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Chat Reel: SI's Jaime Diaz

Expect Woods to win real Grand Slam by age 30

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Sports Illustrated senior writer Jaime Diaz joins CNNSI.com users each Monday at 1 p.m. ET to talk about the world of golf. A transcript of his July 24 chat follows.

CNNSI.com Host: Welcome to our weekly golf chat with Sports Illustrated's Jaime Diaz. Thanks for joining us, Jaime.
Jaime Diaz: Thank you.

CNNSI.com Host: Let's get started with the questions.

From cdawg: How soon until Tiger wins all four majors in one year?
Jaime Diaz: I think these next six years, especially while he's single and incredibly motivated, probably will be the prime ones. He hasn't given much indication of becoming complacent, but I have to feel that when he reaches the age of 32 or 33 it'll be harder for him to stay this intense for every tournament. I think he'll win the Grand Slam, and I think he'll do it probably before the age of 30.

From Joe: Where would you rank the Grand Slam of golf amongst the hardest things to do in professional sports?
Jaime Diaz: If we're talking the true Grand Slam rather than the career Slam, I'd say it ranks with hitting .400, hitting 70 home runs again, maybe averaging 40 points and 15 rebounds -- things that have only been done by the giants of the game, the Ty Cobbs, the Wilt Chamberlains. The thing about golf is, you still have to beat your opponents, whereas with another sport like, say, baseball, sometimes equipment can cheapen a record slightly. So I think the mental challenge of being at your peak four different times over five months is what makes the Grand Slam so difficult. It's certainly harder than tennis' Grand Slam.

From JD: It looks like Tiger's contemporaries don't have the will to compete with him when he's on. Is that a product of the amount of money in the game now or is Tiger the only guy who cares about wins instead of top-10s?
Jaime Diaz: I don't think it's that they lack the will, but that they lack the ability when he's on -- he's the strongest, the fastest, the most focused. It's too big a mountain to climb when Tiger's on. I do think there is a lot of money and certain personalities will get satisfied more easily, perhaps, than when there wasn't as much money. But I think the true champions will continue to get better. Tiger's changed the whole landscape; it used to be that a guy wins three times in a year and they would say he had a great year, so having top-10s looked good. But Tiger has shown that winning is the only thing that lasts in golf, so I think we'll see more motivated players rather than less motivated players.

From JD: Since it doesn't look like you can "Tiger-proof" a golf course, do you think tournaments will go the other way and make them a bit easier to allow more golfers to get good scores?
Jaime Diaz: No, I don't. I don't think there's any harm in Tiger dominating -- the PGA Tour and the powers-that-be don't mind. Golf has never been more popular, and it's coincided completely with his dominance. I think they want the best players to win, so the courses will be set up accordingly. And, naturally, some of them will be easier than others. While this may mean more players can contend, Tiger will still win if he's on. I think the hardest course for him to win on is a real tight, U.S. Open-style course. Jack Nicklaus always said that was the hardest for him, and I think the same would apply for Tiger.

From Guest: Should we be disappointed that David Duval didn't make things closer? Is he suffering from Monty-itis?
Jaime Diaz: Duval and Monty are quite different personalities. I don't see a parallel there. I think David's disappointed, because I think he would have liked to test Tiger. But we shouldn't be disappointed. He's trying to get better -- maybe he's not quite as good as we thought he was, and that's no sin. I think he wants it, and I get the feeling he's really trying to be the best he can be. Wherever that takes him, I don't think anyone should regret that. I'm not saying he can't return to that form he showed two years ago; I think we're all getting a little carried away with the short term right now.

From Guest: So what happened to Annika Sorenstam this weekend?
Jaime Diaz: All credit to Karrie Webb; she really answered Annika's challenge and she showed a lot. I thought her sense of domination might have been slipping away, but she reestablished it. I've always thought Karrie had more tools physically, it was whether she'd get as tough mentally. Annika is like Chris Evert to Karrie's Martina Navratilova: It took Martina a while to deal with Chris' consistency and toughness, then she beat her regularly. That will happen with Karrie. I think Annika's challenge right now is to stay motivated; she 's indicated she's not really in it for a long career. But she's a competitor, so I think she'll be back. Still, I think Karrie is a little better than Annika is.

