A Putter Change Was the Writing on the Wall for Tiger

There has been lots of conjecture about what caused Tiger to stop winning Majors.  There was his public disgrace.  There were his injuries.  There was a swing change, or three.  There was his loss to Y.E. Yang when he had the lead heading into the final round of the PGA Championship.  And, there was a putter change.

Who can forget the putt he made to secure a playoff with Rocco Mediate in the 2008 US Open? Everyone, including Rocco, knew the playoff was going to be a mere formality.  Tiger was the best putter since Jack Nicklaus--maybe the best putter the game has ever seen.  He did it with that famous Titleist putter.

Now I know it's not the fiddle, it's the fiddler.  But when you've putted like Tiger had, why would you ever change anything?  Crenshaw had little Ben.  Bobby Jones had Calamity Jane.  Tiger had that Titleist putter that broke a lot of hearts and won him 14 Majors.  Why did he change it?

They say the first thing to go with all the great champions is their putting.  And Tiger is definitely not the man he was on the greens.  He was scary from six feet.  It seemed he never missed.  Now he misses lots of them.  Just another of the many unsolicited opinions about why Tiger is no longer the man, but look to the putter change as the proverbial writing on the wall.  His last significant putt in a Major was made with that Titleist in his hands.  I always suspected that this was the case, but I just watched the video to be sure.

GOAT

With Tiger back in the news after his revealing interview with Lorne Rubenstein, once again we see just what a polarizing figure he has been in the game of golf.  While he has more than his fair share of detractors, there are also legions of fans who maintain that, whether he makes a comeback or not, he is the GOAT--greatest of all time.

Sam Snead, when asked about who was the greatest of all time, said that all you can really do is beat the guys you play against.  Tiger, without a shadow of a doubt, was the greatest player of his generation.  Should that not be good enough?

It seems that Tiger may never be fully fit again.  But I find it hard to imagine that he won't play again.  In fact, I've already suggested that he'll tee it up at the Masters in the Spring.  He has even talked, after his Time magazine interview, about being a playing assistant captain at the next Ryder Cup.  That doesn't sound like a guy who is about to retire from the game.  That doesn't sound to me like a guy who is ready to throw in the towel.

Tiger Woods was the greatest golfer of his generation.  He may not break Jack's record for Major wins.  He may not even surpass Sam Snead for most PGA tour wins.  He will definitely never win eighteen in a season and eleven in a row, like Byron Nelson.  But the guy was the best of his day.  He was in a league of his own.

That, I would think, should be good enough.