Woods & Hogan At 64

Filed in archive Golf News on March 17, 2008

Courtesy: Sydney Morning Herald

Number five this season is in the bag and is now the talking point at office water coolers around the world.

Five in a row is a dandy feat but the real significance of Tiger wood's latest win is that it ties him with Ben Hogan on the career win list at 64 victories.

We all know that; we know the numbers, we know who's behind Tiger and who's still ahead of him on the list. And we know how number 64 came to be for Tiger: a dramatic 25 foot putt on the 18th hole to win by a stroke over a battling and very good Bart Bryant.

So, it's on to the next name on the list - Jack Nicklaus.

But, hold on. Not so fast.



Tiger Woods has tied Ben Hogan's record of 64 victories. These two golfers arrived at 64 titles in very different fashion.

Hogan's struggles with the game are legendary, like the man himself. He battled that nasty hook of which much has been written and much more has been written about how he tamed it and turned it into a gentle fade.

But Hogan's whole life was a struggle. His father committed suicide when Ben was just a little boy and he lost someone he was very close to.

From that moment, Hogan's existence became an endless tug-of-war, with Life on one end of the rope and Ben on the other.

His car accident in 1949 nearly killed him; it should have finished him as a golfer but we all know how he came back, not just to play but to keep winning and not just to win but to win major championships.

Tiger Woods childhood was just fine. Mother and father shepherded the gifted young boy along his obvious path, through a prestigious and expensive university education and watched as he immediately took the world of professional golf by storm.

Tiger's only personal crisis - the only one that we know of, at any rate - was the loss of his father. It shook him deeply but there were others around him who comforted him and then came the birth of his daughter to light up his life again.

So. Two men, two golfers, two different paths, 64 victories each. Is that it? Is there any point in comparing their stories further?

Yes. Both men realized early on that golf takes hard work and you won't find two harder working golfers in the history of the sport.

But what lies behind hard work is what makes Tiger Woods and Ben Hogan the same.
Their intent. Without intent, Hogan wouldn't have conquered his snap hook, no matter how hard he tried. He wouldn't have even picked up a club again after his car accident without intent.

Intent drove Tiger to rebuild his swing twice and suffer through the valley of the shadow of disappointments until it all came right again.

Intent is what took Hogan and Woods to the winner's table 64 times. Not talent, coaching, parents or lack of parents.

Intent is their internal guidance system. And there is perhaps no other sport than golf that demands such a high level of intent at all times in order to play the game well.