The latest World Golf Rankings are out and it caught my attention how far removed we are from the days of The Big Five. Tiger resides at No.1, Phil at No. 3, Ernie Els at No. 4 or 5, Vijay at No. 7 and Retief Goosen has fallen all the way down to No. 17. It doesn't seem like it was all that long ago that The Big Five was all you heard or read about related to PGA Tour golf and today we're along way from that. Adam Scott and Jim Furyk have come a long way and have played consistently enough to move into the top five.
The parity between the top five and the rest of the pack is much smaller than it was two or three years ago, which makes for a very diverse list of tournament winners at years end. The only parity on the list that continues to grow is Tiger's margin over the rest of the field (strictly speaking of World Golf Rankings here).
On a side note...despite missing the cut at the U.S. Open in 2006 Tiger is once again at the top of the consecutive cuts list. Let's see if he puts together another 7 or 8 year run again...
goes to show you and to keep in perspective just what Tiger is doing, I mean to be at the TOP of the Golf world this long and to sustain that level of play is just awesome.....(and I'm not a huge Tiger fan myself, don't dislike him, but just not a convert to say the least)
remember the days of Norman, Faldo, Couples, Price? these guys were the once the best overall Golfer in the World, but no where near the length of time that Tiger has sustain that seat.
Tiger is great no question but it also speaks to the level of competition. The tour is without a doubt deeper now than in the past, but it does not have the level of winners. Just look at who Tiger had to hold off in the PGA Sunday. Ernie hasn't played real well in a couple of years then there were Woody Austin, Stephen Ames, Kevin Sutherland.
Doesn't quite strike the fear of Player, Watson, Trevino, Miller, Norman, Faldo, Floyd.
Tiger's great, but his consistency is even more impressive. CBS put up an amazing stat Sunday that showed that Tiger was a cumulative -1 for the 4 majors this year. The guy in second (don't remember who it was) was something like +25.
Tiger's great, but his consistency is even more impressive. CBS put up an amazing stat Sunday that showed that Tiger was a cumulative -1 for the 4 majors this year. The guy in second (don't remember who it was) was something like +25.
That's an interesting stat...imo it should be more than a stat...I think there oughta be some sort of special recognition for the low total in the four majors every year. That stat points out those who rise to the occasion.
Of the old big five, Retief is the only one that's really struggling. He won some majors in years past but really hasn't contended for anything in a while. Vijay is still winning but he hasn't had a major in a while, plus he's getting older. Ernie and Phil are close to the same age and Ernie had a real set back with his injury. Tiger is the youngest and most talented obviously.
Adam Scott is a good player, but he's in the same boat as Sergio as far as major championships go. Jim Furyk has definately earned his spot in the top 5.
August 14th, 2007, 04:14 PM
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