who stands to benefit most with tiger gone?

Osgoodisgood

Now that Tiger has announced a sabatical from golf it will be interesting to see who can step up and benefit from his absence. Those players that have been in his shadow have no excuses now!
Personally I have a feeling that Anthony Kim was due to crack the really big time and I have a hunch that Adam Scott might just do well also.
What do you guys think?

ps can we avoid the obvious gags about lawyers and local jewellers doing best?

BiffoGooner

Phil Mickelson I think.He's statistically been the best player in the Masters and U.S. Open over the last 5 years, so if Tiger isn't around for those he's got a great chance of doing something.He had a great end to the season and he's found his putter again.

If Tiger wasn't there at the end of last year how many tournaments would Padraig won?Back 9 disasters didn't help either of course but hopefully he can take advantage too.

Atlantic1

I think Lee Westwood will benefit. I can't see Anthony Kim or Adam Scott doing the business. I think there's something lacking in both of them. Consistency maybe.

carplates

if rory gets going in the u s i think he can get close to the top 2 or 3, he's fearless

Mister Sifter

Osgoodisgood wrote: »

Now that Tiger has announced a sabatical from golf it will be interesting to see who can step up and benefit from his absence. Those players that have been in his shadow have no excuses now!
Personally I have a feeling that Anthony Kim was due to crack the really big time and I have a hunch that Adam Scott might just do well also.
What do you guys think?

ps can we avoid the obvious gags about lawyers and local jewellers doing best?

Why would the likes of Scott and Kim all of a sudden find form just because Woods has taken a break? It's not like Woods has been the barrier to their game hitting the heady heights over the past 12 months.

Matt Santos

Guys, its just a short time out! He will definetley be back for Augusta and all this will be well behind him by the time Pebble Beach comes along...
He has not played in Hawai for a couple of years now so that is the Mercedes and Sony Open gone by..
So what tourneys is he really going to miss?
The Bob Hope Classic? California his home State Etc
FBR Open? Has he ever played this?
Buick Invitational? May play it seeing that its hosting the US Open later.
AT&T Pebble Beach? Has not played this for a few years.
Northern Trust Open? Has not played this either.
Mayakoba Classic? Will have no interest in this either.
World Match Play? Easy to pass on this in fairness.
Honda Classic? Can really see this as the come back event. In Florida and a fortnight before the WGC @ Doral again in Florida.

ant043

Matt Santos wrote: »

Guys, its just a short time out! He will definetley be back for Augusta and all this will be well behind him by the time Pebble Beach comes along...
He has not played in Hawai for a couple of years now so that is the Mercedes and Sony Open gone by..
So what tourneys is he really going to miss?
The Bob Hope Classic? California his home State Etc
FBR Open? Has he ever played this?
Buick Invitational? May play it seeing that its hosting the US Open later.
AT&T Pebble Beach? Has not played this for a few years.
Northern Trust Open? Has not played this either.
Mayakoba Classic? Will have no interest in this either.
World Match Play? Easy to pass on this in fairness.
Honda Classic? Can really see this as the come back event. In Florida and a fortnight before the WGC @ Doral again in Florida.

Yeah i totally agree with your thoughts. I could nearly state with certainty that he'll be back before the masters in april. He'd only miss a major if he had illness or injury. This so called indefinite leave of absence is just to protect whats left of his image. The tournaments between now and the masters mean very little to him. It's all about the majors.

BUACHAILL

ant043 wrote: »

Yeah i totally agree with your thoughts. I could nearly state with certainty that he'll be back before the masters in april. He'd only miss a major if he had illness or injury. This so called indefinite leave of absence is just to protect whats left of his image. The tournaments between now and the masters mean very little to him. It's all about the majors.

while I also agree with all of these opinions and we certainly should never doubt Woods and his ability its not just as easy as saying he will definately play them. He like everyone else needs to play huge amounts of golf to stay in form and there is too much other talents out there right now Mickelson, Mcelroy, Westwood, Stricker etc that if he is not playingenough beforehand and just shows up for these majors chances are he will not figure in them. I know saying that he is never someone to right off !! Personally I hope he returns with a grand slam this year of majors !!

ant043

BUACHAILL wrote: »

while I also agree with all of these opinions and we certainly should never doubt Woods and his ability its not just as easy as saying he will definately play them. He like everyone else needs to play huge amounts of golf to stay in form and there is too much other talents out there right now Mickelson, Mcelroy, Westwood, Stricker etc that if he is not playingenough beforehand and just shows up for these majors chances are he will not figure in them. I know saying that he is never someone to right off !! Personally I hope he returns with a grand slam this year of majors !!

well said so do i. It would be the perfect response to the disgusting invasion of privacy he has suffered.

blinding

The Celtic Tiger might start stirring in his deep lonely sad grave.

Ach ye know I am joking that ones dead Celtic fooking Tiger.

Tiger Woods thinks he has problems.

Cetic Tiger Trumps him at every turn.

BUACHAILL

ant043 wrote: »

well said so do i. It would be the perfect response to the disgusting invasion of privacy he has suffered.

His so called disgusting invasion of privacy has all been self inflicted and I do not in any way shape or form support him for his dispicable behaviour. That however is a private matter and I was talking purely in a golfing manner.

