Is Tiger The Greatest Essay, Research Paper
The question on the mind of the golfing fraternity around the world is: Is Tiger Woods the greatest golf player of all-time? My strong opinion is definitely not. There are three main reasons for adopting this point of view. The first is the fact that Woods has no strong resistance for him to be closely challenged from winning tournaments by multiple strokes. Secondly, I also feel that Woods is too inexperienced to be the greatest player of all-time. Thirdly, Tiger Woods has won comparatively few tournaments compared to greats such as Jack Nicklaus, Gary Player and Ben Hogan.
There is no doubt in my mind that at the moment, Tiger Woods is the most dominant player ever, but I believe that he needs tough competition before we jump to conclusions and pronounce him the greatest ever. When Jack Nicklaus, the man who I believe is the greatest player all-time, first began playing on the professional circuit, he was made to fight tooth and nail for every victory he acquired. Players such as Arnold Palmer and Gary Player are remembered by many to be two of the greatest players of all-time, but they were fighting stroke for stroke with Nicklaus at most major championships for triumph. At the moment, Woods’ nearest rivals are Ernie Els and David Duval, but it seems that every tournament that Woods participates in he beats the field by double figures. If a major contender appears in the near future, and if Woods pulls through the struggle like a true champion, maybe then he can be judged as the greatest player of all-time.
At the young age of 24, I, along with many golf enthusiasts, believe that Woods is far too young to be remembered as the greatest player ever. Tiger must first show a tremendous amount of staying power and show spectators his full potential for the game in order to gain my vote. Jack Nicklaus, who is known throughout the golfing society as “The Golden Bear”, had a long-standing career which spanned from his first major victory in 1963, to the 2000 British Open where he eventually retired. Woods, on the other hand, turned professional in late 1996, which means that he has been playing on the professional tour for barely four years. If Woods shows first-class staying power like his predecessors, as well as revealing to the public his full potential for the game, I would then deem him to be the best golf player ever.
Due to the young age and inexperience of Tiger Woods, he has only achieved victory in 26 tournaments, of which four were major championships. This calibre of results is an extreme rarity, but he has still won relatively few tournaments compared to Nicklaus. Jack Nicklaus won an outstanding one hundred tournaments, which included a record eighteen majors. I feel Woods must primarily challenge the multiple records set by “The Golden Bear” if he is to be remembered as the greatest player the world has seen.
Tiger Woods certainly has the potential to become the greatest player of all-time. However, it is too early to judge how wide the golfing supremacy of Woods will spread. Any golfing fan who honestly believes that Woods is the greatest player of all-time needs to read about the history of the game as they have prematurely assessed Tiger Woods as the best player ever. Who is to say that Tiger’s golf game won’t decline as fast as it peaked? I definitely think that the golfing fans around the world require a lot more time to decide on the question: Is Tiger Woods the greatest player of all-time? I believe I have made it clear that my opinion is that Tiger Woods is not yet the best player of all-time, but I strongly believe that if Tiger remains as strongly motivated as he currently is, and is faced with exceptional challenging opposition over an extensive period of time, he could eventually become the greatest player of all-time.