Tiger Woods Blows it for Himself and the PGA
Posted on : 25-07-2009 | By : Tony Lamazza | In : Television
Y.E. Yang shocked the world and probably himself by beating the world’s best golfer, and maybe the greatest golfer of all time, Tiger Woods, by coming back from 2 strokes down Sunday to win the PGA Championship. Yang is the first Asian player to win a Major, the first player to beat Tiger Woods when Woods was tied or all alone in the lead after 54 holes of golf. Golf enthusiasts cheered, David took down Goliath, 12 never struck for Cinderella, No. 110 took down No. 1.
Is this good? I don’t really think so. The PGA heavily relies on Tiger Woods and the sentiment on the street is that Woods simply isn’t effective as he was, and may never be again.
Woods is by no means past his prime. After returning from an injury that ended his 2008 campaign, Woods has bounced back with wins at five tournaments. Some of these involved some vintage Woods Sunday comebacks. Unfortunately, the majors are far more watched than the other tournaments, so the typical sports fan doesn’t realize that all’s not lost in Tiger’s corner.
While everyone loves to talk about Yang and what he did today, this was a crippling blow to the PGA in 2009. There were simply no exciting stories that capped off the year of majors. Tom Watson nearly became the oldest golfer (by far) to ever win a major, before losing it on the final day. Woods went the entire year without a major, virtually unheard of during his career.
This one is another story in its own though. Yang is very unlikely to win another tournament of this scope, and will probably fade right back into obscurity. And for the time being, Woods’ pursuit of Jack Nicklaus’ record is in doubt.
And for the 2009 golf season, there’s not exactly much that fans can look forward to at this point. Will a Fedex Cup tournament excite them? Not exactly. There’s really not much to look for.
We need the Tiger, the best golfer, to be well, the best golfer. He needs to hold leads on Sunday. He needs people to be scared on the last few holes with Tiger on the prowl. We need Tiger Woods to dominate everybody and ask questions later. If he’s labeled the best, he needs to start performing in the biggest and best events.
Here’s to hoping that 2010 brings us a Tiger resurgence, and most notably, a major or two. The sport really needs it.