From Guest: Although Tiger currently boosts TV ratings, could we ever get to a point where he is so dominant that no one cares anymore?
Jaime Diaz: I suppose it's possible, but it would fly in the face of everything in the history of golf. No dominance has ever been considered boring, it's always been considered the highlight of that era -- whether we're talking about Bobby Jones, Ben Hogan, Byron Nelson, Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicklaus, even Tom Watson. It's always been a desirable situation. The nature of golf is that no one wins that often, even Tiger, except for that one stretch Nelson had. Dominance is a desirable situation, as opposed to other sports. Maybe people got tired of seeing the Yankees win the World Series every year. Losing is so prevalent in golf that I think there's no danger of that. To this day, TIger hasn't won even half his tournaments, so I think we're slightly overestimating how often he's going to win, even if he becomes the greatest player who ever played. I just think Tiger will peak for the biggest moments; that's where he's best.

From Paul: Are the other players demoralized by Tiger's obvious dominance?
Jaime Diaz: I think a little bit. Short term there's not much they can do -- I think Duval, Phil Mickelson, Ernie Els are slightly demoralized, but I don't think they're giving up. Golf goes in cycles, and theirs will come; everyone of them is still pretty young. Tiger is extremely gifted, and they may know he's better than they are, but Tiger can play poorly, too. We've seen Greg Norman, Nick Faldo, Curtis Strange, Seve Ballesteros fall off the pedestal. So I think they have to believe they can get better and that Tiger can't keep it up. Seven years or so has usually been the limit of dominance in golf, other than Nicklaus.

From Craig: Can nothing be done to silence those cretins who insist on shouting banalities like "You da man!" at every tournament? It seems the honor amongst these morons is to be first to shout. Someone actually screamed, "In the hole!" while Tiger was addressing his last putt at the British Open. What are your thoughts?
Jaime Diaz: It's never bothered me. They pick on "You da man" as a sign the apocalypse is upon us, but I think it's just golf fans being exuberant. It bothers me if it's done when the guy is in his backswing or to distract a player, but I like that everyone is into the game so much. I think it's kind of funny, actually, and maybe I'm in the minority, but yelling something doesn't bother me. I have a lot more problem with fans who throw things on the field or do things like that. So I don't think anything needs to be done about merely yelling.

From Guest: You've alluded to Tiger's lack of competition relative to Jack Nicklaus. If Tiger goes on to win more than 18 majors, but many of them in runaways, will that diminish his legacy or add to his legend?
Jaime Diaz: To me, it adds. I've never been one to say Jack had a lot more competition than Tiger. We're looking back now at their career records -- Tom Watson, Lee Trevino, Johnny Miller, Tom Weiskopf, Arnold Palmer. All had Hall of Fame careers. But Jack wasn't playing all those guys in their prime. I think Tiger has more competition week to week than Jack did. I think he's dealing with more quality, because we've seen there are players like Loren Roberts who can come out of the woodwork and dominate a tournament, a lot more so than in Nicklaus' days. I think Tiger winning 18 would be more impressive than Jack winning 18.

From Joe: Why didn't David Duval just putt the ball back in the bunker on No. 17 so he could have an easier shot? Those extra shots really cost him a lot of money.
Jaime Diaz: I think he was just upset that he was going to give a stroke away. I think Mickelson, Tiger, Sergio Garcia could have gotten it out of there, while that's probably David's weakest shot. The technique he showed was not the best for that shot. He was trying to make something happen; it probably wasn't the most prudent shot in terms of money, but I think he wanted to finish as high as he could and didn't want to give second place away.

