Don't Call It A Comeback

The final threesome at Congressional Country Club in Bethesda, Maryland on Sunday featured a grand total of 74 PGA Tour wins. Only thing was, 73 out of those 74 wins belonged to one of the competitors. Tiger Woods. It almost seemed like a foregone conclusion that Tiger would be able to surpass his fellow competitors, Bo Van Pelt, a 1 time winner and Brandon De Jonge, who's still searching for that elusive win. While De Jonge wilted away early on, Van Pelt held strong until a crucial mistake on the 17th hole cost him any feasible chance of staying with Tiger and challenging him to a possible playoff. Tiger was able to two putt for par on the 18th green and capture the victory at AT&T National as tournament host by 2 strokes.
Some numbers: With the win Sunday at Congressional, Tiger is now in solo 2nd with 74 PGA Tour wins and trails only Sam Snead who sits with 82 career wins. It marked the 9th time (out of 12) in his career that he has come back when trailing by one stroke heading into the final round. With the win, he has now won 27% of his tournaments, an amazing statistic when you consider how difficult it is to win just one tournament. Tiger wins more than 1 out of every 4 times that he steps on the course. For the season, Tiger now has 3 wins, best on the Tour, leads the FedEx Cup standings and is the new overall money leader for the season. For perspective, Nicklaus won 14% (21% at age 36) of his tournaments. The last time Tiger won at least 3 tournaments? 2009. And what did he do that season? How's 6 wins for size and FedEx Cup winner? I can keep throwing more impressive stats at you but I believe that a different discussion is warranted.
Ever since the aftermath of Tiger's "scandal", almost everyone in the sports world has speculated over whether Tiger is "back." Even after his win yesterday, media was still getting testy over the fact that Tiger is still winless at the Majors this year. Let me put something else in perspective for you. Since Tiger's 2008 U.S. Open win, there have 15 different major championship winners to date. To say that Tiger is no longer the lost dominant player on tour is somewhat acceptable but to believe that he has been surpassed by someone like Rory McIlroy or Bubba Watson is absolutely ludicrous. McIlroy has been almost non-existent this season and Watson's carefree attitude did him terribly wrong at Olympic as he missed the cut. Listen, I understand that he isn't the same player that he was in 2000 but the Tiger Woods of 2000 was likely the greatest display of individual sporting achievement that we have ever seen. Jack Nicklaus included. No one will ever replicate that and it's unjust to ever think that we'll see Tiger return to that kind of form. When the media talks of a comeback, they frequently refer to the Tiger of old. The Tiger who won nearly every time he went out. The Tiger who competed at every major championship. The Tiger who was a runaway player of the year nearly every season. The Tiger who was so far ahead in the World Golf Rankings that he would be able to sit out 2 seasons and still hold a sizable lead. Keep in mind that the Tiger of old hadn't undergone multiple knee surgeries, experienced a massive public scandal and faced the intense pressure and scrutiny that he now deals with every single tournament. The Tiger of old is clearly a different Tiger and I acknowledge that. But to compare him to something he longer is seems unfair. It'd be like comparing Alex Rodriguez to his heyday in Seattle and Texas. Yankee fans clearly expect that he'll put up the same numbers but with age comes wearing and eroding. So to say that Tiger is longer the Tiger of old is like expecting A-Rod to put up 50 homeruns a season again. It simply won't happen and it's unfair to think and expect that it will.
This whole idea of a comeback and Tiger being back or not should not be a conversation. There is no back and there is no comeback. Tiger is the golfer he is and he won't change. It's hard to complain about the results. 3 wins through June and still 2 majors left on the docket. It's the kind of season that nearly every player only dreams of. Yet, when Tiger does it, it only skims the surface. Let's get rid of the scrutiny and labeling and give Tiger a chance to win without all the hubbub. You want the Tiger of old? 2000 may be a far cry but we all saw what Tiger can do with and without the scrutiny. Let's give the most scrutinized public sports figure in history a chance to breath. You'd want the same, wouldn't you?