Tiger vs. Scottie : Who had/has more competition?
Mach2
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I feel Scottie has the deeper field to play against.
I mean he did have to face Young Tom Morris for a few years.
It had to have been an emotional rollercoaster
I mean Phil didn't win a major until his 13th year on tour and in his 30's. Scottie started full time on the tour in 2020 and won his first major in his 3rd year in 2022. He's now got his 2nd along with 2 Players Championships. He's played in 19 majors and only missed 3 cuts, two which were as an amateur or before he got his card. He's won 2 and has 8 more top 10 finishes in them. He's also been the #1 player in the world for 80 weeks to Phil's 0 weeks as he only ever got to #2. He's about a quarter of the way to Phil's wins and 1/3 of the way to his major total and I'd say he's just hitting his stride and entering his prime. I don't think it's unreasonable to put them in the same conversation.Okay, Mr. Editor.
While we’re editing “is fun”
Phil has 46 PGAT wins 4 International wins and 6 Majors one set a record as being the oldest man to win a Major, he made 536/663 cuts let's not forget T-2 Masters last year.
Scottie does not belong in the same sentence/conversation whatever you wanna call it and he is surely not in the same paragraph as TW.
Now yes he has a long way to go before making a dent in Tigers wins and majors. I'd say though that he's probably playing to as close a level of dominance that Tiger had as anyone we've seen since. Had he been an average putter last year he would have 2-3 more wins. I hope he keeps winning but also have some great battle against some of the younger guys like Hovland, Aberg, Homa, Clark, and so forth so that we can get some good rivalries going. Golf needs this to get back some of the viewers that it's lost over the last few years. While Scottie ultimately ran away from the field in the Masters, there were several big names on the leaderboard that were within a stroke or two going into the back 9. That's what we want to see.
Luckily they played more match play back then and played together for those. The book Tommy's Honor is a good read about them.
I need to read the book. I watched the movie. Thought it was pretty good
The book has a lot more detail about them, St. Andrews, Prestwick and the start of the Open. I love golf history like that so I found it very interesting.
MonroeBob1955
Well-known member
It definitely can be fun comparing different generations in sports. And, of course, you can always find statistics that can support your particular point of view. That said, one could say Scottie‘s competition is stronger. This could be based on the fact that the Tour adopted elevated/designated/signature events where the top 50 must participate in (unless excused absence. Add to that the four majors and the players and I think you have the Tours best facing each other 13 times a year. Obviously, that system didn’t exist in Tigers prime. Top players played the majors and sprinkled in whichever other events they chose. So no guarantees Tiger was facing the top players. Not talking outcomes, just competition. We’re also not discussing one persons four year pro career versus another’s nearly 25.
Just my opinion.
Just my opinion.
Scottie has more competition - both because the field is a lot deeper now, and also because he's nowhere near as dominant as Tiger was in his prime, compared to the rest of the players around him.
When Tiger was at his peak, the conversation around every event was mainly about who would take second place behind him. With Scottie, every tournament is anybody's game.
When Tiger was at his peak, the conversation around every event was mainly about who would take second place behind him. With Scottie, every tournament is anybody's game.
I need to read it asap
bobgeorge
Kentucky Wildcat Fan!
Almost impossible to compare eras. It is like saying who had more competition ....Jordan or Labron?