Wither Woods?

      Tom: It's an interesting race that I put at 50-50.
       Time is on Tiger's side. He's only 30, and finished tied for 3rd at Augusta without really playing well as an ability benchmark.
       Life is on Jack's side. That is to say, Woods is only beginning to have one, and we have no idea what he wants to with it, or how it'll affect him.
       But I hope I never live to play a Tiger Woods-designed course. No one with a handicap over five would be able to break 150.

 

Dear Ahab: I have played on more than one Jack Niucklaus course, and you bet they're hard. The one at the Greenbrier is way too long, way too narrow, and way too far in the woods for anyone who can't break 80 on a regular basis.
That was the basis of my little joke. Driven by his competitive zeal and through nature, designer Woods would likely begin by saying "what're the meanest things Jack, Pete Dye, and Robert Trent Jones ever did? What're the toughest shots I've ever faced in a major? How can I top those, then include them all in the same golf course?"
My guess is a Woods course would be like playing Carnoustie in an earthquake.

 

That's the point. Easily for the last 10 years the general public has been fed a never ending diet of manna about Tiger Woods. He's not like any other golfer or athlete. He's the supreme competitor. The master golfer. He can out drive you, out shoot you, out think you and make you collapse from the force of his composure and greatness.

If he floats above mere mortals when he wins, he should be held to the same standard when he doesn't.

 

A slight update with another major in the books.

Here are other key stats of comparison through the first 44 pro majors (even the ones played while amateurs) for Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods:

Tiger: 10 wins, 2 2nds, 22 top 10 finishes, 3 missed cuts, average finish when making cut: 14.8 

Jack: 8 wins, 8 2nds, 26 top 10s, 6 missed cuts, avg. finish when making the cut: 9.7

In Jack's next 44 majors (thru the end of the 1981 PGA, and at the end of which he was 41 years, 7 months old), though, he had 9 wins, 9 2nds, 38 top 10s, 1 missed cut, avg. finish: 6.4.
Masters: 2 wins, 3 2nds, 10 top 10s, avg. finish: 5.6
US: 2 wins, 1 2nd, 10 top 10s, avg. finish: 6.1
British: 1 win, 4 2nds, 10 top 10s, avg. finish: 4.6
PGA: 4 wins, 1 2nd, 8 top 10s, 1 missed cut, avg. finish: 9.5

He averaged finishing 6th from the age of 31 through 41. That's incomprehensible to me.

Jack's figuratively in the clubhouse. Woods has a lot of holes to play, needing to avoid injury and distraction (this obviously popped up here), or not leading after 54 holes.

I don't think Tiger ends up with a more impressive resume.