For
me, the decision about who is the
greatest golfer comes down to the following elements – golfing skill,
consistency in performance and longevity, without forgetting the players
influence on the game and their profile outside the game.
So,
let’s look at each of these in more detail and help us decide if Tiger Woods is
the greatest golfer of all time?
Golfing
Skill
Tiger
Woods who began playing golf as soon as he could walk turned professional in
1996 at the age of 20. Prior to turning pro, he was already an extremely
accomplished golfer having won three successive US Amateur championships
between 1994-1996. Other notable successes as am Amateur were his 18 straight
match play victories.
When
he turned pro in 1996, he went on the win three PGA tour events by April 1997,
and then the 1997 US Masters by the margin of 12 shots from the nearest
competitor! Now that’s some skill!
Consistency
of Performance and Longevity
Not
only did Woods start his professional career with a bang he went on to dominate
the game over the next 20 years.
Woods
has won 82 PGA events matching the record set by Sam Snead, and 41 European
Tour events; these highlight what a phenomenal talent he has. He was also the
leading money winner 10 times between 1997 and 2013.
In
total Woods spent 683 weeks as the number one golfer in the World. Impressively
between 1999 – 2004 he spent 261 straight weeks as the Worlds number one
golfer. During this time, he won 31 events on tour, 7 Major tournaments,
including holding all 4 Major golf titles at the same time between 2000 and
2001 – the Tiger Slam. Joining Bobby Jones as only the second golfer in history
to have held all trophies at the same time!
Influence
on the Game
It’s easy to look at the money Tiger has earned in
the game to see how he has influenced the sport. Between 2000 and 2020 Tiger
Woods led the money list in PGA golf. Up to the US PGA in 2020 Woods had earned
over $120m from prize money alone.
This amount of prize money on offer highlights Woods’
influence on the game, he brought a bigger audience and his prize money of
$120m doesn’t even consider sponsorship money, which will have far exceeded
this amount many times over.
The popularity of Woods and his commercial draw led
to increasing amounts of sponsorship coming in from the biggest companies in
the world. Without Woods the earning potential of the modern golfer would be
significantly reduced. Therefore, his influence on the game has not only helped
his own success but put down the foundations for what is todays modern game.
Tiger Woods was the first professional player ever
to earn over $20m through playing golf. Today this type of money can be earned
in one year by the top PGA golfers, this wouldn’t have happened had it not been
for Woods leading the way. He
is the reason journeymen professionals on the PGA Tour get to play weekly for
million-dollar cheques, he is the reason the elite professionals are all
multi-millionaires themselves. He helped make Golf a legitimate career for
talented young amateurs.
Tiger Woods’ Profile Outside Golf
In the early 2000’s Woods provided a massive draw
for Golf fans; he was the best golfer in the World. Even for those who knew
nothing about Golf they would have heard the name Tiger Woods. That’s how big
Tiger was, he became a ‘Michael Jordan’, a ‘Pele’ or even a ‘Cristiano
Ronaldo’. The celebrity of the player became bigger than the sport. He showed
the commercial world that there was serious money to be made by backing Golf
and Golfers.
This was reflected in the sponsorship deals he was
able to attract. Before Nike signed Tiger in 1996, annual sales from golf were
approximately $25M in golf sales. Mainly made up of accessories. In 2016 when
they decided to end their golf department, they brought in over $700M a year.
In addition to this Tiger Woods also signed with EA sports in 1998. During this
time, he earned up to $7m per year from 1998 – 2013. However, the payback was
that ‘Tiger Woods PGA Tour’ was the top grossing golf video game. He also had
other sponsors such as Gatorade, Tag Heuer, Rolex, GM, EA Sports, NetJets,
Titleist, Acura and Taylor Made.
Conclusion
It will long be discussed in clubhouses and bars
across the country whether Woods is in-fact the greatest golfer of all time.
There are more traditional golf fans who claim that the game was much harder
and under-funded in the past, making past accomplishments of the likes of
Jones, Nicklaus, and Palmer even more impressive. Then you’ll have the modern
golf fans who will recognise that with his accomplishments Woods has exceeded
anything the past champions of the game could have ever dreamt of.
What can’t be taken away is his record of a
lifetime of golfing success, that he has single-handedly skyrocketed the
earning capability of the modern golfer, and that he has shown true longevity
performing at a high level for such a long period of time. For me Woods is the
greatest golfer of all time, and even with his recent accident, there could be
more to come…?
What do you think, is he the best in your eyes, or are there more worthy contenders from the past?
