horseshit to a minimum. Think for yourself, do a little research and don't let the media formulate all your opinions.

 

Jack Nicklaus isn't dead yet.

 

i personally am a huge tiger fan...i love to watch someone make something so hard look so easy. i also love to watch someone completely outclass a field of players who, if they were playing me, would look like tiger themselves.

just because golf is a gentleman's game doesn't mean you can't get emotionally involved.

luckily i was home sick yesterday, so i got to watch all 19 playoff holes. what an exciting finish! however...
as much as i pull for tiger, rocco lost that match as much as tiger won it. tiger was giving away strokes left and right toward the end, and rocco just crapped the bed at the finish line. it was his to lose. yeah people are going to argue "tiger did what it took to win, and rocco didn't." that's fine. not choking is a sign of a true champion. but if you watched it, you saw both players fall apart, it was just a matter of who was going to fall apart last. unfortunately for rocco, it was him.

 

So you enjoy a tournament with 100 players entered and watching predominantly one players shots? Even when he is 7 shots out of the lead?
You enjoy watching highlights of Tigers previous shots while he is playing head to head?
You enjoy listening to his deceased father in a commercial tell you that his son (whom he once was quoted as saying would have as great an impact on humanity as Jesus) is the toughest person mentally in the world?
You enjoy watching him grimace in pain (lol) on bad shots but not on good ones? Or watching a man with an excrutiatingly painful knee, drop to both of them when he misses a putt? lol
You like watching him mouth '****' or 'g--damnit' whenever he misses a shot? Will you enjoy watching your son do the same? He is the most fined pro ever in this regard.
You enjoy watching him throw his clubs to the ground in disgust? Will you enjoy watching your child do the same?
You enjoy watching him walk off the green after he putts knowing the gallery will blindly follow him which will disrupt the concentration of his fellow player? (he has been called on this repeatedly by the way)
You enjoy his abismal (sp) record in the Ryder Cup? When by the way he is playing for his country and not himself?
You enjoy his fist pumping and chest beating when he makes a putt? If you were in my 4-some I would drop kick you and if he were your child you would chastise him.
Perhaps you enjoy turning on the golf channel and watching TIger Tuesday or Tiger's top tens or going online and watching every shot Tiger made in the Open?
Or maybe you are driving an Allure just like Tiger does? lol
Or maybe you enjoy knowing on Sunday that if he isn't in the lead, he has never come from behind to win a major?

Tiger is great. Of that there is no doubt. But...he has no great players today to be compared against. He has been crammed down our throats by the media to the point where most golfers I know don't watch golf nearly as much as before, however he is the darling of people who do not golf! I find this ironic.

Oh and by the way...IMHO Tiger won the open for one simple reason, his length off the tee. And his record on the par 5's bears this out.

 

I did noticed that too. It was as if there wasn't anyone else playing in the tournament. And I'm not even a golf guy. I wondered what the "lesser" players who were actaully ahead of Tiger (albeit not for long) were feeling that day. After all, they are getting paid from their sponsors too, right?

 

[QUOTE=benny,Jun 17 2008, 01:20 PM] So you enjoy a tournament with 100 players entered and watching predominantly one players shots? Even when he is 7 shots out of the lead?
You enjoy watching highlights of Tigers previous shots while he is playing head to head?
You enjoy listening to his deceased father in a commercial tell you that his son (whom he once was quoted as saying would have as great an impact on humanity as Jesus) is the toughest person mentally in the world?
You enjoy watching him grimace in pain (lol) on bad shots but not on good ones? Or watching a man with an excrutiatingly painful knee, drop to both of them when he misses a putt?

 

ohhhhhhh the race card!
You don't like him so you must be racist! lmfao..
I don't like Bush either so I must be anti-stupidity...
I don't like Mao so I must be anti-chinese...
I hated Hitler so I must be anti-moustache...
Murderers of small children detest me also, I must be anti-evil...
I would hate to run into myself cause I anti-matter...