Woods of all people knows the huge responisbilities you undertake when you are such a big super star, idol and role model for kids all around the world let alone his responsibilities as a father and husband so I disagree with you. He dug his own hole and should have been honest enough with his family and fans from the start and not dug his head in the sand like he did which just created a bigger storm in the media for himself !! The media comes part in parcel with his position in world sport !!

f22

BUACHAILL wrote: »

His so called disgusting invasion of privacy has all been self inflicted and I do not in any way shape or form support him for his dispicable behaviour. That however is a private matter and I was talking purely in a golfing manner.

Woods of all people knows the huge responisbilities you undertake when you are such a big super star, idol and role model for kids all around the world let alone his responsibilities as a father and husband so I disagree with you. He dug his own hole and should have been honest enough with his family and fans from the start and not dug his head in the sand like he did which just created a bigger storm in the media for himself !! The media comes part in parcel with his position in world sport !!

I agree 100%, his management have serious questions to answer the way they've handled this too. I think there will be ahuge clearout of his inner circle if the marriage is to survive. There is no doubt all these guys knew everything that was going on.

I love the analogy 'dug his own hole', the facts is he dug every birds hole he's met for the last five years. Whether he comes back in a month or a year all this is going to get revisited once again.

He's behaved like a clown.

Osgoodisgood

Mister Sifter wrote: »

Why would the likes of Scott and Kim all of a sudden find form just because Woods has taken a break? It's not like Woods has been the barrier to their game hitting the heady heights over the past 12 months.

No, but that wasn't my point. I think both guys are finding form at a time when the biggest impediment to making that count (woods) is out of action.

BUACHAILL

Fully agree he needs to take his time out for firstly his family but just as imortant himself. He needs to be honest enough with himself first before he can even begin to work out anything else, personal or golfing !! But I hope he does as he adds so much to golf !!

raido9

Excuse my golfing ignorance, but doesn't everyone benefit equally from this. The top player in the sport is not playing, therefore most golfers in every event will finish one position higher.

How can one golfer benefit more than another?

BUACHAILL

raido9 wrote: »

Excuse my golfing ignorance, but doesn't everyone benefit equally from this. The top player in the sport is not playing, therefore most golfers in every event will finish one position higher.

How can one golfer benefit more than another?

yeah I guess its one way to look at it

Generally speaking though there has been a number of golfers Harrington, Mickelson and a few others who would have definately picked up a few more wins had it not been for Woods beating them so it is effecting the top players more as they are always in contention for wins and and not just the standard pro picking up a cheque

stockdam

raido9 wrote: »

Excuse my golfing ignorance, but doesn't everyone benefit equally from this.

Not equally. If you are missing every cut then you'll hardly notice any difference. If your top finish was a tenth place then once again you'll hardly notice. In fact the total pot that people are playing for may drop substantially.

I don't think Woods will be back until his wife says so. She may take a year to do this. Until then I think the one player who may benefit is Rory.

GreeBo

Hopefully he is gone for at least a year or two so that the others can get used to the fact that they are actually battling for No 1 now. They might stop settling for a big cheque and a minor placing...

I think it will be good for golf, competition breeds excitement which also breeds interest and thus more money.
While Tiger in the field increased the viewings, it always seemed to be more of a freakshow/car crash increase. The extra 5k people would just watch him and so the tv coverage was all just him...Tiger walking, Tiger spitting, Tiger walking somewhere so he can spit...yawn.

I dont think any individual player will just step up and take over, I think they will all get a mental kick start and fight for the Top Prize.

RD77

To be honest I don't think any one player will benefit greatly. We heard the same thing when he was out injured that Paddy will win everything, Rory winning majors etc. but in reality no one player suddenly upped their game.

The_Kew_Tour

BiffoGooner wrote: »

Phil Mickelson I think.He's statistically been the best player in the Masters and U.S. Open over the last 5 years, so if Tiger isn't around for those he's got a great chance of doing something.He had a great end to the season and he's found his putter again.

If Tiger wasn't there at the end of last year how many tournaments would Padraig won?Back 9 disasters didn't help either of course but hopefully he can take advantage too.

Was thinking same if Tiger was not there he would have won that tournement before the PGA cant remember the name of it.

Think Harry got great chance to have another Major by end of year now that Tiger is gone.

charlieIRL

i actually think TW's absence might be good for the game for a short while. At some tournaments you were looking to see who will come second to Woods on the final day - not who will beat him. Now it could be any of any of the top 20.

Remember when Schumacher was winning all the F1 races or Sebastian Loeb in rallying? Gets kinds boring when there is only one winner week in, week out

IITYWYBMAD

charlieIRL wrote: »

i actually think TW's absence might be good for the game for a short while. At some tournaments you were looking to see who will come second to Woods on the final day - not who will beat him. Now it could be any of any of the top 20.

Remember when Schumacher was winning all the F1 races or Sebastian Loeb in rallying? Gets kinds boring when there is only one winner week in, week out

It may be good for the game short-term, but long term it will be detrimental. I think most people, at this stage, are more intrigued with who can actually beat Tiger, as opposed to being interested in his long slow march to victory, and he has shown some frailty in recent times.

Having said that, the game would be so much worse off, if he decided to hang up his clubs long-term. I don't ignore his indiscretions, but I'm mature enough to separate the golfer Tiger from the man Tiger, and while I hold a little less respect for the man, I can still admire him as a golfer, and I hope he will sort out both his private and professional status as soon as possible..