WINDERMERE, Fla. – Tiger Woods’ streak is over, but the appreciation lives on. In fact, to hear a couple of his Tavistock Cup teammates Monday, Woods’ body of work since August is more impressive than Byron Nelson’s 11 consecutive victories in 1945.
“And that’s taking nothing away from Byron,” said Champions Tour player John Cook, Woods’ best-ball partner on the opening day of the two-day competition between touring pros from host Isleworth and nearby Lake Nona. “We should commend and honor Tiger for what he’s done. We’re seeing the best of all-time.”
Woods has done this: Won nine events in his last 11 worldwide starts, finished second to Phil Mickelson in a FedEx Cup playoff event and on Monday finished two shots behind WGC-CA Championship winner Geoff Ogilvy.
“You don’t want to say it because it’s Byron Nelson, but you’re leaning to what Tiger’s done in that stretch,” said two-time Tour winner Charles Howell III. “It’s amazing. It’s amazing. It’s amazing. It’s truly amazing.”
That’s four amazings, a gusher of a streak in itself. But it fits. Woods’ first loss since September ended his streaks of seven consecutive victories over all and five on the PGA Tour.
The weather-delayed defeat at Doral carried more than historical significance. Golf lost it’s best marketing tool in years, maybe ever. Had Woods won and, say, advanced his worldwide run to nine consecutive at the Masters and 11 at The Players, golf would have received more attention than ever before.
Instead, we get the juicy silver lining of an upcoming Masters featuring the best golfer ever and growing cast of elite players who have elevated their games of late.
The headliner, of course, is the man Cook refers to as the “most underrated player of all-time.”
That would be Woods. Never mind those high stacks of trophies and money.
“Everybody tries to make excuses about why he’s winning so much and why he’s so dominant,” said Cook, winner of 11 Tour titles from 1981-2001. “People say his competition is not so great, but he’s beating the best players and deepest fields of all-time. Guys like Phil and Ernie (Els) and Vijay (Singh) would’ve been great in the 1960s.
“I think he and his body of work are underappreciated. There’s always a ‘but’ when people talk about him.”
He has a point.
Woods won nine of 10,
but only seven were on the PGA Tour.
He won nine of 10, including seven consecutive,
but Nelson won 11 in a row. Never mind the fields and media scrutiny were nothing like today’s standards.
Woods won seven consecutive on Tour,
but only three were this year.
Discounting Woods’ accomplishments fails to honor the best feat in golf history: nine victories and two close calls in 11 consecutive starts.
“Everybody has fitted equipment, launch monitors, putting computers, personal trainers and mental coaches and everything,” Howell said. “Everybody is doing what they can do to get an advantage, but the guy still finds a way to win.”
Woods also surprises when he doesn’t win, especially when sharing a 36-hole lead, as he did last weekend. And especially at Doral, where he had won the three previous years.
It’s gotten to this: Until Monday, Woods had won 18 of his past 34 Tour starts. That’s 53 percent if you’re calculating at home.
“He won about 50 percent of his tournaments last year and didn’t make huge headline news,” Howell said. “It’s almost like people expect him to win every time. It’s laughable.”
Speaking of laughs, a tired Woods managed to joke around often after the streak ended at Doral and he flew from Miami to Orlando on Monday. He arrived about 15 minutes before his tee time and, according to Cook, gained energy as the match against Henrik Stenson and Graeme McDowell played its way to a halve with best balls of 6-under 66 on the difficult, 7,544-yard layout.
“I think it was more fun and relaxing than he thought it would be,” Cook said. “He was coming off a hard week, but he was in a great mood. He got into the competition. Even when we’re messing around, he’s not putting his game into another gear. He’s always in one.”
Cook and Woods talked often, but not once did the streak come up.
“He would’ve had to bring it up,” Cook said. “I wasn’t going to say anything.”
Let the record state Cook is one of the nicest people in golf. But he also is one of its worst bettors. Cook, in his first full season on the Champions Tour, bet Woods a steak dinner anywhere in the world that he’d win more tournaments this year than the world No. 1.
So far it’s Woods 4, Cook 0.
“I’m already down 4-2-and-0,” Cook said, using the vernacular of match-play presses. “But I told him, ‘If that bet makes you have one of the best years in history, I’ll gladly buy you dinner.’ It’s a win-win.”
Posted: 3/24/2008
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