The Masters...

[Rogah]

I think he's on the same trajectory Tiger was at the beginning and that's a valid thing to say. Whether he keeps it up is up to him. He has the game to do it. But at 20 a lot of life can get in the way if he allows it. It's tough to live golf every day. You have to be obsessed with it.

In order to be "on the same trajectory as Tiger," he would have to win 2 professional tournaments this year plus another 4 next year, 1 of which would have to be a major.

I would pretty much wager every penny I own that that is not going to happen.

 

[jobberone]

In order to be "on the same trajectory as Tiger," he would have to win 2 professional tournaments this year plus another 4 next year, 1 of which would have to be a major.

I would pretty much wager every penny I own that that is not going to happen.

He's on similar course. He won 2 Jr Amateur's. Tiger won 3. Tiger also won 3 Amateur's. Spieth turned pro sooner. I don't know how many Amateur's he played in. He won his first pro tournament at a younger age than Tiger and quicker. Of course the odds are stacked against anyone winning a Major against the field but if he can play at the Masters like he did this weekend he'll win his share of tournaments. Whether he's as good as Jack or Tiger is far far away.

 

[honyock]

He's on similar course. He won 2 Jr Amateur's. Tiger won 3. Tiger also won 3 Amateur's. Spieth turned pro sooner. I don't know how many Amateur's he played in. He won his first pro tournament at a younger age than Tiger and quicker. Of course the odds are stacked against anyone winning a Major against the field but if he can play at the Masters like he did this weekend he'll win his share of tournaments. Whether he's as good as Jack or Tiger is far far away.

I know they made a big deal out of this in the coverage this weekend, but the really amazing thing about Spieth's showing was that this was his first Masters. To be in contention on his first trip, with that course and those crazy/impossible greens, that's just silly. When Tiger had his breakthrough win in 1997, it was his third Masters.

I have no idea if Spieth will have a Tiger/Jack career...the odds are way against that. But it'll be fun to watch him...he plays way beyond his years.

 

[jobberone]

I know they made a big deal out of this in the coverage this weekend, but the really amazing thing about Spieth's showing was that this was his first Masters. To be in contention on his first trip, with that course and those crazy/impossible greens, that's just silly. When Tiger had his breakthrough win in 1997, it was his third Masters.

I have no idea if Spieth will have a Tiger/Jack career...the odds are way against that. But it'll be fun to watch him...he plays way beyond his years.

They often fold way before he did and he didn't completely fall apart merely shooting par for the day. Not bad. Not bad. I've seen a lot of players on that course since the early 60s. He's got good mechanics and rhythm. He just tried to attack the course when he should have played his opponent. He'll learn.

 

[RastaRocket]

He's on similar course. He won 2 Jr Amateur's. Tiger won 3. Tiger also won 3 Amateur's. Spieth turned pro sooner. I don't know how many Amateur's he played in. He won his first pro tournament at a younger age than Tiger and quicker. Of course the odds are stacked against anyone winning a Major against the field but if he can play at the Masters like he did this weekend he'll win his share of tournaments. Whether he's as good as Jack or Tiger is far far away.

Until he goes on a 2000-2002 Tiger run I will put nothing into his trajectory. 2000-2002 Tiger was the most dominant golfer of all time; he won the 2000 U.S. Open by 15 strokes!

 

[Rogah]

He's on similar course. He won 2 Jr Amateur's. Tiger won 3. Tiger also won 3 Amateur's. Spieth turned pro sooner. I don't know how many Amateur's he played in. He won his first pro tournament at a younger age than Tiger and quicker. Of course the odds are stacked against anyone winning a Major against the field but if he can play at the Masters like he did this weekend he'll win his share of tournaments. Whether he's as good as Jack or Tiger is far far away.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but not a single Junior Amateur champion of the past 20 years has actually gone on to win a Major. And yes Tiger won 3 Amateur's, versus 0 for Spieth.

 

[jobberone]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but not a single Junior Amateur champion of the past 20 years has actually gone on to win a Major. And yes Tiger won 3 Amateur's, versus 0 for Spieth.

Tiger won 3 Junior's. Duval won The Open. And those are just outside your 20 yr limit. I'm not certain that means anything but it is an interesting observation.

I've never seen a player at the Masters play that well in their first tournament though. That's an interesting observation as well IMO. Many of those were in person until the last 20 years and then episodic. The TV coverage is better than sitting in the sun. But I still like to go and smell the course and take in its beauty. Just practice rounds now though.

 

[casmith07]

Nobody is going to start redesigning every golf course on the tour to compensate for Spieth.

He's not in the same stratosphere as Tiger.

 

[jobberone]

Nobody is going to start redesigning every golf course on the tour to compensate for Spieth.

He's not in the same stratosphere as Tiger.

Not in the same galaxy.

 

[Rogah]

Tiger won 3 Junior's. Duval won The Open. And those are just outside your 20 yr limit. I'm not certain that means anything but it is an interesting observation.

I didn't know that about Duval, but the point was the no one has done it in the 20 years since Tiger.

I've never seen a player at the Masters play that well in their first tournament though.

But many top-caliber golfers participate in the Masters as amateurs. Spieth never qualified as an amateur, so he never had that "first time" experience where he was just happy to be there playing with the big boys for the first time.

All I am saying is that the original comment suggesting Spieth could be "the next Tiger Woods" is quite a bit ridiculously extreme. There is only 1 man with more Major Championships (Nicklaus) and only 1 man with more pro championships (Snead). The latter record is certain to fall, the former still up in the air. Fact is there will probably never be another Tiger Woods in our lifetimes. If he didn't sabotage his own career with his extracurricular activities, he would probably own both those records already.

