Stat profiles for 1500 golfers
Tom Watson's British Open performance at age 59 shows that the sky's the limit for Tiger Woods winning majors, but he may want to reevaluate the way he's preparing for them
Here’s something to ponder: If Tom Watson can play well enough to be in a playoff for a major championship at age 59, the prospect of what Tiger Woods might accomplish in his lifetime is downright scary.
Woods has won 14 majors in 13 years. If he can keep up that pace, he'll have notched 42 majors by the time he reaches Watson's age. Far- fetched, of course. Every great player has had to fight through dry spells. Jack Nicklaus, owner of 18 major titles, suffered through an 0-for-12 slump at the Masters, U.S. Open, British Open, and PGA Championship after winning major No. 7, the 1967 U.S. Open. He had a 20-major drought between the1980 PGA Championship and the 1986 Masters, when at 46 he notched his last victory at a major.
Watson, who lost an aggregate four-hole playoff to Stewart Cink at Turnberry, won the last of his eight majors when he was Woods’ age, 33. (Although you can’t completely discount Tom’s five senior majors, including three Senior British Opens.) He has had hip replacement surgery, endured an unpleasant divorce and overcome problems with alcohol abuse. Watson has always been one of the game’s best ball strikers, but his putting touch began to abandon him when he turned 35 or so (witness the 72nd hole at Turnberry).
Considering all the advances in training techniques, the marvels of modern orthopedic surgery, and the better understanding of nutrition, an extraordinary physical specimen like Woods figures to have a long and productive career.
True, Woods already has had knee surgery three times. He swings in such an aggressive manner that many speculate the stress it creates may shorten his career. Others question whether his ram-it-home putting style can hold up under pressure as Woods ages.
There's also the matter of motivation, or how long Woods wants to stay on the world stage. In his Sunday post-playoff press conference, Watson alluded to the different pressures players must contend with in the digital age compared to when he was in his prime.
"My hat goes off to Tiger for what he has to go through on a weekly basis," Watson said, "with all the things pulling at him, with as much as he wins and as much as he's in the limelight."
The manner in which Woods missed the cut at Turnberry is cause for raised eyebrows, as well. Clearly, Woods has issues with his game. For whatever reason, he has failed to demonstrate any kind of consistency in the majors this season. He seems to be putting too much pressure on himself, playing like a man who believes he’s running out of time. If that’s the case, Watson’s performance – as was Greg Norman’s third place finish last year at Birkdale – should dispel that notion.
Perhaps its time for Woods to reevaluate how he prepares for majors. Before he had children, Woods always spent the week in Ireland playing links golf as a tune-up for the Open Championship. He had never set foot on Turnberry before Sunday of Open week.
Or maybe Tiger would be better served playing in tournaments the week before majors, thus maintaining some sort of competitive routine and staying more in synch. Woods often points out how difficult it is to win majors, but that’s not much of an excuse for someone who sets the bar so high.
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