Civil War Toy Soldiers

Y.E. Yang shocked the world and probably himself by beating the world's best golfer, and maybe the greatest golfer of all time, Tiger Woods, by coming back from 2 strokes down Sunday to win the PGA Championship. Yang is the first Asian player to win a Major, the first player to beat Tiger Woods when Woods was tied or all alone in the lead after 54 holes of golf. Golf enthusiasts cheered, David took down Goliath, 12 never struck for Cinderella, No. 110 took down No. 1.

While fans were excited by the turn of events today, this really can't be good for golf. The PGA can't be happy about this, nor could any of Tiger's major endorsers. Without a major in 2009, people are beginning to write off Tiger Woods, thinking that he may very well be past his prime.

Woods hasn't regressed as much as people like to think. He's still won a very impressive five tourneys in 2009, and has staged some remarkable comebacks this year. Only the more serious fans realize this, but the media will be all about Tiger's lack of a major in 2009.

For the short-term, Yang's victory makes for an interesting story and may feed the media with some fuel for now. But the 2009 PGA season is devoid of stories. A lack of a Tiger win, and Tom Watson's falling short at the British Open both make for some major disappointments compared to what could have been.

Yet, this pushes it to another level. You're talking about the greatest golfer on Earth, losing to some no-name from South Korea who probably won't win another major. If Tiger had won, it would've given hope to next year, a hope maybe he finally does what he was destined to do, win all the major in the same year and pass Jack Nicklaus for the most Major wins ever.

While there are a few more months of golf left, there are no majors, and only serious golf enthusiasts will track these events. Fringe fans will go back to watching other sports, and will be far from enthused about the 2010 golf season.

We need the Tiger, the best golfer, to be well, the best golfer. He needs to hold leads on Sunday. He needs people to be scared on the last few holes with Tiger on the prowl. We need Tiger Woods to dominate everybody and ask questions later. If he's labeled the best, he needs to start performing in the biggest and best events.

Here's to hoping that 2010 brings us a Tiger resurgence, and most notably, a major or two. The sport really needs it.

Technorati Tags: golf, hobbies, leisure, pga, recreation, sports, Sports & Recreation, tiger woods

Tags: golf, hobbies, leisure, pga, recreation, sports, Sports & Recreation, tiger woods

In a very interesting and atypical twist today, Tiger Woods blew a lead entering the final round of the PGA Championships, losing to Y.E. Yang, a relatively unknown golfer. Woods had simply never lost a major after leading or being tied for the lead, and the world was shocked after witnessing today's events.

While fans were excited by the turn of events today, this really can't be good for golf. The PGA can't be happy about this, nor could any of Tiger's major endorsers. Without a major in 2009, people are beginning to write off Tiger Woods, thinking that he may very well be past his prime.

Woods is by no means past his prime. After returning from an injury that ended his 2008 campaign, Woods has bounced back with wins at five tournaments. Some of these involved some vintage Woods Sunday comebacks. Unfortunately, the majors are far more watched than the other tournaments, so the typical sports fan doesn't realize that all's not lost in Tiger's corner.

Yang winning is good, at the moment. But looking back 20 or 30 years from now, wouldn't you rather tell your kids or grandchildren about how the greatest golfer of all time beat some other guy in a 12-hole playoff after holing out from the fairway on 18. Wouldn't you rather have told your grandkids about how Tom Watson, the old geezer like you, won the British Open instead of pushing an 8 foot putt way to the right and self-destructing in a 4 hole playoff?

Yet, this pushes it to another level. You're talking about the greatest golfer on Earth, losing to some no-name from South Korea who probably won't win another major. If Tiger had won, it would've given hope to next year, a hope maybe he finally does what he was destined to do, win all the major in the same year and pass Jack Nicklaus for the most Major wins ever.

And for the 2009 golf season, there's not exactly much that fans can look forward to at this point. Will a Fedex Cup tournament excite them? Not exactly. There's really not much to look for.

Golf needs Tiger Woods just as much as he needs more majors. Tiger has given a face to golf, a sport that's sorely lacked one for so many years. Tiger is golf's Michael Jordan, and needs to return to this status in 2010.

We need Tiger to be Tiger and everyone else to watch in amazement as he wins Majors, no offense to them, but fans don't want Y.E. Yang, Angel Cabrera, or Lucas Glover to win. They want Tiger, and Tiger needs to deliver.

Technorati Tags: golf, hobbies, leisure, pga, recreation, sports, Sports & Recreation, tiger woods

Tags: golf, hobbies, leisure, pga, recreation, sports, Sports & Recreation, tiger woods