12/18/24
October 27, 2006
Tiger Woods to end his season early.: Tiger decides to skip the Tour Championship after a hectic stretch through the Ryder cup.
I don't have a problem with him shutting it down early. Sure the fans with tickets will be disappointed, but pro golf has become such a grind, and every tournament Woods enters is seen as this-or-that championship, so they all seem to run together in one big blur. It's not like the NFL which plays the Super Bowl at the end of the season. You focus on the majors, then the Ryder Cup, and when it's Tour Championship time, many fringe golf fans probably have to be reminded it even carries any real importance.
posted by dyams at 07:32 AM on October 28, 2006
You know, who really cares when he ends. Football players do it all the time. The have a middle foot sprain and are deemed out for the season and still collect their 2.9 million dollar salary. The last time I sprained my ankle, I was running again in two weeks (with doctors approval). These guys with the money can do what ever they want, not like us working class who scrape and save to see the games that make these idiots rich. I have a television that gives me the best view. I have to keep congress rich, but not these overpaid kids on the playground.
posted by Psycho at 10:25 AM on October 28, 2006
So what will Tiger do in his spare time? I play golf...
posted by owlhouse at 04:05 PM on October 28, 2006
I guess I don't know too many pro football players that call it quits for the season with a sprained ankle. Sure, guys like TO play up injuries, but that's why so many people hate him. As to Tiger having such a grueling life...maybe a golfer just getting started has it rough, but Tiger has his own jet, get pampered everywhere he goes, and gets to play golf for a living. Let's see...hot model for a wife, playing golf at the best courses, star treatment everywhere I go, millions of bucks, yea that's a grind.
posted by dviking at 05:27 PM on October 28, 2006
Psycho: The difference is that the football player still earns money for sitting out. Golf players actually have to play to earn their money.
posted by jmd82 at 06:08 PM on October 28, 2006
Come on, dviking, just because a golfer doesn't get slammed into the boards or tackled out of bounds doesn't mean the sport doesn't take a physical toll. A golfer has to play five or six rounds a week, if you count pro-am sponsor crap, practice rounds, etc. That involves walking long, difficult courses all week, usually in the hottest of summer-type weather, getting on a plane, then going wherever in the world the next tournament is, then doing it all over. Oh yeah, and Tiger Woods is only Tiger Woods if he manages one other small detail: He has to win. He has to stay physically and mentally on top of his game because there's an entire field of golfers gunning for him. I really wish some of the people who think the life of a PGA golfer is so easy would have to go out and do it for an entire season. I'm not even saying they would have to play well, just go out with your same pathetic swing/game and go through all the motions. You'd be beyond exhausted by the end of May. We're not talking about nine holes a week, with your cart and a cooler strapped on back. There's a Nationwide Tournament played near where I live, too, that's played on a course you need to practically be a mountain goat to walk. I'd like to see some of these same critics come out and merely caddie for the entire tournament and then see how tired and sore you are. Just because it's not too strenuous watching these guys compete on TV from your recliner, don't act like you know what their life (beyond the money, etc.) is like.
posted by dyams at 07:19 AM on October 29, 2006
dynamo, Three things...first Tiger doesn't play every week, none of them do. Most avoid taxing courses. And, Tiger is very light on the schedule compared to most golfers. My point isn't about Justin Rose feeling burnt out, it's about Tiger. Sceond, the Nationwide tournament is the minor leagues of golf. Yes, Triple-A bseball players do not have it as good as major leaguers...not really the point here is it? Third, does your point about staying in top physical shape really hold water? Tiger is is good shape, but Mickelson, Daly, Nicklaus, Stadler...the list is endless, really weren't exactly in any type of shape.
posted by dviking at 11:34 AM on October 29, 2006
I understand about the Nationwide Tour and how it's golf's minor league. My point was only about the long, hilly, spread-out course they have to navigate. As for the golfers who aren't particularly in shape (Daly, Stadler), both were/are great talents, but maybe that's one of the reasons they were never more consistent winners. I know that was one of many issues Daly has faced, but any athlete that's not in shape pays for it sooner or later. And I know Woods doesn't play every week, but I was speaking about any golfer. Plus, Woods probably doesn't lay around on the couch when he's not playing.
posted by dyams at 02:15 PM on October 29, 2006
dyams, some people are always going to play the "poor little rich athlete" card, and you're never going to convince them quit doing it. Some of us do realize just how much work goes into being a top-level, competitive professional athlete, while others would rather take a "working-class-hero" view of the world...he doesn't dig ditches or work on a construction site, ergo, he's not a real hard worker like me. Not worth wasting your time over.
posted by The_Black_Hand at 06:15 PM on October 29, 2006
just to clarify, my point was never the "poor little rich athlete". It was just that I'd like to see Tiger, and Phil, finish out the season for their fans. Remember, golf has no 'teams" so PGA depends solely on sponsorship dollars and TV revenue. If the top stars skip events, ratings go down, and that's not good for the overall league. The NFL Players Union makes sure all selected players make it to the ProBowl. While the top guys may not play much, genereally speaking they go. As I said in my initial post "golf is different"
posted by dviking at 07:31 PM on October 29, 2006
Golf is an odd sport, the top athletes skip the final championship. both Woods and Mickelson are skipping the Tour Championship, just too tired from counting all their money I guess. I really don't have so much of a problem with them earning big bucks, just wish they'd finish out the season for their fans. Not to mention that I had them on a fantasy golf team...the jerks!