Too early to get excited about Tiger Woods

[Kilroy]

The closest anyone came to a perfect season on the PGA Tour was Ben Hogan.

More...

[mpare]

Without intending to diminish Hogan's accomplishment, I would have thought that the perfection to which Tiger aspires was previously accomplished by only one man - Byron Nelson. In 1945 he won 18 tournaments, 11 of which were consecutive. Lest his feat be diminished by the fact that he did this during the war years, Hogan and Snead were two of his regular competitors. His scoring average that year was an astounding 68.33. That record stood for 55 years until Tiger bested him in 2000 with a 68.17 average. In my books, that's perfection.

[sillywilly]

Although there has never been a perfect season, there have been some amazing seasons.
Here are ESPN's top 10.

I think after this season is done poor little ochoa is going to get bumped for another tiger season



1. Byron Nelson, 1945
The numbers are still staggering, more than 60 years later. Byron Nelson won a record 18 PGA Tour events in 1945, including 11 in a row, all while beating up on Hall of Fame opponents like Ben Hogan, Sam Snead and Jimmy Demaret. Contrarians are quick to point out that he won only one major that year, but that's only because there was one played. Nelson won the PGA Championship, then a match play format, beating Gene Sarazen, Mike Turnesa, Denny Shute, Claude Harmon and Sam Byrd along the way.
2. Tiger Woods, 2000
Tiger Woods' 2000 season is the benchmark by which all other golf campaigns in the modern era, including those of Woods himself, are now compared. He set or tied 27 PGA Tour records while winning nine of 20 starts, but here's the scariest proposition: It could have been so much better. Woods finished fifth at the Masters (the only major he didn't win that year) despite carding a triple-bogey and double-bogey in the opening round and was runner-up at the prestigious Players Championship, Tour Championship and WGC-Match Play Championship.

3. Bobby Jones, 1930
No player has won the modern Grand Slam, but Bobby Jones did clinch the antiquated version of all four major titles in one season, winning the U.S. and British opens and U.S. and British amateurs in 1930. A career amateur, Jones retired from competitive golf at the end of that season, saying at the time that winning championships "is something like a cage. First you are expected to get into it and then you are expected to stay there. But of course, nobody can stay there."

4. Ben Hogan, 1953
Score one for achievement over consistency with this selection. Sure, Ben Hogan's 1946 season included 13 victories, but it is the '53 campaign for which he is best remembered. Just four years removed from a life-threatening car accident, Hogan competed in only seven events and won five of them, including three majors. Why didn't he win the fourth? Because at the time, the PGA Championship overlapped with the British Open.

5. Annika Sorenstam, 2002
Annika Sorenstam was never better than in 2002, when she carded 11 LPGA titles, three second-place finishes and three thirds, finishing in the top 10 in 20 of 23 starts. (She also won both international tourneys she competed in, as well.) During the season, Ms. 59 set or tied 20 LPGA records and won her fourth major championship, successfully defending her Kraft Nabisco title.

6. Ryan Moore, 2004
Before 2004, only three men had won the U.S. Amateur and NCAA individual championship in the same year -- a trio of guys named Jack Nicklaus, Phil Mickelson and Tiger Woods. Ryan Moore not only joined them four years ago, he one-upped 'em, also winning the U.S. Amateur PubLinks, Western Amateur, Sahalee Players Championship and four other titles.

7. Mickey Wright, 1963
We can debate which of Mickey Wright's seasons really belongs on this list. Is it the 1961 campaign, during which she won 10 titles and three majors? Or '63, when she posted 13 wins and two majors (including the Western Open, then considered a major)? I'll take the latter, if only because it was her third of four consecutive years with double-digit victory totals.

8. Jack Nicklaus, 1972
You didn't think we'd get through this list without an entry from Jack Nicklaus, did you? While the Golden Bear has many seasons that could be nominated (he won multiple major titles in five different years), he gets the nod for his 1972 campaign, during which he won the initial two legs of the Grand Slam and five other events.

9. Arnold Palmer, 1960
Wherever Jack's name is found, Arnold Palmer's won't be too far behind. In fact, Arnie's 1960 season is eerily similar to that of Nicklaus in '72. Palmer won eight times that year, claiming the Masters by one stroke over Ken Venturi and the U.S. Open by two over Nicklaus.

10. Lorena Ochoa, 2001-02
Lorena Ochoa's eight-win LPGA season in 2007 helped her rise to No. 1 in the world, but it may have paled in comparison to her amateur exploits in 2001-02. In 10 college tournaments at the University of Arizona, she won eight, including seven in a row, and finished second in the other two. After turning pro in May, she played in 10 Futures Tour events, winning three to top the money list and earn her LPGA Tour card.

[spackler]

I doubt anyone actually thinks he can run the table, there are a few tournaments in there that just don't set up for him (the Players for one) even though he cherry picks his schedule. Still, he may be on track for his greatest season. The incredible thing about last week's tournament was that he birdied or eagled 48 of the 117 holes he played. That's equivilent to averaging about 7.5 birdies per 18 holes. Ridiculous.

[sillywilly]

its not real that crazy. You have to remember that its match play. They are going for the pin on every hole. They are going for the eagles. No one lays up on a par 5 in match play unless you know the other guy has to lay up and you are still going to be way better off than him but generally if you can go for it, you go for it. If people played like that on tour you would see more low 60 scores..

Anyway, that is just what I heard the guy on TV say about all the birds that day. i wonder why they don't play like that on tour. What is the down side?

[mjf]

[QUOTE=spackler;238355]I doubt anyone actually thinks he can run the table...QUOTE]

Actually, there's at least one person who does... Fred Funk! Here's a quote from this article http://www.jacksonville.com/tu-onlin...46771824.shtml

Funk was asked by a fan at the Ginn Championship media day if he thought Tiger Woods was the best player in golf history. Funk said: "I already made a bet with this guy - I don't think [Woods] is going to get beat this year. I think he's going undefeated. ... It was a small bet."

I tend to agree though that the Player's hasn't worked out that great for him in the past... except that one year he won it.

[Golfbum]

its not real that crazy. You have to remember that its match play. They are going for the pin on every hole. They are going for the eagles. No one lays up on a par 5 in match play unless you know the other guy has to lay up and you are still going to be way better off than him but generally if you can go for it, you go for it. If people played like that on tour you would see more low 60 scores..

Anyway, that is just what I heard the guy on TV say about all the birds that day. i wonder why they don't play like that on tour. What is the down side?

Simple reason why they do not go for everything in stroke play. You make a double and you could lose the tournament because of that score. Make a double in match play and you are only down one hole. Being down one hole is a lot different than being behind by 2-3 strokes.]

Plus the fact that the fairways on that course were wide enough to land a 747. Miller made note of that fact. Those fairways were huge, I bet most of us would not miss those faiways. Ok maybe Sillywilly

[Kilroy]

I thought this thread was about the potential for a perfect season, not last weeks event.

[spackler]

I thought this thread was about the potential for a perfect season, not last weeks event.

Probably my fault for sidetracking it a little bit, I just meant to use the birdie percentage last week to show just how well he's playing right now. I doubt he can run the table, but 7.5 birdies/round, matchplay or not, will not get beat.

[Kilroy]

Agreed. I doubt a perfect season is possible, but if anyone is going to do it in the foreseeable future...