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Reactions: Tiger beat CNNSI.com users believe Woods capable of anythingPosted: Thursday February 10, 2000 04:59 PM
Make no mistake: CNNSI.com users believe in Tiger. And after a miraculous comeback at Pebble Beach to win his sixth tournament in a row, our respondents seem ready to believe that he's capable of anything. A sample of the user comments we received follows: When I checked my favorite golf web site Monday evening, I was looking to see if Tiger had perhaps had a good enough round to place 2nd or 3rd. The last I had checked, he was 6 strokes behind with 5 to play. It just seemed that his poor second round had been too much for him. But when I saw the headline "Tiger Wins At Pebble"... my jaw dropped. I clicked on link after link to find out as much as I could about how this possibly could have happened. I was stunned. I think the best shot at having his streak end was at Pebble Beach. He won't face another challenge like that until the Masters. My only sincere hope is that if he does lose, and lose another....and maybe another....that people don't start saying he's in another "slump". Those statements really separate the people that know and appreciate the game, and those who simply don't get it.
Nobody can beat Tiger. Only he can beat himself. If Tiger plays at anywhere near the top of his game, he will continue to win. The only thing that can happen to beat him is if he has a poor tournament. That's the only thing. He will win this week on a course that plays to his strengths, and the streak will reach at least seven. And if you think the pressure of nearing the streak will get to Tiger, think again. He has the toughest mental game on tour. That, combined with his technically perfect swing, makes him unbeatable, unless of course he beats himself.
Tiger Woods won three consecutive Junior National Championships and followed that run with three consecutive U.S. Amateur Titles -- that is six straight National Championships. Anyone who knows anything about golf understands the magnitude of this achievement. Predicting a Tiger defeat -- anywhere or anytime -- is foolish.
Tiger will not lose until he plays poorly. It is obvious that his game even on an average day is several notches above all the other tour players. In fact, I think most tour members have accepted that reality and are quite intimidated by Tiger. If he continues to play well, there is no way he will lose on the West Coast. He could be challenged in Florida at Bay Hill, Sawgrass, or the Honda if the wind blows. He does tend to hit a "high ball" and could get in trouble in the wind, although he has improved this part of his game too. If he putts decently, he will win at Augusta easily.
How come everyone is so interested in seeing Tiger fail? Sometimes it bothers me to see how a person can be singled out with negative press due to a person's hard work and success.
Sooner or later Tiger will beat himself. Until then, he may not yet be able to walk on water, but he is the only player on the tour who is probably capable of scoring a double-eagle on a par 3.
Tiger's streak will end at Augusta, the place where he first showed the world his golfing prowess. His streak would then be 10 straight wins -- just one short of the "impossible" 11 set by Byron Nelson. Now THAT would be an anticlimax, wouldn't it?
The scariest thing about Tiger right now is that he knows he can win at any time. The only thing that can be scarier is that all the other players know that as well. He has a psychological advantage every time he enters an event. Streak continues at the Buick.
Tiger is the greatest, but there is a huge bunch of talented young players pushing up. There are too many that is almost impossible for Tiger to play as his best on the coming events. My reason for this is the big pressure facing Tiger because the big expectations towards the continuing winning streak. Also, The rest of good players chasing Tiger are tired and desperate and they do not feel comfortable with this unbelievable performance. To do the impossible and stop him next week, they will play very aggressive and with anger so watch out this weekend. My best regards for Tiger, and hopefully for the good of golf I hope Tiger continue with the streak.
I believe Tiger will continue to win during the next two tournaments. The Buick Invitational and the Nissan Open both set up nicely to Tiger's game and he can take advantage of his length. The probability of him winning these tournaments is high. Look for Tiger to fall after the Nissan Open.
As much as I like to see him break the old record, but we have to look at the reality and the possibility first. Therefore, I don't think he has a chance of breaking the so-called streak and the reason is simple: he is the human being. Back in those days there weren't many good players like today. But I'm not saying that Mr. Nelson is not a good golfer -- actually he is one of the greatest golfers that ever played the game. So, for Tiger to win 11 or 12 in row of tournaments that he plays, it is going take a miracle to accomplish this task. There is one thing that I like to point out, as Tiger said, this is 2000 and 1999 is over, so for him, I think his streak is only 2 but not 6.
Tiger is the man there is no doubt. But let's not forget that he didn't win this as much as Matt Gogel lost it. I'm sure if you asked Gogel he'd tell you the same. He had Tiger by the tail and just let him go. As a professional golfer, a back nine 40 at Pebble in those scoring conditions is a flat out train wreck. I love watching history as much as the next, but not at the collapse of others. Gogel pars out and the streak is over. We should buy him and Mr. Van de Velde a beer and toast Tiger for a fairy tale finish. It's too bad that in twenty years when I look back at that round, I too will have forgotten Mr. Gogel and only remember the 64. Tiger, you're great, but Gogel is too good to play that bad. When will the streak end? Not this week. Tiger gets 7 at Torrey Pines.
I think Tiger is going to hit at least 11 straight victories. The only player who can actually beat him is himself. The only problem I see is that in the first few rounds he doesn't seem as motivated. He usually comes around on the 3rd or like pebble beach the 4th round and turns it on. Maybe he needs to be right on the brink to be able to concentrate better on the last day. The shootout between him and Ernie Els was unbelievable. Too bad players like Els cannot do that every week like Tiger does. I think his determination to become a better player will let him equal "the streak." How many other players can, after a successful year retune their entire swing and do what he has done? None.
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