Door’s open for Tiger Woods to break more records – and he won’t shrink from it
For years he achieved things that we couldn’t have imagined. Then, when it looked as though injuries would keep him on the sidelines for good, he came back and won another Major. Tiger Woods never ceases to surprise us.
Now, following his wire-to-wire victory at the Zozo Championship in Japan on Monday, Woods has equalled Sam Snead’s all-time record tally of 82 wins on the PGA Tour. It’s a phenomenal achievement.
To have amassed that many titles in this era is beyond belief. I mean no disrespect whatsoever to Snead, who could only beat what was in front of him, but the standard of competition now is surely tougher.
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Tiger’s last three wins, including the Masters earlier this year, have come in the space of 13 months.
At 43, there is every reason to think he can play into his late 40s. You only have to look at the longevity of someone like Tom Watson.
Injuries and operations have of course taken a toll on Woods but, with today’s technology and surgeons, perhaps he has been mended, like golf’s version of the Six Million Dollar Man – or at least found the swing that works with his physical capabilities.
For his whole life he has been the biggest hitter, but sometimes your body lets you know you can’t do that any more.
I have always felt that Tiger’s swing was best when at 75 per cent capacity. Maybe now he is getting used to working like that.
Greatest of all time
The door is open for him to go on and win more, to break more records, and he is certainly not going to shrink from it.
He would love more than anything to equal Jack Nicklaus’s 18 Majors. Beating it would be extraordinary.
I can see him winning more, there is no question that he can, and who’s to say he won’t defend the Masters next year?
He knows all the Major venues for the next four or five years – that’s at least 16 events, and he only needs to win three to equal Nicklaus.
His next challenge will be the Presidents Cup, where he seems certain to pick himself to be only the second ever playing captain of the US team. It’s only a matter of time before he is a Ryder Cup captain too.
That is down the line, but Woods already deserves to be recognised as the greatest golfer of all time.
Brown win had me in tears
More emotional scenes played out at the Portugal Masters on Sunday, where those at risk of losing their European Tour card had one last chance at snatching exemptions.
That was the case for Steven Brown, who needed a top-three finish to keep his membership and went even better, winning his first European Tour title with a bogey-free final round that included an eagle at 12.
I’ve known Steven since he was a schoolboy – he’s a friend of my son Daniel and came through the Wentworth system – and I was moved to tears as I watched him close out this win.
He has always looked a really good player and is now into next week’s Turkish Airlines Open, where a good display can book his place in the other two big-money events that bring the season to a close.
The others who earned tour cards in Portugal were English rookie Jack Singh Brar, Jeunghun Wang and South African Justin Walters, who had to overcome personal tragedy for a second time.
Six years ago, when mourning the loss of his mother, he retained his membership with second place at this event. This time Walters was grieving his father but again kept his card by sharing runner-up spot.
Main image credit: Getty