I know it sounds scary, but I think the best is yet to come. As he gets older, wiser and a little slower his game might actually improve. There aren't any superstars brewing in the amateur ranks, so what's to hold him back from winning everything? How will his game evolve when his swing slows down and tightens up ever so slightly? Will his conditioning carry him to dominating at 45 years old?

your thoughts...

I think tomorrow's another day...but yeah, Tiger is definately looking good atm

i am not sure whether he will lose his fighting spirit after staying at the top alone for that long and breaking all records. perhaps he may retire prematurely by then.

personally i don't think he will play competitively that long as others.

Equal Nicklaus then through in the towel.

At least that's what I want him to do.

by my rough calculation, he shall retire by

2013 if TW win 1 major per year on average
2010 if TW win 2 major per year on average
2009 if TW win 3 major per year on average

Mark Tayloresque when he equalled the Don's high score lol

I think Tiger is the reason why there will be more young stars. I see more and more young kids playing, and with great swings. Tiger is a once in a generation golfer, but with the raw numbers of good young golfers playing I wouldnt be suprised to see a young man with tons of talent and a list of Tigers records on his wall. At some point, someone will give "the man" a game.

TW is simply untouchable 2006 & 2007.

2008?

Next year a guy called Jason Day will be on the US tour and he is set to challenge Tiger in coming years.

Yer Jason Day has got some serious potential. I think its like Butch Harmon said, one day well just see Tiger walk off into the sunset once hes acheived all the goals he wants too and only Tiger knows what they are. I would like to see him reach 25 majors, because being realistic, who is ever going to reach that! The scary thing is, Tiger can do that without breaking a sweat.... I think if he does stop after he reaches 18, i think the most fitting end to the great career would be if he got that last major at St. Andrews in 2010. Now thats going out in style!

Analyst say by 2010 he will be a Billionaire, so that would be a perfect end to a great story.
Kevin

what do you mean by "challenge"? take over world number for a little while 5 years down the road? i know of jason day, and the serious potential he has, but is there anyone on the horizon who can be the next tiger woods?

I know of Jason Day as well. He and other up and comers have great swings and all BUT do they have the mental toughness (plus incredible discipline) that Tiger has. I don't think we will see the likes of Tiger for a very long time.

tiger is unstoppable, no matter who comes up from the ranks for the next 3 years. all the reports said that adam scott was going to challenge tiger and he never did so. no other player out the in my opinion can handle the publicity that tiger has nor the pressure that he goes through. he will play till he is 40 and he will become captain to a couple ryder and presidents cup teams. just think is he went to the champions tour and played some events there how dominant would he be then.

Here are Tigers Goals IMO
7 Masters (breaking Jacks record)
7 Opens (breaking Vardons record)
5 US Opens (breaking Hogan, Jones, and Nicklaus's record)
6 PGA's (breaking Hagens and Nicklaus's record)
100 total wins on the PGA tour. (breaking Snead's record)

That is 25 majors and would make him the leader for most majors at all 4 of them. Tiger will reach these goals sometime in his mid 40's and then probably disappear for awhile. Tiger will then make one last "comeback" when he is 50. He will not play the senior tour, but will become the first player to win a major after the age of 50 by winning the Masters for his 26th major. They will replay this on the Golf Channel for 50 years because they will have nothing else of signifigance to talk about until some young super golfer comes around in the later 1/2 of the century and hits it 400 yards, and shoots in the 50's on a consistant basis.
Tiger will then walk away from the game and spend his time manageing his empire, spending time with his family, scuba dive and maybe move in a whole different direction such as run the United Naitons or travel to Mars.

How long did Tiger spend on the Hogan, Nike, Nationwide Tour???? NONE. How long has Jason Day been on the Nationwide???