 

[honyock]

Nobody is going to start redesigning every golf course on the tour to compensate for Spieth.

He's not in the same stratosphere as Tiger.

It's no fluke that Tiger and Jack are the two dominant golfers of the modern era. Both of them were, in their early prime, the longest hitters of their time. That's such a tremendous advantage, it means you're playing a different golf course than your competition. Pair that with a good putting touch and you've got yourself a recipe for Masters success. That just isn't Spieth's long suit.

Bubba could win one or two more Masters. He's got the perfect game for the place.

 

[Doomsday101]

I don't know what kind of career Spieth has in front of him, based on early results however with a PGA win under his belt and some strong showing including the Masters I think Spieth very well could be the next special player in the PGA. Way too early to know right now.

 

[RastaRocket]

I didn't know that about Duval, but the point was the no one has done it in the 20 years since Tiger.
But many top-caliber golfers participate in the Masters as amateurs. Spieth never qualified as an amateur, so he never had that "first time" experience where he was just happy to be there playing with the big boys for the first time.

All I am saying is that the original comment suggesting Spieth could be "the next Tiger Woods" is quite a bit ridiculously extreme. There is only 1 man with more Major Championships (Nicklaus) and only 1 man with more pro championships (Snead). The latter record is certain to fall, the former still up in the air. Fact is there will probably never be another Tiger Woods in our lifetimes. If he didn't sabotage his own career with his extracurricular activities, he would probably own both those records already.

I think injuries is the biggest reason Tiger isn't as dominant.

 

[Rogah]

I think injuries is the biggest reason Tiger isn't as dominant.

He was pretty badly injured when he won the 2008 U.S. Open.

Fact is that his career turned around 180 degrees on that fateful Thanksgiving Day in 2009. There was nothing gradual about it. Prior to that he won 14 of 52 majors, 0 for 17 since. He was also the money leader something like 9 of 13 years prior to that incident, including being the money leader in 2009, and only 1 out of 4 since.

 

[jobberone]

It's no fluke that Tiger and Jack are the two dominant golfers of the modern era. Both of them were, in their early prime, the longest hitters of their time. That's such a tremendous advantage, it means you're playing a different golf course than your competition. Pair that with a good putting touch and you've got yourself a recipe for Masters success. That just isn't Spieth's long suit.

Bubba could win one or two more Masters. He's got the perfect game for the place.

Esp being left handed

 

[MichaelWinicki]

I think injuries is the biggest reason Tiger isn't as dominant.

Even without the other nonsense, Tiger's body was breaking down.

I doubt that by 2008 US Open, no one had hit more golf balls than him by that age. The wear & tear was incredible.

 

[honyock]

He was pretty badly injured when he won the 2008 U.S. Open.

Fact is that his career turned around 180 degrees on that fateful Thanksgiving Day in 2009. There was nothing gradual about it. Prior to that he won 14 of 52 majors, 0 for 17 since. He was also the money leader something like 9 of 13 years prior to that incident, including being the money leader in 2009, and only 1 out of 4 since.

I think it was a combination of things, the personal life implosion was part of it, but the injuries have definitely been part of it too. And he was about at the age that you see a lot of players stop winning majors. It happened to Palmer, Watson, Seve, and others...they just stopped winning majors about that age in their early thirties. It was shocking with Tiger because he had been so dominant. But Palmer had been dominant in majors, and so had Watson for a stretch of years. Seve too. Not at Tigers pace, but they had all won a slew of them until it suddenly stopped.

There's a nice article on the Golf Channel site about Tiger and age. It makes the point that winning majors is a young mans game. There are exceptions like Nicklaus and Mickelson. But that isn't the rule. Given his body wearing out and the lost time and focus from his personal troubles, Tiger may be a more dramatic victim of age than most. But I think that ascribing it all to the Thanksgiving Day fallout is too easy an explanation.

http://www.golfchannel.com/news/joe-posnanski/does-age-really-matter-golf-yes-it-does/

 

[honyock]

Esp being left handed

Yeah that high fade of his is deadly there, it's made for all those doglegs. I saw that his drive on #13 on Sunday was somewhere in the 365 yard range. That's just insane.

 

[MichaelWinicki]

I think it was a combination of things, the personal life implosion was part of it, but the injuries have definitely been part of it too. And he was about at the age that you see a lot of players stop winning majors. It happened to Palmer, Watson, Seve, and others...they just stopped winning majors about that age in their early thirties. It was shocking with Tiger because he had been so dominant. But Palmer had been dominant in majors, and so had Watson for a stretch of years. Seve too. Not at Tigers pace, but they had all won a slew of them until it suddenly stopped.

There's a nice article on the Golf Channel site about Tiger and age. It makes the point that winning majors is a young mans game. There are exceptions like Nicklaus and Mickelson. But that isn't the rule. Given his body wearing out and the lost time and focus from his personal troubles, Tiger may be a more dramatic victim of age than most. But I think that ascribing it all to the Thanksgiving Day fallout is too easy an explanation.

http://www.golfchannel.com/news/joe-posnanski/does-age-really-matter-golf-yes-it-does/

Good explanation.

 

[Rogah]

The biggest trouble with the injury excuse is that if you take away majors, then 2012 and 2013 saw Tiger Woods resume his dominating ways. But in majors, he just can't get his head wrapped straight.