It's tough to criticize Tiger Wood's career. I mean he just might be the greatest golfer that ever lived. And if you don't agree with that statement (Ben Hogan, Bobby Jones, Jack Nicklaus lovers) then you at least have to admit that it's up for discussion. His record in major tournaments speaks for itself. He's won 12 of them and he's only 31 years old. If he played more tournaments a year (he takes quite a few off) his career tournament wins would be even sicker than it is currently. He's the greatest closer out there. If he's up in a tourney heading into Sunday you can forget about it. It's in the bag. Having said all this, if we wanted to nitpick (which I plan to do) there is one obvious area where Tiger Woods has failed. One place that he has yet to go. One striking statistic on his record that gives the naysayers a little ammunition when discussing the greatest golfer ever. It's this: --Tiger Woods has never come from behind to win a major tournament. When he is behind going into the final day he has never won the Masters, U.S. Open, the British Open, or the PGA Championship. Look it up. He has always had the lead or a share of the lead.
Doesn't sound so bad does it? Well actually yes it does. When we measure greatness we tend to include that tiny matter of a champion being down and getting back up. Michael Jordan did it. Muhammad Ali did it. Joe Montana did it. It's the classic archetype. We love the story of the a champion who is down but not out. Unfortunately for us, as yesterday's Masters Tournament showed, Tiger Woods has yet to write that ending.
Still, his career is not finished. He has a few more entries to be made. I personally hope he fixes the rather gaping hole in his resume before he's done.
