Sports Then and Now

Tiger Woods is aiming to win at St. Andrews for the third straight time.

Tiger Woods is aiming to make history this weekend as he attempts to become the first ever player to win three successive Open Championships at St Andrews.

After his opening round, online betting odds believe he still has a chance of achieving this and remind people that he can make the headlines for his golfing ability rather than his personal life.

Woods finished day one four shots behind early leader Rory McIlroy after a five-under-par round of 67. It was a solid round from the World No.1 and one that will encourage him as the tournament progresses.

Conditions were certainly favourable for early starters like Woods on Thursday and it was important that he stayed in touch with the leaders at the very least. Had he been further back that tied for 8th, golf betting pundits would have probably written him off considering his form since returning to the sport.

The American is still very much in with a chance of making history though and it will be very interesting to see how things develop for him on Friday and then over the weekend.

One positive from his opening round, according to the man himself, was the new putter he selected for the tournament. Woods said that he was ‘very pleased with it because the balls come off faster’.

Another encouraging moment for him was the reception he received from the crowd in Scotland. He described the galleries as ‘respectful and enthusiastic’, something which will help him along as he bids for yet another British Open victory.

Tom Watson celebrates his chip-in on the 17th hole during the 1982 U.S. Open

Though the U.S. Open has a history of turning previous unknowns into champions, when the best golfers in the World tee it up this week for the U.S. Open Championship at the storied Pebble Beach Golf Links, you can expect that the eventual winner will be a well-known superstar, rather than a previous unknown who came from nowhere to win the title.

This will mark the fifth time that the U.S. Open has been played at the famous Pebble Beach Course. The four previous champions represent a “who’s who” of all-time golf greats.

No golfer has won more major championships than Jack Nicklaus, who claimed his third U.S. Open the first time the tournament was played at Pebble Beach in 1972. Nicklaus finished with a three-stroke victory over Bruce Crampton and four strokes ahead of another all-time great Arnold Palmer.

When the championship returned to Pebble Beach a decade later, Nicklaus was aiming for his fifth U.S. Open title. A final round charge put him in contention, but Tom Watson swiped the title with a chip-in on the 17th hole of the final round to seal his only U.S. Open title and sixth of his eight major titles. Read the rest of this entry →

Phil Mickelson dominated the final round to win the 2010 Masters.

With all the hype entering the Masters about Tiger Woods, it turns out that the final glory went to Phil Mickelson, the era’s other great player, who has also spent this year dealing with off-the-course issues.

While Tiger has been dealing with issues brought on by his own decisions, Mickelson and his family have spent the year dealing with the indiscriminant foe of cancer.

The contrasts between Woods and Mickelson are certainly glaring, but this is a time to celebrate the greatness of the lefthander and not to continue the now familiar lament against the talented righthander.

For years, Mickelson has dealt with the criticism that even with three major titles he had never reached his full potential. Indeed, every time it has seemed that he was poised to break through and serve as a true nemesis for Woods, he would do something to derail his chances.

That is why it seemed very improbable that Mickelson would be a serious contender at the 2010 Masters.

After being a clear number two to Woods for the last several years, Mickelson was only a shell of his former self for the first part of 2010. Read the rest of this entry →

Because he didn't give many details and may not have been telling the complete truth, the public statement by Tiger Woods on February 19 has not stopped the media frenzy around the golfer.

After months of receiving headlines on the tabloids, Tiger Woods is hopeful that returning to professional golf at the Masters will shift the focus from his personal life back to his golf prowess. Unfortunately, it is my belief that until Tiger completely defuses the situation, he will never truly be free of his past.

Let me start by saying that while I don’t agree with Tigers’ actions, I don’t believe it is any of my business or that I as a fan and consumer am “owed” anything by Woods.

However, because Tiger has built an empire based on the perception that he is an average guy with super-human ability, his handlers have tried to temper the collateral damage of his actions.

Their first attempt was a 13-minute public statement given by Woods in front of a small group of friends and business associates and watched by millions of people on television. Read the rest of this entry →

Tiger Woods is going to talk on Friday, but how much will he really say?

If the media is to be believed, when Tiger Woods speaks in public on Friday morning for the first time since his infamous accident last November it will be one of the biggest events in the history of sports. One teaser even went as far as to suggest that you will forever remember where you were when Tiger spoke. Really!?

Like many Americans, I have spent the last decade and a half watching with amazement the golf domination of Tiger Woods.

It isn’t just that he has won 14 major championships and millions of dollars in earning, but he has performed with both a consistency and a flair that has captured the interest and imagination of countless sports fans.

Even people who really don’t care much for golf often have not been able to stay away from the television when Woods is in the hunt at one of the major championships.

That aura has transcended to the advertising world as Tiger has become one of the most recognized “pitchmen” in the world as his multi-cultural heritage has made him a star around the globe.

Part of what made Woods so captivating was that even though his wealth and talent were well beyond the comprehension of most people, there was also still a human quality that helped him connect with those of us who could only dream of having such talent or wealth. Read the rest of this entry →

Tiger Woods was the most dominant performer in an individual sport during the decade.

As we near the end of 2009 and thus the end of the first decade of the 21st Century, Sports Then and Now is looking at some of the athletes and moments that shaped the decade.

When you look at the list of great individual sport athletes over the last decade it is quickly apparent that we are living in an age of unparalleled individual greatness. Almost every one of the athletes we have chosen as the top 10 individual athletes of the decade has a case to be ranked number one. They are all champions who performed at the top of their sport for a prolonged period of time.

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10. Phil Mickelson – When the decade began, Phil Mickelson was known as the best golfer yet to win a Major Championship. He finally broke free of that label by winning the 2004 Masters and went on to win the PGA Championship in 2005 and the Masters again in 2006. He has endured a series of near misses and collapses at other Major Championships, most notably at the U.S. Open where he has finished second (or tied for second) five times, including four times this decade. Overall, Mickelson won 24 tournaments in the decade and finished in the top 10 at a Major Championship on 20 occasions.

9. Rafael Nadal – Had Rafael Nadal been competing throughout the entire decade, he would likely have moved higher on this list. Since establishing himself as one of the premier men’s tennis players in the world, Nadal has claimed six Grand Slam titles and unseated Roger Federer as the number one player in the world for nearly a year. Overall, Nadal has claimed victory in 81% of his matches and won 36 tournament titles. He has won the French Open four times and in 2008 defeated Federer in a classic Wimbledon final to establish his ability to win on multiple surfaces. He went on to claim the Australian Open title in 2009. He also claimed the gold medal at the 2008 Olympics.

Read the rest of this entry →