Schmaybe, Schmaybe Not
A thought about this weekend’s U.S. Open (won in magnificent form by Michael Campbell, by the way) and all the
‘will Tiger beat Jack‘ speculation. 
We knocked it around a little here, too. (Had to drown out the incessant droning and reverent incantation of ‘Payne Stewart this, Payne Stewart that, eerily like Payne Stewart there‘, taking a page out of NASCAR’s Earnhardt moans and groans ~ so give it a rest already!) What we came up with was a qualified ‘probably’ and only for the Major win category. I mean, old Tiger’s halfway there. Where we both agreed ‘it will be a cold day in Hell before Tiger gets close’ is the runner-up column. The Golden Bear has 18 SECOND places in Majors, on TOP of those 18 firsts. WHILE slogging around the country from tournament to tournament in a station wagon, with Nancy, the five kids and puppies for company. Tiger, on the other hand, just tied the knot this year, so his life has been golf. Even with the myriad advantages, it looks like he’s only been second twice, usually ending up in the pack if he doesn’t win. Now tied with Ben Hogan and Gary Player is a far from shabby spot to hold and we all know that berth is only temporary. But for overall Championship play in a Major setting, we boldly vote ‘Jack’.
Fun | tree hugging sister | 
June 20, 2005 5:15 pm
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Interesting how Jack lists his 2 US Amateur titles as “Majors” on his page, whereas the other page does not give Tiger credit for his 3 US Amateurs…ah, but digguung around I found Tiger’s site which gives both the “traditional” majors totals and the “professional” majors totals. Neat! Ooh, and here’s a cool page with direct Tiger/Jack comparisons on Tiger’s site that is exceedingly complimentary and respectful of Jack. I like Tiger, a lot.
But I agree that Tiger either kicks ass or wilts; the problem being that until the end of Saturday’s round you’re never quite sure which Tiger will show up.
I especially liked Tiger this weekend. He was personable, smiling and gracious, even when he’d schmutzed it. He’s aging pretty darn gracefully. (Now, if he could just keep his thug of a caddy from roughing up infidels with throw away cameras…)
Speaking of his caddy, Steve Williams, I liked how he was the first guy to congratulate his fellow New Zealander Michael Campbell with a big hug when he walked off the green. Can you imagine Grumpy Bear Jack letting his caddy do such a thing?