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If Tiger can win the US Open with a bad knee and broken bones and limited practice, he should win every major. Shouldn't he?

I really hope he is able to come back next year and play to the same level, but time will tell. He may have to make some swing changes to take the stress off his knee, but with his short game that shouldn't be a problem. That being said, he had an inordinate amount of lucky shots during this tournament. There are only so many times the 40-50 foot bombs are going to drop and the pitch shots will go in.

Amazing performance, and let's hope he makes a full recovery.

It still amazes me that people say Tiger has lucky shots. After winning 14 majors, I think luck has nothing to do with it anymore. I expect him to make those shots.

he dson't win all the major's because its golf - proves even the greats can have bad days!

Well, he definetely makes more of those than any other player, and has the best short game of all time in my opinion. I'm not saying it's all luck, like if I managed to drop one in, but anytime a 50 foot putt goes in there is an element of luck to it. It might hit a spike mark, a footprint, sand, etc. He had a few of those, and if even one of them did not go in, he would have finished second.

While I see your point, rc, I think it is putting blinders on the reality of the situation. Like shelby said, any 50 foot putt going is has a lot of luck in it. One blade of grass lying at a different angle in the first foot that causes the ball to deviate one tenth of on degree is enough that by the time the full 50 foot length is reached, the ball is no longer going in the hole. One blade of grass that pushes an ever so slightly pulled or pushed putt back on line in the same way.

And, really, that chip-in that hit the stick and plopped right in? Even Tiger himself said after that round it was nothing but luck.

Tiger is obviously one of the best, and what the best do is set themselves up so that they open chances for luck to occur. For example, the skill part of the equation is the Tiger hits his putts with pretty close to the right speed and right line often enough that he almost always gives his ball a chance to go in. The luck part of the equation determines if the ball goes in the center, in the side, or rolls off to the side. But, obviously, if you can keep the ball near the hole a lot, then you give luck more chances to let the ball go in.

But, you cannot discount the luck. Balls that are machine rolled so that they have exactly the same speed and direction still miss putts. No surface is perfectly flat, especially one that is growing and being walked on.

Finally, a big part of it is human nature to remember the positives and forget the negatives. Sure, Tiger's made a lot of clutch putts. But, for every 12 footer that he's made, how many has he missed? Quite a lot more. You have to look at the entire picture and realize that even the best putters in the world, even a machine putter, is only going to make a few percent of the really long putts. The skill is in giving yourself as much chance as possible to make the putt, but luck ultimately determines whether it falls in or not.

tiger is just good.

GrantMLS is right. Tiger is good but he can have his bad days too. There are a lot of elements involved in the game of golf from the wind, to where the grass is pointing when you putt. We are all just humans and nobody's perfect.

Excellent post by Bignose! That's the long and the short of it - good golfers make their own luck, but it's still luck...Tiger humbly admits that often enough...and even though he throws his share of tantrums when things don't go so well you rarely hear him gripe and complain about bad breaks or course conditions...usually he just prefers not to talk about it. Good golfers have short memories, especially when it comes to the bad breaks/shots/rounds/tourneys.

Shade

Tiger Woods has plenty of lucky breaks. You don't become a champion at any sport without getting lucky breaks.Especially golf.

Who cares,he wins enough of them anyway,just be grateful he doesnt win them all.

I think this is a really silly comment 'read stupid' .

The highest levels of all sport require incredible skill. The best in every sport are the best in spite of bad breaks, not because of the good breaks. Tiger plays and executes shots that I have never seen anyone attempt. Not Nicklaus, not Palmer, not Snead, nobody.

The greats in all the sports aren't great because of luck, but from skill. If it was all luck, Tiger may have won 3 or 4 majors, and 10 or 12 tournaments. But he has 14 majors now, and about 60 tournament wins. That isn't luck. He's good, and your opinion that it is just luck is just as wrong as the people who lose to me at backgammon think it is luck just because dice are involved.

You can back off on the "stupid" comments. That is totally uncalled for. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion... sorely, even you.

You didn't see Nicklaus, Palmer, Snead or anyone else for that matter because you didn't watch them, and you types don't see anyone else but Eldrick anyway.

Luck as well as skill has a lot to do with good shots, and winning.

None of those guys above were the best anyway... not even your precious Eldrick.

The best player ever was the great Moe Norman of Canada. (RIP Moe.)

Luck has nothing to do with it. He does it often enough to prove that. One could just as easily say it is unlucky--because of an errant blade of grass--that all his 50 footers don't go in. You can't have it one way without the other.

He reads the shots, measures the distance and puts the ball in motion.

and thats what makes him so good.