June 18th, 2008 Imagine if Your Sport Had a Tiger - Let's face it. The luckiest sport on planet Earth right now is golf. 
Often maligned as a "game" instead of a "sport," it has in the past been portrayed as not really being on the same level with the likes of football, basketball and baseball. Perhaps even more insulting is the characterization of those who play golf as not being athletes. Too many potbellies on display it seems for some. Guess that means your average 400 lb. NFL lineman is not an athlete either.
Regardless, those kinds of statements were exposed over the weekend for what they truly are. Goofy.
Golf is a great sport, because it provided one of the all-time great sporting spectacles. However, these days it's mainly great because the greatest athlete in sports plays it.
Over the past several years, it has become patently obvious that Tiger Woods is one of those "once-in-a-generation" type of athletes. On par with single name predecessors like Ruth, Ali, Jordan and Gretzky, we marveled at seeing Tiger do what few, if any, have ever dreamed of doing.
After Monday afternoon, I now know Tiger Woods is even more than that.
He is the best who has ever played any sport, anywhere anyplace or anytime.
By every measure, the U.S. Open is the toughest tournament in golf to win. Head-to-head competition between the best in the world on a course specifically designed to expose their weaknesses.
Tiger Woods beat them all and the course.
And he did it on one leg.
The greatest U.S. Open in history concluded after 91 holes - just short of being one of the biggest upsets in the history of American sports if Rocco Mediate had somehow prevailed.
Instead, Tiger came out on top for the 14th time in a major, literally hobbling to the finish.
Woods himself described it as his "best tournament," as well he should because now there is a new standard for guts and glory in golf.
We thought we'd seen it all. Not close.
On Saturday, he went into the lead by shooting a 30 on the back nine - which included two eagles and chip in.
On Sunday, he forced his way into the playoff against Mediate by making birdie on the 18th. Then on Monday, he had to birdie the 18th again to extend the play to what turned out to be the final hole. Rocco messed it up. Tiger played it perfectly.
Throughout the Father's Day weekend, we heard the eerie voice of Earl Woods on that Nike ad extolling his son's mental toughness. "I'd say, 'Tiger, I promise you that you'll never meet another person as mentally tough as you in your entire life.' And he hasn't. And he never will."
Usually that kind of over-the-top hyperbole would mostly be ignored, however it was actually moving as we were all witnessing that mental toughness in dramatic display.
After his round on Saturday, Woods conceded that he was playing in considerable pain, however it was debilitating only after he made contact. He willfully played through that pain, all the while keeping his concentration better than anyone he was competing against.
That's mental toughness. In essence, that's what he is all about. He loves the competition. He loves the exercise of going head-to-head with all the marbles on the line.
It is clear that he wants to win more than anyone else does, probably ever. Can you imagine the player who is supposed to be his nearest rival, Phil Mickelson, sticking in a tourney injured like that?
The difference is basic: Woods has won more than most of the field combined, yet he put his future career at risk to win the one he was in.
Can you think of any other professional athlete at the top of their game in any sport who would put it all on the line just for a chance to win?
You can't because there aren't any. There may be a few who are as athletically talented, but nobody matches him when it comes to the will to win. Is there a player as insanely competitive as he is in the NBA? Certainly no one on the Lakers. Can any player in baseball even touch the hem of Tiger's garment when it comes to refusing to lose? No one on the $138-million Mets springs to mind. What about the other individual sports like tennis? Roger Federer can't win on clay. If Tiger were a tennis player, do you think a different surface would get in his way?
Regardless of the sport or profession, his competitive nature and ability would have driven him to be the best there ever was.v
Golf lucked out simply because a Green Beret named Earl Woods learned to hit a driver in Vietnam.
Cheers - Gavin McDougald - AKA Couch
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