Evaluating Eldrick: Is He "The One"?

Saint Patrick’s Day, 2008 

Lately, I find myself stoopdefied by comments regarding Mr. Woods’ accomplishments which posit that either: 

A.   He really can’t be considered a greater golfer than the Titans of yore

      (e.g. Nick Jacklaus, Watt Tomson, etc.), because he enjoys the advantages

      of modern and superior club, ball, and agronomic technologies;

or that,

B.   his achievements somehow merit less acclaim because he competes against a “weaker field” than those revered predecessors.

Well those arguments are specious and a bunch of hole-wipe, frankly.

Regarding technology: 

From the three-century reign of the whittled wood ball through the “featherie” and

Gutta-Percha eras and so forth, elite golfers have always sought out and embraced the best technologies available for their pursuit. Whether it was the era of Old Tom Morris or of Nicklaus, of hickory shafts or of graphite, the finest golfers have always found the latest technologies and employed them.

In other words, the technological playing field, while constantly evolving, remains level. The folks chasing Tiger have access to the same kinds of tools, and compete on the same type of turf conditions he does, just as it was in the days of Hagen, Hogan, Snead, Nelson, Palmer, Nicklaus, and the rest.

Regarding the relative strength of “the field”:

Well OK then, let’s do a little thought experiment and consider “the field” to consist of every golfer who’s ever played the game. Here’s a (very abbreviated) list of some All-Time records currently held by the 32 year old Mr. Woods:

Lowest total score vs. par in a Major Championship –

1997 Masters  -18

2000 US Open  -12

2000 British Open  -19

2000 PGA  -18 (tied w/Bob May.)

Most consecutive PGA rounds of par or better – 52

Most consecutive cuts made in PGA events – 142 (2^nd: Byron Nelson – 113)

Only person in history to score under par in every PGA event entered for an entire season

Lowest scoring average for a PGA season – 68.17 (2^nd: Byron Nelson – 68.33)

Most USGA National Championships – tied for 2^nd w/ Jack Nicklaus – 8

(1^st: Bobby Jones – 9)

Miscellaneous interesting tidbits:

1^st hole-in-one  - six years old

USGA handicap @ age 11 – 2

USGA handicap @ age 13 – scratch

Wherein does “the field” have a flippin’ thing to do with this level of achievement?

I’m astonished that more posters and commentators aren’t filled with glee over the opportunity to watch (and vicariously participate in) the unfolding of what is arguably the greatest athletic career since the Magna Carta. (Oh I know, I know – I can hear the outraged howls as I type this.)

Look... I watched MJ and Gretzky, saw Ali, thrilled to Kareem & Earvin during Showtime, folowed Aaron, Mantle, Petty, Navratilova, Nicklaus, Russell, Laver, Rice, Sampras, Nolan Ryan, LT, Edwin Moses, the incredible, meteoric flash of Bo Jackson, (insert your own legend here), and on and on...

Heck, I saw Bob Beaman, and the ’69 Mets.

All that being said, I believe that if one is fortunate to survive enough orbits around the sun, a special privilege attached to such status will be the chance to answer the (inevitable) questions by replying, “Yeah, I saw him play."