By Doug McAllister
While waiting to watch today's U.S. Open broadcast, I happened to tune in to the Golf Channel and listened in to some predictable, though sickeningly old rhetoric about the game. And what else was the inane jabber about? Who else? Tiger! The commentators were claiming, among other things, that the rest of the professional golfers in the world are a bunch of scared, impotent losers who can't look Tiger in the eye without wetting their pants! Some were so bold as to claim that Tiger is golf's savior, an inimitable star who has turned golf into what it is today. One commentator, Dan Hicks, even went so far as to claim that no golfer in the history of the game has been the champion that Tiger has been. Hicks said that he would love to debate anyone about this claim.
Well, Dan, here I am! Let's boogie!
First of all, despite Tiger's formidable accomplishments, there is only one name to consider when looking for the "Greatest of All." Bobby Jones. As the immortal O.B. "Pop" Keeler correctly noted, there would never be another like Robert Tyre Jones, Jr. And despite what others have done, when considering things in sharp perspective, none has come remotely closes to Jones' accomplishments! So let's get started.
MAJOR PERFORMANCE
Everyone is going nuts about Tiger's 14 majors, just 4 shy of catching Jack's record of 18. But, when looking at percentages we can see a different picture. In a short period of 7 years—from 1923 to 1930, Bobby Jones played 21 major championships. Of that number, Jones won a whopping 13 of them! He won 62% of all of the majors that he ever played! By comparison, as of today Tiger has played in 55 majors and won 14—for a 25% winning number! Not even close to Jones' record.
THE GRAND SLAM
First off, I don't give a tinker's damn for the so-called Tiger Slam. While holding all four major trophies simultaneously was quite a feat, it was not—as Tiger continues to wrongly maintain—a Grand Slam. There are a few things that need to be remembered about the true Bobby Jones' Grand Slam when comparing things to Tiger. First, it was a bona fide Grand Slam. By definition, the Grand Slam is winning all of the major events in the same calendar year. Period! I thought it was pretty telling when Sam Snead was asked about Tiger's accomplishment and whether Snead thought it was a "true" Grand Slam. Snead looked at the reporter with a look on his face, as if to ask, "Are you kidding?" and said, "The Grand Slam is all four majors in a calendar year. As far as my count goes, Tiger didn't do that."
Add to that the fact that Tiger had over six months to rest up and think about things between the 2000 PGA Championship and the 2001 Masters. Some might argue about what that has to do with anything. Tons! The Grand Slam is all about pressure. Pure unadulterated pressure—both physically and mentally! And when Jones completed his Grand Slam he did it over a period of weeks. The process, literally, nearly killed him. So don't come to me with the argument that a six-month rest between majors isn't an issue.
PURE CLASS
Interestingly, Jones gave up the game because his priority was always his family. He viewed the game as a game and recognized that his most important roles were as husband and father. Don't even get me started about Tiger by comparison. Tiger gave lip service to "taking a break from the game" in order to "save" his family. If he were half the man, half the golfer, that Jones was, Tiger wouldn't even be a spectator this week at Pebble Beach. Tigers break and his comparatively swift return to the game was more about marketing than morals.
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I could go on and on. The record speaks far too well, far too loudly in support of Bobby Jones as the greatest the game has ever seen. Regardless of what Tiger does in the future, nothing is going to change things.
And I have to laugh at Earl Woods' foolishness when talking about his son's possible impact on the world—not just golf, on the world! Earl was not only stupid but consummately foolish when he had the audacity to claim that his son would, somehow, have a greater impact on the world than Gandhi. Was he channeling John Lennon? Totally ludicrous! Absolutely laughable! Perhaps if Earl had expanded his study of world history—if he could read at all!—he might have been wiser and kept his big mouth shut!
HELAS! (Hit 'em long and straight!)
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