There are no superlatives adequate to describe what Tiger Woods has accomplished in the last six weeks. Four consecutive victories, including two major championships. Yet another victory in a World Golf Championship event. Dominating victories at Hoylake and at Medinah, two courses that are as different as it is possible for a golf course to be.
By his own admission, Tiger was unprepared for this year's U.S. Open, rusty after weeks away from the tour to mourn the loss of his father. After missing the cut there, he obviously set out to fine tune his game, and the results speak for themselves. Not since 2000 has he appeared this dominant. At Hoylake, he proved that he is smarter and more versatile than anyone else on the tour, shelving the driver and showing the world how to navigate a links course. At Medinah and this week at Firestone, he showed with ease how to win on a classic narrow tree-lined fairway parkland course.
Some people have pooh-poohed the idea that it is time to begin calling Tiger the best ever, countering that Jack Nicklaus won his 18 majors against superior competition - where are Tiger's Arnold Palmer, or Lee Trevino, or Gary Player, or even Johnny Miller, they say? Make no mistake about it - they're out there. It's just that Tiger is so much better than everyone else, when he is on his game, he is unbeatable - period. Not even Jack Nicklaus could make that claim, and Nicklaus was always my favorite golfer when I was growing up.
It's really up to Tiger at this point. He and his wife could decide to raise a family; he could decide to cut down on appearances; he could get bored with winning all the time (seems doubtful, but you never know). But, barring injury, his quest to overtake Jack as the player with the most major championship victories is a foregone conclusion. It's just a matter of time.
Enjoy the ride, folks. Not everyone can say that they got to watch the greatest ever, in their prime.
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