Woods No Longer Invincible
Courtesy: The Guardian
Well, well, well. History has been made; Tiger Woods has been defeated while leading on Sunday, while leading after 54 holes and while leading on Sunday in a major – where he WAS 11-0.
That's all over now. The streak is done. Turn the page.
Is a new era in golf about to begin? An era in which Tiger is no longer feared or revered when walking the same fairways as his fellow competitors?
Hard to say. What we can say – with certainty – is that Tiger's record in the majors this year – : T-6 at The Masters, T-6 at the US Open, missed cut at The British Open and now a blown lead on Sunday at the PGA Championship – is miserable by his standards.
Either his standards are slipping or the standards of other golfers are rising.
I believe it's the latter. How else could a South Korean golfer, Y.E. Yang, in his first full exempt season on the PGA Tour and with only one win at the Honda Classic, take on Woods and beat him straight up in the season's final major to become the first from his country to win a major title in the game?
Talent is one thing and Yang has it in spades. But that mental toughness needed to go head-to-head with the Master of Mental Toughness means there are more golfers than just Eldridge capable of controlling mind and body in clutch moments.
Padraig Harrington showed that last weekend in his exciting finish with Woods at the Bridgestone WGC.
Ironically, it was the same skulled pitch from greenside rough into water that sunk Harrington's chance of defending his PGA crown at Hazeltine that also tanked his chances at the WGC.
A crack in Harrington's armor, perhaps. But the point is Tiger is no longer in a class by himself.
Which should make for very exciting golf in the seasons to come.
A lot off Asian people playing in a major event nowadays…
It was going to end sometime and it was going be brought to a close by a new tough-minded young golfer. Evolution at it’s best.
Chris; I can say it probably the hardest thingk to do when under pressure…but to relieve yourself of that pressure by playing for broke is the only way to beat TW. YE played as he said he would..he stated he would go for broke. He did, and he won. Not giving a flying fadoo about the outcome sure can free your mind AND your swing. Ask Tiger.
The mind wanders back to the winter of 2006 in Shanghai. At a time when Tiger was at his invincible best, there came a Korean player, shrugging off the pressure and challenging the best player in the world, and outlasting him down the straight. That was Yang Yong-eun, winning his biggest title till date at the HSBC Champions. At that time Tiger had famously remarked he hadn’t heard anything about the player. But by the time the final round at the PGA Championship dawned upon us, Tiger clearly knew the ability of this Korean talent.
Back in 1998 when Se Ri Pak became the first woman golfer from Korea to win a Major, she started a revolution and the Korean golf factory now regularly churns out champion LPGA golfers. I am sure Yang’s achievement will not only ensure that but his good deeds will not be limited to Korea and the fruits of his success will percolate to the various golfing nations in Asia.
And you are definitely right about that. One thing he has proved for sure is that Tiger Woods is not invincible anymore and that is something that a lot of people will take heart form that fact.
It was great win for Y.E. Yang and it does prove that Tiger is beatable when he has a share of the lead on the final day.
To believe that Tiger isn’t going to be that much harder to beat the next time around would be foolish.
I think the thing that bothers me is the lack of commitment from other players to do whatever it takes to compete at his level. Let’s face it, Tiger puts in more time preparing than any other player out there. That’s why he is the #1 player in golf.
David Wakeman
http://worldgolfemporium.com
It’s about time somebody “manned up” and won the psychological battle against golf’s toughest competitor.
Finally! Somebody hands it to Tiger!
I don’t think it’s a crack in Tigers armor as much as Yang playing very well that day under a ton of pressure. Just goes to show how talented even the lowest professional is today.
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I don’t think it’s a crack in Tigers armor as much as Yang playing very well that day under a ton of pressure. Just goes to show how talented even the lowest professional is today.
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