From Fred: Why hasn't Tiger's father been at the last two majors he has won? It seems like such a turn since Earl Woods was so prominent and visible earlier in Tiger's career.
Jaime Diaz: Tiger's dad has had a lot taken out of him by heart surgeries, and he doesn't travel as well. He can't really walk the course well enough to see Tiger play, so when he's on site he still watches on TV anyway. So when all is said and done he is more comfortable and can see more at home. In general, I think he's content to be at home. Tiger's mom loves to be out there walking, and even those she's only about five feet tall, she manages; she's in better physical shape than Earl is.

From JD: I happen to like David Duval's chances at next month's PGA. Does the Valhalla course suit his game enough for him to at least be in the final group on Sunday?
Jaime Diaz: I like Duval every tournament. He's going through a phase here where he's having trouble with his short game. Tiger went through a phase a year and a half ago where he could not win -- people forget that. Sometimes just one little thing needs to click in. I think David is close to something like that; I can't believe a guy who won 11 times in 18 months can't repeat that form. It could happen at any time, and I think it will happen. He'll have a hard time winning as many because Tiger is playing this well, but it'll sure make for a great battle when it happens.

From When: It's a cliché nowadays to say every course sets up well for Tiger, but what can you tell us about Valhalla in terms of how it might or might not suit his game?
Jaime Diaz: I think it suits his game more than most. It's a NIcklaus-designed course, and Jack tends to put a premium on the ability to hit the ball high and stop it quickly into the greens, which he thinks is the mark of a great golfer. Tiger can do that as well as anyone -- he's usually hitting a short iron into the green and he knows how to hit a high, soft shot as well as anyone. Nicklaus courses are perfect for Tiger. There's usually room off the tee, so I think he'll be able to hit at least 3-wood off the tees and use his length. After that, it's like Augusta -- the advantage goes to the player who can hit the highest, softest shot into the green.

From Hello: TV should have a showdown between Tiger and Karrie Webb. What do you think?
Jaime Diaz: Doesn't do anything for me. I think it's ridiculous, this comparison. The women are being short-changed. They're two different games -- it's like putting Cynthia Cooper against Kobe Bryant. What does it prove? The women have great skills, but there's just no comparison between their skills and the men's. You could give Karrie the advantage of playing a shorter course. It might be interesting -- the Wendy's Three-Tour Challenge does something similar. But I don't think anyone seriously equates Karrie Webb's game with Tiger Woods' game.

From Joe: Tiger's coach said he is only at 75 percent of his potential. How much better can he get and what can he improve on in his game?
Jaime Diaz: Tiger's become an incredibly good driver, but he can always get a little straighter. I think he could become a little better at hitting a variety of shots into the green. He's very good at it, but it's almost like he's just beginning to realize what he can do with the ball from the fairway. Hogan was more of a virtuoso, and I think Tiger could become Hogan-like. He could also become more precise from that 100-yard spot; sometimes from there he still hits it 25, 30 yards away. The area where he has the greatest room for improvement is his putter, and he's become a great putter. However, you look at a guy like Loren Roberts and you see an ultimate putter -- the ball either goes in or it's five inches away. Tiger could get there; that speed control and touch is something he could still improve upon.

From When: Speaking of showdowns, it had been announced a couple months back that Tiger and Sergio Garcia would have a showdown, à la the Tiger-Duval Sherwood event. Is that event still on in light of Garcia's lack of compelling performances this season?
Jaime Diaz: Yeah, it's still on. It's all contracted -- the Battle of Bighorn. It's a TV event, two young guys, it'll be hyped. I don't think anyone still thinks of Sergio as the second-best player in the world, but he's an appealing personality and he might beat Tiger. They were betting on Sergio becoming better than he has turned out to be. It won't be as hyped as the Duval event, but it'll be successful because Tiger is playing. But there's no reason to think it's anything more than an exhibition; I don't think it'll settle anything.

CNNSI.com Host: That's all we have time for today. Thanks for joining us, Jaime.
Jaime Diaz: Thank you.

 

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