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No Tiger this week? Oh my
Sports Illustrated senior writer Gary Van Sickle will answer your questions every Thursday during the golf season. Click here to send him a question. Tiger Woods will not be teeing it up this weekat the inaugural SEI Pennsylvania Classic in suburban Philadelphia.. Can you survive with no Tiger? Judging by your questions, most of which involve Tiger, the world's No. 1 player, I doubt it. So here are this week's letters, offering you your weekly Tiger fix:
Why can't Tiger play the schedule all the other pros do? After he lost to
Sergio Garcia at Bighorn, all you pompous sportswriters who predicted he would
clobber Sergio wrote about how tired Tiger was and how he had been fighting the
flu. I guess that bandwagon is just too
comfy. Why can't Tiger play the schedule Jack Nicklaus used to play? It seemed to work pretty well for him. Tiger's plan is to do what's best for him. If that means playing only 16 or 18 PGA Tour events, plus a handful of tournaments and outings around the rest of the world, he's free to do what he wants. He doesn't owe it to you or anyone else to play every week. Tour players are independent contractors. I don't know of any actual sportswriters, pompous or otherwise, who predicted Tiger would whup Sergio. It's absurd to try to predict the outcome of match play, especially in a made-for-TV event that is hardly serious. Anyone who made such a prediction doesn't know much about golf. Tiger was indeed ill, as I reported in Sports Illustrated Golf Plus in my coverage of the NEC Invitational, and clearly fatigued. He gave a clinic the morning after he won in Akron, then flew a jet to California, arriving just hours before his match with Sergio. Those aren't excuses; those are facts, Jack.
Give us a profile on Steve Williams, Tiger's caddie, and the role he plays
between
holes. Williams is 36 and a native of New Zealand. He grew up in Wellington, and got into caddying when he landed the bag of Australian great Peter Thomson in the 1976 New Zealand Open. Thomson finished third, paid Williams $150 and gave him a bag of golf balls and the bag he had carried all week. That experience so impressed Williams, he decided to make caddying a career. In the following years, after first working in a butcher shop for two years, he caddied for Ian Baker-Finch, Greg Norman and Ray Floyd, to name a few, before landing Tiger Woods. He likes dirt-track car racing, New Zealand rugby and the number 21. He's a fitness nut, too. He passed me on the road near our hotel during the Buick Open in Grand Blanc, Mich., one evening when we were both out jogging -- I'm sure he ran much longer and faster than plodding ol' me. His role between holes is the same as any caddie -- to alternately be a friend, advisor, devil's advocate, confidence booster and security guard.
Last February, I went to the World Match Play tourney at La Costa and was in
the fitness center by myself about 6:30 a.m., and low and behold who comes in
and sits down and starts pedaling on the bike next to me? That's right, Tiger!
He could not have been more friendly or engaging on any of the topics we
discussed for more than the 30 minutes he and his girlfriend were there. Many
people have not seen this side of Tiger, but only the cold-blooded killer on the
golf course. What do you think he could/should do to let the public at large see
the other side of
Tiger? While recent surveys show that Tiger is widely known, he remains considerably less popular than golfers such as Arnold Palmer and Jack Nicklaus. If Tiger wants to upgrade his popularity rating, he probably just needs to let a few select media types inside his circle of wagons and see the side you're talking about, Charlie. A few behind-the-scenes stories could portray his personality, whatever it is. On the other hand, his life is already so public now, I wouldn't blame him for not wanting to share the tiny amount of privacy the world currently allows him.
Do you think there will be a rise in the number of amateur golfers who have a
chance at beating Tiger in the near future? If so, who are they and how long
does the golf world have to wait to see competition as it used to
be? The number of amateurs who have a chance to beat Tiger in the near future remains at zero, Mike. Anyone close to Tiger's level when he was an amateur would have to dominate amateur golf much in the same way he did. And no one is doing it. I think Tiger has inspired a number of youngsters of all ages to take up golf and treat it seriously -- practicing as much as a tour pro would -- at an early age. Eventually, they'll reach the tour and compete but that will take anywhere from 10-15 years to happen. And will they be able to beat Tiger, even then? If he plays the way he has this year, my answer is no.
What do you think of the new senior ladies' tour? The first one was played
here in Green
Bay. The older generation of LPGA players didn't get the exposure that today's players get so it will be a tough sell to the public and the sponsors, many of whom probably can't name two players other than Nancy Lopez. It would be great for those players to get a chance to play for some decent money but I'm not sure how well it will do. The marketplace will decide whether the idea flies or dies.
What book on the psychological side of the game do you think would be most
recommended by
players? One good one is Golf is Not a Game of Perfect by Bob Rotella.
Click here to send your golf question to Gary Van Sickle.
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