Don’t Forget Jack Just Yet

Though the golfing world has yet to pick up on the signs, Jack Nicklaus’ outlook on his future place in golf lore should steadily become more optimistic.  Why?  Simply put, because Tiger Woods’ intensity has waned, albeit ever so slightly, but enough to give the Golden Bear’s legacy a mulligan.

For nearly a decade, seemingly every expert and amateur agreed on one supposed truth:  Tiger Woods was going to eclipse Jack Nicklaus as the greatest golfer of all time.

Sure, many of these folks gave Nicklaus the nod as the game’s best, but, like clockwork, would always tack on ‘until Tiger gets 19.’  The 19, of course, signifying the number of major championship victories it would take to surpass Nicklaus’ total of 18.  The notion of ‘Jack’s the best—for now’ has always reeked of phony reverence, almost as if these experts attempted to create artificial drama for an event they deemed as a foregone conclusion.

Now, we have always been told that nothing is assumed in sports.  ‘That’s why you play the game,’ as the old axiom says.  So why anoint Tiger as the king when Nicklaus still holds the rights to the throne?  ‘Tiger’s on a record pace,’ they would say.  ‘He’s obliterates and intimidates the competition.’  ‘It’s not like other sports, where an injury can derail a career.’

Au contraire, did Tiger not just return from major knee surgery?  And had he not undergone other knee operations prior to this?  It seems as if one of Tiger’s biggest strengths has turned the tables and become detrimental to his game.  His athletic ability helped give rise to him becoming the best in the world, but the torque in his lithe swing has done, and may continue to do, a number on his knee.

Having said this, I highly doubt his physical health will cause him too many fits in the immediate future.  And as he proved at the 2008 U.S. Open, as long as he can walk, he has as good of a chance as anyone to win golf tournaments.  In fact, Nicklaus is more than happy to concede this.  When asked about Woods’ physical issues and the role they will play in his quest to break the major championships record, the response was typical from the classy champion.

“I think … the quality of the player that he is, even if he doesn’t play well I think he’ll probably still break my record,” said Nicklaus. 

Up until a few days ago, I would have whole-heartedly agreed with that sentiment.  Tiger will more than likely break the record.  After all, despite his lack of major titles in 2009, no player has won more overall tournaments than Woods.  Given this statistic, and the fact that this season has served as a sort of tune-up for Tiger’s rehabbed knee, order seems to have been restored to the golf world.  However, a pre-round gesture of good will has underscored a growing trend that permeated throughout this year’s majors:  Tiger Woods has gone soft.

Okay, that may be a tad extreme.  But Woods is not the same cold-blooded assassin that stalked the fairways and greens earlier this decade.  Case in point:  Prior to last Thursday’s round at the Tour Championship, Woods offered a putting tip to Sean O’Hair, a tip which O’Hair cited as a key factor in his third place finish.

Could anyone imagine the 2000-era Tiger Woods offering such friendly advice?  I don’t think so.  Has this kinder, gentler Tiger seen his killer instinct wane a bit?  Perhaps.  Especially given his inability to get the job done during the three 2009 majors where he was in the mix on Sunday, the most glaring of these being the PGA Championship, which he led heading in to the final round.

Though Tiger’s cheerleaders will happily remind everyone that you cannot hold this year against Woods due to his knee, how do they account for what amounts to a seismic shift in demeanor?  Even if sole blame is placed on the injury, will that matter to his competitors?  No.  The prevailing thought will be that Tiger Woods is human.  He does bleed, and he can be beaten.

None of this is to say that a friendlier Tiger Woods would be detrimental to the game of golf.  He’s still miles and miles ahead of the majority of his peers in terms of talent, and more times than not, that will take care of any lost intensity.  And though he has never been out-and-out mean-spirited on the golf course, seeing Woods develop some camaraderie with his fellow players would be refreshing. 

This had to happen at some point, didn’t it?  Woods is a husband now, a father; it is hard to envision someone being solely consumed by a game for his entire life.  And though the major victories may not come as often as they had previously, it may very well be better for Tiger Woods as a person, and the game of golf in general.

First and foremost, it will enhance the game’s tradition.  Many of today’s fans, the ones that blend the game’s greats together in one, overly-broad pre-Tiger era will gain new appreciation for the legends of golf.  Though I admit that I root for Tiger to win as many majors as he possibly can, failing to reach 19 majors would let the younger generations of golfers truly appreciate the career of Jack Nicklaus (and also his unheralded and unreachable mark of 28 second and third place finishes in the majors).

A more mellow Woods would also do more to enhance his legacy than any one major victory can.  He could follow Nicklaus’ lead and prove that dominant athletic ability and a humble, approachable personality do not have to be mutually exclusive.

Though nothing is for certain, it will be interesting to see how 2010 turns out for Woods.  Though I’ve presented a scenario in which his dominance has waned, it still seems inconceivable that he does not get to 19.  He will return to the two courses that he pillaged during the 2000 season, Pebble Beach and St. Andrews, and, as always, will be the favorite to win at Augusta.

If Tiger Woods fails to win a major next year, then I think it will be time to sound the alarm.  But despite the physical, mental, and emotional changes and challenges that he’s faced in the past few years, I still would not bet against him.  But just as it is no longer a sure thing to assume that Woods will reach the elusive ‘19’ benchmark, do not simply pencil him in as a major champion in 2010.  During the same interview in which he conceded that Tiger would probably surpass his record in the majors, Jack Nicklaus echoed a similar, cautionary sentiment.

“He still has to do that.”

And after an interesting 2009 season, Tiger Woods’ task became a lot taller.