It pains me to watch Mickelson. Either he is re-inventing his swing or just plain sucks now. (He's number 2 on the ->SI<- money list so hopefully he is simply re-inventing his swing lol )

HUH??? This post makes no sense

lol


"Is it worth watching golf without Tiger and if so who is the frontrunner"



howzat?

.

To be honest, YES, it'll be fun to watch the rest of them! A fresh insight into the game. I do have a couple of favorites: couples, stricker, sergio, jimenez... so many more.

ive watched every tournament so far and will continue to do so, look out for ogilvy, the guys a killer

Strange topic title.
There has been professional golf before Tiger Woods and there will be without him. In fact, there will be more suspense and drama without him. I have watched golf tournaments since about 1984, and it was a lot more interesting before Tiger Woods came to the scene. And I am no Tiger hater. I think he is the greatest golfer of all time, and I also believe everybody, who says that he is a great guy (like John Daly does, I think his words were "The guy is so funny, he's an absolute riot").
But trust a 43year old veteran of thousands of hours of TV coverage of Major Tournaments:
There will be more drama in all the Majors that Tiger will have to miss.

And those wins will not be flawed by his absence either. Staying healthy is just as big a part of being a professional athlete as everything else. Ask Ken Griffey jr. Would you put an asterisk to everybody elses career stats, just because he "would have" crushed them all, if only he had managed to stay healthy? Would you think that all the World Series titles by teams he was not playing for are "flawed" because the Mariners or the Reds "would have" won them with a healthy Jr.? I think not.

true that pro golf has been, is and always will be.


It just seems that the only 'character' is Woods. Where are the Palmers, Nicklaus', Trevinos..................

That is like saying you will watch your favorite baseball team only when the ace pitcher is on the mound. Surely it is thrilling to be in attendance when the Cy Young contender is out there...but there is plenty of other interesting games during the season to watch.

some of you are comparing a team sport to an individual sport


so ................. where are the Palmers, Trevinos, etc .......... ?

hey, its fun to watch. there is different winners each week and it is interesting to watch new and different winners win each week when they are playing well.

Excellent point. And coming from a guy who lives in Cincinnati, this is especially significant to me as a sports fan. There is no question that Jr. was the most talented hitter of our era, and that he "would have" surpassed all of these other guys who managed to avoid serious injury on there way to setting the marks they've set. Winning is winning.

It's no different in the world of golf. Winning is just as hard to do with or without Tiger in the field. Tiger is dominant from the standpoint of his ability to pull wins from difficult situations, not by his margin of victory or fundamental skill level. He's simply the best competitor out there. The only thing the field loses with Tiger absent, is a guy who is almost guarenteed to make that huge putt at the end to save his a** if he's behind, or has an opportunity to seal the deal. That might be a fairly big thing, but you still have to post that number to even get to that point, and Tiger isn't always there at the end.

Ignore the media butt-smooching, and I'll bet your viewing pleasure will increase dramatically. You'll be amazed how good ALL of those guys are.

And...if like so many, you care not to watch golf unless Tiger is involved, you shant be missed.

If Tiger died tomorrow I wouldn't shed a tear.

I wouldn't either because I don't know him very well, but I would be sad that he died. However I would be happy for golf, because there would actually be competition between the players and not Tiger Woods dominating everyone.

I agree that this is an odd forum question. You are either a fan of the game or you aren't. If you aren't going to watch golf because Tiger is absent, then you never were a golf fan before the Tiger era and probably don't know much about the game. There is nothing wrong with being a casual fan, though.

If you wouldn't shed a tear if Tiger died, you are either a cold person or rude or a combination of both. I shed a tear when Payne Stewart died...but it was mostly because of the shock and I felt for his family. I'm not sure why some folks don't like Tiger. The only logical explanation is jealousy. But hey, it's a free country.

I am sick of this Tiger is golf and golf without Tiger sucks mentality. I think this is from "new-be" golfers or Tiger "fanboys."

Take a look at the most popular thread here - it "ain't" about Tiger - it is about Ben Hogan and Moe Norman. Tiger is an amazing player but I respect all the guys and gals out there. Especially the players struggling to make a car payment or who are scraping together gas money to get to the next tourney.

I respect the former champions who hit the ball 300 yards without superballs like Sam Snead. The GC every once in a while has an old Shell World of golf show. One had 50 + year old Byron Nelson playing a young Gene Littler back in the 1960s. Gene was a vry good golfer but Nelson in his 50's was amazing. He played golf without superballs and high MOI drivers built on CAD/CAM computers. People will say the old clubs were pretty good but compared to the modern equipment they were primative. These old timers like Bobby Jones, Hogan and others were scary good.

Golf is a great sport and it is bigger than Tiger.

Shoot I will watch just to hope Woody Austin is in contention to see him go (literally) nuts. Just kidding. Woody is a great player if he tries to stay on a more even keel - he will win tournaments.

I'd like to tell you where all the Palmers and Trevinos are but unfortunately I can't, because everytime I watch the golf all I see is the Tiger Woods show...

Tiger lining up his putt
Tiger talking to Stevie
Tiger scratching himself
Tiger fist-pumping
Tiger eating an apple
A replay of Tiger's fist pump
A post-round interview with Tiger

Meanwhile there are 50 other golfers on-course that we could be watching (and 49 of them ain't Phil Mickelson).

