NFT - Tiger Woods withdraws from 2023 Masters

[MightyGiants]

Have to admire the grit that pushed him as far as went

https://twitter.com/TWlegion/status/1644783825396924418

The short answer is that Woods is, for all his flaws, the ultimate professional. You will hear him talk often, even at 47 and with severe physical limitations, of "grinding". He likes to prove to himself and to the watching world that he does not know what it means to quit, that, much like the Navy Seals whose endurance so inspires him, he will keep persevering even when every part of his body is screaming at him to stop. For all that he has no chance of winning his sixth Green Jacket this weekend, his sequence of playing all four rounds at every Masters since 1996 – he has missed four over that period – is a source of deep personal satisfaction.

Woods loathes these chilly, damp conditions. Even before his car crash, he had to wake up at 4am on the day of his historic Augusta triumph in 2019, just to do the exercises to ensure that his back and neck, weakened by multiple surgeries, would co-operate. Add a ravaged right leg, held together by screws, plates and pins, into the mixture, and you start to understand why he dreads seeing the weather forecast.

The realities of these Georgia squalls were every bit as grim as he had feared. He was soaked to the skin, seldom even acknowledging the crowd's ovations. The final four holes of Woods' interrupted second round offered a miniature study of what his golfing career has become. When he hooked his drive at the 18th into the pine straw, he carried his club glumly off the tee, his energy draining. "I was just trying to hit some kind of low cut out there, and I hit it right off the neck," he lamented.

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https://sports.yahoo.com/tiger-woods-proves-once-again-193614261.html

[andrew_nyGiants]

Two things:
1) I had no idea he was 47 already. For some reason I thought he was early 40's at most.
2) My wife and I watched most of his play this weekend and it was apparent he was miserable. After he got to +9 I was hoping he would withdraw.


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[DaveBrown74]

If I look back at my lifetime (I am 48 and started taking a serious interest in sport around age 7 or 8, so call it four decades), there are three athletes who truly stand out. And when I say the word "athlete" I mean that very holistically. Obviously physical gifts and talent are a big part of it, but drive, competitiveness, willingness to do whatever it takes to win, consistency, tendency to deliver in big moments, impact on the game, etc are all among what I'm talking about.

Two of them are Brady and Jordan. The other is Tiger. I'm not really interested in trying to rank the three of them. I just think they deserve their own tier.

Obviously, there are plenty of other amazing names that come to mind over the past 40 years who are not dissimilar from those guys. I don't need to name names - we can all name them. By isolating the three I did I am in no way shape or form putting down any of the other great ones who are iconic names. I just think those three are the top three.

What Tiger did for golf probably stands above what the other two did for their sports. A true luminary. It's a shame he's had to deal with so much physical pain. I respect the hell out of him for continuing to try to compete through it.

[jgrangers2]

What Tiger did for golf probably stands above what the other two did for their sports. A true luminary. It's a shame he's had to deal with so much physical pain. I respect the hell out of him for continuing to try to compete through it.

None of us were around for Babe Ruth completely changing the sport of baseball, but I've gotta imagine that's the closest we have to what Tiger has done for golf over the last three decades. The guy is hobbling around and barely a threat to compete and yet so much of the coverage still centers on him.

[DaveBrown74]

None of us were around for Babe Ruth completely changing the sport of baseball, but I've gotta imagine that's the closest we have to what Tiger has done for golf over the last three decades. The guy is hobbling around and barely a threat to compete and yet so much of the coverage still centers on him.

And plus he did make the cut, which may not seem like a big deal, but in that type of pain and at his age it's more impressive than we might think.

[kartanoman]

And plus he did make the cut, which may not seem like a big deal, but in that type of pain and at his age it's more impressive than we might think.

His competitive burning fire within, despite his body telling him to pack it in, the greatest conflict of a champion.

Peace!

[DaveBrown74]

Speaking of golf and the Masters, how about Phil today? 65 at Augusta at age 52? Incredible!

I would absolutely love to see Rahm give 2 strokes up here and get a playoff, but it's not going to happen. Too many easy holes from here.

[Philosophers]

Most iconic voice for a sport over the years.  Jim Nantz and the Masters

[PSUBeirut]

He changed the game, for sure.  I can't put him with those other greats, though (Jordan and Brady)- simply because he had the chance to actually win a record number of championships but failed to- and it was all his doing. 

[DaveBrown74]

He changed the game, for sure.  I can't put him with those other greats, though (Jordan and Brady)- simply because he had the chance to actually win a record number of championships but failed to- and it was all his doing. 

I'd say injuries were the bigger reason for his inability to catch Nicklaus; not the scandal. So I'm not sure it's entirely fair to say it was his fault (or his doing).

Jordan didn't get the record number of championships either. Could he have gotten more if he hadn't embarked on the failed baseball stint?

[PSUBeirut]

I'd say injuries were the bigger reason for his inability to catch Nicklaus; not the scandal. So I'm not sure it's entirely fair to say it was his fault (or his doing).

Jordan didn't get the record number of championships either. Could he have gotten more if he hadn't embarked on the failed baseball stint?

I think he played a major part in himself getting injured so much.  He's not on the Jordan and Brady tier.  He could have been.  Definitely should have been.  But he failed to get there. 

[DaveBrown74]

I think he played a major part in himself getting injured so much.  He's not on the Jordan and Brady tier.  He could have been.  Definitely should have been.  But he failed to get there. 

He had a bigger impact on his sport than Brady did and arguably Jordan too. Jordan was the great player in his sport of all time for sure, but there had already been numerous other icons before him who made basketball huge. He took it to new levels no doubt, but there were others before him. With Tiger, he changed golf completely. Made it exciting and way more accessible to the masses. He caused a spike in interest in the sport that neither Brady nor Jordan singularly achieved.

[PSUBeirut]

He had a bigger impact on his sport than Brady did and arguably Jordan too. Jordan was the great player in his sport of all time for sure, but there had already been numerous other icons before him who made basketball huge. He took it to new levels no doubt, but there were others before him. With Tiger, he changed golf completely. Made it exciting and way more accessible to the masses. He caused a spike in interest in the sport that neither Brady nor Jordan singularly achieved.

Don't disagree about him changing the game.  There were a lot of other factors that helped that along- golf not being a team sport, golf being ripe for change after many decades of stagnation, him being African-American, TV markets opening up at the same time he came on the scene, etc.  No doubt he changed the game forever.  My problem is that he had the chance to not only change it but truly dominate it like he SHOULD have.  But he lost his focus, did not prep his body for the long haul, and engaged in several stupid mistakes that clearly affected his game- including this past weekend when he clearly was broken down, physically (as a result of a car accident of his own fault). 

[Philosophers]

Huge impact on the game though I am not sure he is the greatest of all time in golf.  Everyone talks about Jack Niklaus and his 18 wins in Majors but he came in 2nd something like 19 times.

[Jaime]

Majors count the most, and Jack has the most.
Tiger's personal life ruined his Golf career