Tiger in League of His Own

July 24, Detroit

Golf is not a game that requires genetic gifts. You do not have to be particularly tall like in basketball, or big as in football. It does require ingrained depth perception, but the act of hitting a golf ball is not nearly as natural as hurling your body into another person.

Golf, like baseball or tennis, is a game where you refine your own talents to the point where you are able to get the ball to land wherever you want it to.

To me, this means that the major explanation for Tiger Woods' outlandish success is that he works harder than everyone else on tour. What does that mean for golf? Look at these quotes from espn.com. Read what all the other golfers are saying about Tiger Woods.

"He is the best player who has played the game right now and he's only 24," said Mark Calcavecchia. "Jack Nicklaus was the greatest of all time and he has the greatest record of all time but… If Jack was in his prime today, I don't think he could keep up with Tiger."

"The guy is simply in a different league," said Nick Faldo.

I'll tell you what these quotes say to me. Tiger Woods has exposed golf for what it actually is--a good old boys club, where there is so much money available that even the most mediocre players could make a good living. Mike Reid the 150th ranked player on tour had pulled down $128,279 through the British Open. That's some serious scratch for a player whose name I've never seen on SportsCenter.

Tiger makes golf look bad because he shows that most of the guys on tour don't have the desire to try to touch him.

Jack Nicklaus said, "Tiger is a phenomenon who will get even better, but players like Vijay Singh, Ernie Els and David Duval will also develop. And some kid watching television today will turn up to challenge him too. Tiger will not get a free run."

Because he was once the best player on earth, Nicklaus' words have some value. But nothing in the last year on the PGA tour seems to suggest that the Golden Bear is right. I mean, look at what happened this weekend in Scotland. Duval tried to make a charge in the final round. He pulled to within three strokes of Tiger, and then blew it on the 12th hole, effectively ending the tournament.

Is Tiger the only one on the tour who has the competitive fire within him to withstand this sort of challenge? Duval played a great round to pull within striking distance, and then he choked. He didn't have the mental determination to give Tiger a run for his money.

Why is Tiger tougher than the rest of the PGA? Maybe its because he's black and had to deal with some discrimination coming up. Or maybe its because he came out of the amateurs and has fresh memories of match play.

But if Singh, Els, and Duval are the competitors Nicklaus thinks they are, why can't they stand up to Tiger Woods on the golf course? Woods is like Michael Jordan--his opponents get psyched out by his presence.

The rest of the pack must be waiting for Woods to fall back a little.

That is not what competitors do. I don't believe the rest of the PGA was trying to catch Woods at all.

I believe that Tiger is good for golf, if only because my senior year of high school almost my entire 93 percent black public school watched the final round of the Masters. Tiger extends the game's appeal beyond the country club set. But in the same manner, Woods also shows what is missing from golf. Even the best players are not great competitors. They compete against courses not against people. Tiger dispatches of courses and competitors alike. While he creates a new following he also shows what the sport lacks: competition.