Let’s begin with a rundown of Sunday’s event. Woods made 14 birdies in 29 holes to sink the overwhelmed Cink by the largest margin in the final match in the 10-year history of the event. The fact is, golf isn’t a fair fight at the moment—by any stretch of the imagination.
“I think we ought to slice him open to see what’s inside,” Cink told reporters. “Maybe nuts and bolts.” The scary part is that Cink is just the latest victim in Tiger’s winning streak, which dates back to Sept. 3, 2007. What’s even scarier is that this is the third time Tiger has won at least four events in a row and, as he’s said himself, “This is the best stretch I’ve ever played.” For the world’s best to utter those words, this may actually be the best golf we see anybody play. Ever.
When you begin the season saying that the Grand Slam—a win in every major championship tournament—is “easily within reason,” there are two possible scenarios. Either you’re a mentally deficient Rory Sabbatini … or you’re Tiger Woods, who can say whatever he wants, whenever he wants. Why? Because he has the game to back it up. After saying nothing in response to Stephen Ames’ proclamation that he was going to defeat Tiger in a match-play event in 2005, Tiger crushed Ames by the highest margin for an 18-hole match: nine and eight.
Another fool, Ian Poulter, claimed that it was “Me, Tiger and the field” before a tournament earlier this year. The result in his case was nothing new: an average golfer, who once was said to possibly have enough potential to maybe compete with Tiger for a tournament or two, made an audacious statement, and then was embarrassed a few days later on the only stage that really matters—the golf course.
A decade ago, people couldn’t imagine Tiger getting any better. Clearly, their imaginations were wrong. He’s already surpassed Arnold Palmer in career wins, and Ben Hogan will be next—within, let’s say, six weeks. As Tiger said himself, “I could never have foreseen my victory total being this high, my game improvement being as much as it has been, my knowledge of the game.”
His poise has been the most admirable aspect of his game. A week ago, Woods was three holes down with five holes to play against little-known J.B. Holmes. As a frequent golfer and caddie, I can’t stress enough that this is a situation that nobody wants to deal with, and it becomes harder and harder to deal with the frustration and remain focused. In this position, Woods went birdie, birdie, birdie, eagle to send a stunned Holmes to the clubhouse. Another opponent, Aaron Baddeley, missed two putts inside 15 feet on the 18th and 19th holes and was dismayed when Woods capitalized on his mistake by sinking a putt of the same length to seal the victory.
There is little else to say about Tiger Woods. He’s a man among boys on the PGA tour. If he is not striking the ball well, he will find a way to win. If he’s behind, he’ll find a way to come back. The man doesn’t seem to be able to feel pressure in situations in which most of us would be crumbling like tissue paper. He is the most mentally gifted athlete of all time, which is not only admirable, but rather alarming. Can somebody be this good? Apparently, because—as I said once already—he’s right before our eyes.