So, let us all get one thing straight, just like Jordan, their is no player that will be the same as him ever, just like there will never be another Tiger Woods in golf. Tiger has been the most dominant force to ever hit a professional sports scene since (wait for the pause for dramatic effect) ever!!! The wonder kid that was viewed by millions since he was a teenager has compiled possibly the most amazing career in professional sports that anybody could hope for, let alone dream for. He has displayed the most intense mental concentration and toughness I have ever witnessed, and the only person to come close to Tiger in this aspect is none other than Michael Jordan.
Now, let us fast-forward to present day. Everybody looks to compare players to the next Jordan:Mickael Pietrus, Denis Hopson, Harold Miner, Ron Harper, (wait, who are these guys?), Jerry Stackhouse, Michael Finley, (Okay I recognize some now), Vince Carter, T-Mac, (Okay, getting closer), Kobe, and Lebron (these guys are good, still not Jordan). Okay, so hopefully, my point is made, we constantly want to compare the greats to guys that could be greats and hope someone will come along that can give us the pleasure of viewing somebody so remarkable and so awesome to watch. So, now let's move on to Tiger.
Now that Tiger that has achieved greatness, at the level, in my opinion above the level of Michael, similar comparisons have been drawn. The most recent fad is Rory McIlroy. Does the kid have one of the purest swings I have ever seen in Golf? Hell, fucking, yes. His swing is remarkable, and could be the new logo for the PGA tour. However, does the kid have that winning edge, that mental toughness, that swagger, that IT factor? I don't think so whatsoever. He is now known as the PGA's new face, best kept secret, and a host of other things. Other than a PURE swing, does the kid possess anything worthy to be the new #1 golfer and a $20 million a year sponsorship from Nike? I think not, other than the fact the PGA seems to be more obsessed with the phenom than they are with a player that is most dominate at WINNING like a hmm...Tiger Woods.
So now you are all wondering, is this guy going on a rant, or his he a Tiger enthusiast/ Rory hater, or what is his deal. Well, none of the above (well, maybe the rant is spot on), but anyways, I love stats, so now it is definitely time to look at the stats in the form, of their Resume's as a Golf Professional (not including the current season).
Rory's stats are mediocre at best. He has done some amazing things in his young career, yet the way people talk about him, you would think he is on pace to beat Tiger's in at least 30 years, well maybe that is extreme, but he probably isn't even on pace to take over Tiger by the time,lets say, Rory turns 52.
Okay, so before I go any further by demeaning Rory by Tiger's utter dominance, you have got to see the Nike commercial with them just pigging!
So now that you have enjoyed a nice laugh, here are Rory's stats since he joined the tour in 2007 (great name for a video game I think so , the tour! awesome).
Rory McIlroy
Years on tour: 7
PGA wins: 6
European wins: 5
Asian Tour wins: 1
PGA Player of the Year: 2012
PGA Money Leader: 2012
Majors
Starts: 17
Best Master’s Finish: T15
Best Open Finish: T3
Major wins: 2 2011 U.S. Open, 2012, PGA Championship
2nd Place Finishes: 0
Top 3 Finishes: 3
Top 5: 5
Top 10: 6
Top 25: 9
Missed cuts: 3
Most consecutive cuts made: 7
Longest streak of top 10 finishes: 2
Btw, Rory has never won the Accenture Match play tournament, finished 2nd only one time, and best finish other than that was making it to the round of 32.
So, as you can all see, this is not impressive by any means. Shit, Tiger last season had 3 wins which is nearly half that of Rory's career. Even more so, Tiger has had 4 seasons in which he had at least 7 wins. That means each of those seasons he matched Rory's career total in wins. At least Lebron, can compile stats similar to MJ before people argue he is as good as MJ, the same cannot be said for Rory. Now that we have seen the youngsters resume, time to take a look at the most dominate athlete (in their respective sport) resume.
Tiger Woods
Years on tour: 17
PGA Wins: 76
European Wins: 39
PGA Player of the Year: 10 times
PGA Money Leader: 9 times
Majors
Starts: 66
Wins: 14
2nd Place: 6
3rd Place: 3
Top 5: 30
Top 10: 36
Top 25: 51 (51/66 times finished in the top 25, wow!!!)
Additional stats:
- He is 14–1 when going into the final round of a major with at least a share of the lead.
- In April 1997, he won his first major, the Masters, becoming the tournament's youngest-ever winner.
- After a lackluster 1998, Woods finished the 1999 season with eight wins, including the PGA Championship, a feat not achieved since 1974
- In 2000, Woods achieved six consecutive wins, the longest winning streak since 1948
- He has spent the most consecutive and cumulative weeks atop the world rankings
- At the end of 2000, Woods had won nine of the twenty PGA Tour events he entered and had broken the record for lowest scoring average in tour history.
- He is one of five players (along with Gene Sarazen, Ben Hogan, Gary Player, and Jack Nicklaus) to have won all four professional major championships in his career, known as the Career Grand Slam, and was the youngest to do so
- Woods is the only player to have won all four professional major championships in a row, accomplishing the feat in the 2000–2001 seasons.
- Has won 27% of the tournaments he has entered!
Now, when you hear Rory is the next big thing in golf, think again. Tiger's dominance of a sport will never be matched again, ever, regardless of what sport it is. He resurrected a sport that was supposed to be dead and has shattered every record imaginable. However, Rory, currently holds the #1 golfer ranking in the world. How? No clue, considering Tiger has won 2 times already, only 5 less than Rory's career wins. If Tiger isn't ranked #1 shortly, we all will know that it is because the PGA wants a wealthy, white kid, from Europe to be their face, not an athlete with as much controversy as Tiger after his recent affair. Regardless, never let the media fool you, Tiger has set a precedent in Golf as well as in sports that dominance like his, can never be achieved at the level that he has proven.
That is all from bigpigsports, hope you enjoyed and please, like always, post your thoughts in the form of a comment. If you find other topics that spark your interest, feel free to comment and contribute your insights into which athletes are straight pigging it!
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