15 years will make Tiger 46 and I seriously doubt he will tolerate sub par play even for one last gasp like Nicklaus did. He won't put up with dropping down the list as many of the stars have. 1 year at second was enough. Also remember all those years Jack (while in better shape as he got older) never had any surgeries or major injuries at all. Tiger has already had two siginificant surgeries on the same knee. Good shape or not as he approaches 40 arthritis will start to become a problem. No amount of excercise can stave that off. If he tweaks the same knee again, all bets are off. Maybe by then they will be able to regrow cartilage.

Then by 50 he will be crowned King of the World and do real good things.

I heard he is supposed to build the first course on Mars.
I heard that from an "inside" source.

Tiger can walk on water. He just hasn't been filmed doing it yet.

It would be cool to see him win 101 times and win all 4 Majors in one year. Perhaps do the quad in two consecutive years.


Retire with a bang (so to speak)

I agree Jason Day is talented but Tiger territory I dont think so. He's not even the best player on the Nationwide tour. By the time tiger was 20 he had some great accomplishments. Comparing Day to Tiger is the same as comparing apples and oranges.

More likely to happen with Federer than Tiger.

It's more like comparing apples to prunes, no offense to Day, but there is no comparison.

Personally I can't see Tiger retiring after a set of goals have been achieved. I think he will keep playing until he has clearly lost it. Maybe 3 seasons in a row not No. 1. His whole existence, from the time he was 3 years old, evolves around competitive golf. How could he walk away when he is still dominant? Money or not...he's got a huge pile right now, and is even more competitive.

I'm reminded of a comment my Gabrielle Reece, the wife of legendary big wave surfer Laird Hamilton. She said "he gets very depressed when there are no waves. Its like he's a dragon slayer and there are no more dragons".

Well, he's got 62 wins in ten years. I'm sure he can come up with another 39 in the next ten.

Maybe Jason Day will be a great golfer (although I doubt it), but he missed his PGA Tour card by 15 shots at Q-school. I guess Tiger stopped shaking in his boots right about then.

i think he's just saying that it is easier to be dominant in tennis than golf. which it is.

I agree, I think we have yet to see his very best. I believe that at some point he will win the Grand Slam and will end up at about 25 or so majors. The only thing that could stop all this is an injury of some sort. He will always be in the best shape of anyone out there, has the most drive, and the best mental edge which carries him through when he is not at his best. Equal Nicklaus and quit? I think not. That would mean he will be retiring at about age 38!

And who wouldn't want to be Mark Taylor-esque? Tubby Woods?

I know a guy who is working with Jason Day and he is confident that he is very tough mentaly. And as for discipline he is one of the hardest working guys out there. I think that in coming years Day will be a guy that can go into a final round with Tiger breathing down his neck and be able to hold him off.

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I think that in coming years Day will be a guy that can go into a final round with Tiger breathing down his neck and be able to hold him off.
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...cause Tiger will be 62-years-old and using a walker when that happens.

How does a guy who doesn't even have tour win have people thinking he's going to beat Tiger? Let me summarize the list of people, mentally tough, talented, or otherwise that Tiger's dominated, in one word: golfers.

His best is definitely yet to come....but I dont think he'll play until 45...He'll win 20, 21 majors and walk away

if he stays healthy, who's knows what could (unlimited). as for jason day as a comparison, not sure if he would be the best am. or college player in the country. once he is (first) fully exempt, then we can chatter.

I think as long as Tiger continues to have that passion for the game he will excel...

As it is now that passion is very much alive....

It is going to be scary over the next 15 years. As Steve Duemig on the 19th hole stated, look where the next 3 US opens are, Torrey Pines, Bethpage and Pebble respectively. He has won at all 3 of those courses, especially that clinic he put on at the 2000 US Open at Pebble. We all know he plays Augusta well, as well as the Opens and he has 4 PGA Championships and counting. The only thing that is uncertain is how many majors he will win .

As for conditioning, Tiger has brought fitness to a whole new level on the PGA tour and golf in general so I'm not too concerned about him losing conditioning because of age. The only thing that I would be worried about is if Tiger were to ever lose interest.