Golf without Tiger might provide you with the opportunity to actually discover the new Palmers and Trevinos for yourself.

Its BETTER without Tiger.

I agree ................. in principle


Overall though it would be better for golf if someone would actually step up and consistently challenge Tiger vs Tiger just taking off.



Its a shame really that no one has stepped up and it is clear, from their own words during an interview, that they never will.



Constantly saying:

"I just want to beat Tiger"

and/or

"I'm looking forward to some wins now that Tiger is out"



you get the picture.



Tiger on the other hand doesn't want to beat anybody at all, he doesn't care.

He wants a certain number of Majors, a certain number of wins. He wants all four titles in the same season, etc, etc.

This type of thought process automatically puts him at an advantage over everyone else.

Do you love the game of golf or do you love golf because of Tiger? If you love golf because of Tiger, then I have one bit of advice for you. Sell all of your golf gear and take up bowling.

I seriously don't understand how you could ask this question with a straight face. Of course it is worth watching golf even if Tiger isn't playing. In fact it is better to watch golf without Tiger Woods playing, because you can actually see other players. I would rather he never showed up to another tournament again, because the variety in the coverage is so much better when he is not playing. Almost everybody within contention is shown playing, whereas when Woods is in the field they show only him. He gets TV time while walking to his ball, cleaning his spikes, going to the port-o-john, scratching his junk, picking his nose, and even eating a friggin' apple. I want to watch golf, not everything else that goes on during a round besides golf.

If you only watch a tournament to watch Tiger Woods, then please give up the game. There is more to the game than one solitary player.

It sounds like one of the main reasons folks prefer a field without Tiger is that the media coverage is more inclusive of other golfers. Fair point.

I enjoy the game and don't find it any less enjoyable to watch without Tiger.

That said, others on this thread have mentioned Jack, Palmer and Trevino and where are the guys like them. Closers. Guys who want to be there in the pressure cooker and perform at their peak.

Compare the finish of last years Open Championship to this years US open. The Open was entertaining viewing but almost a case of who will mess up less. The US open was one of the greatest demonstrations of mental toughness, pure talent and the ability to perform at ones best in the most pressure filled situations I have ever seen.

I like to see great shots in great situations. To me, Tiger is the best at this. Is it worth watching without Tiger? Of course. Will there be a few less great moments? Probably.

I loved both playing and watching golf before Tiger came along, so yes it would be worth me watching. Can't speak for anyone else.

I don't get the Tiger hate though. It's a privilege to watch him play. History in the making.

It's tough to watch tiger. His crowds are so deep. It was hard enough watching AK today. Anywho, AK is my fave to watch (ever since last year's at&t - I haven't just joined the bandwagon starting from the wachovia) with Luke Donald in second.

I don't see any Tiger Hate in this thread, just frustration from people who enjoying watching golf at the substandard coverage that is provided when Tiger is in the field.

No doubt Tiger is a superstar, but I want to watch some golf being played by other people when the Tiger is not doing anything of interest.

Yeah lol. Its as though ............ "Finally Tiger is out of here and I can watch!"



Tiger's impact got me interested but its the 'click' of the ball and the 'swish' thru the air that keeps me in it



I'm diggin watching KJ Choi and Jasper Parnevik these days.

But the closing holes at The Open at The toughest finish in Open Golf for two guys that have grown up dreaming of winning the Claret Jug. How is that not as pressure filled as the US Open? Mental toughness to try and hold your game together when it's hitting s****y street? Not saying what he did to get to the play off was unbelievable, but give some respect.

Right. The TV companies have ignored a lot of good golf in order to keep Woods on the screen, hopefully now they will show us a little more of the field.

I did not mean to imply that the situation at the Open was less pressure than the US Open. It certainly was. And it was one of the most exciting finishes I have seen and I mean no disrespect to Sergio or Harrington, they are both tremendous golfers.

Watching Tiger's is nothing short of mind blowing at times. He is awsome.

However, there are some positives that will come out of his absence and one in particular will be not having to listen the spectators who insist on shouting, "in the hole", everytime he plays a shot, good or bad. He must be as sick of hearing it as much as I am, it will be a pleasure not to listen to that crap.

I am also confident in saying that a lot of couch sitters, like me, will enjoy seeing the rest of the field during the course of a tournament instead of the "Tiger Woods Show". (Having said that I understand why the TV networks focus on Woods, he is an enormous draw card for the sponsors' and has contributed to raising the total prize money on the USPGA majors).

But give us a break, we need to see more of the field, and I mean live, not back captures of Tigers every past step, expressions, putts from his first US Masters, and shots from every other event he's played since. Focus some of that wasted viewing time on some live golf and other players in the event.

Althugh I readily admit that Tiger is the BEST and maybe the BEST EVER, it will be quite refreshing to see the rest of the tour and not just the TigerTV channel which is what happens when he plays. There are more stories and interesting people in golf than just El Tigre.

Here's a thought...if anyone could figure out a way to win an event he's not playing in...it would be Tiger. He ALREADY has Player Of The Year locked up.