DownSwinging.com » PGA http://www.downswinging.com/wordpress Thoughts from a Slightly Jaded Fan Tue, 08 Dec 2009 03:23:04 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.3 en hourly 1 Woods Shouldn’t Get to Set Expectations http://www.downswinging.com/wordpress/2009/08/woods-shouldnt-get-to-set-expectations/ http://www.downswinging.com/wordpress/2009/08/woods-shouldnt-get-to-set-expectations/#comments Thu, 13 Aug 2009 00:44:54 +0000 Seth Walder http://www.downswinging.com/wordpress/?p=1569 The golf world is gearing up for the PGA Championships. And when you have golf, you have Tiger. As usual, the media is tiger-woods-pga-tour-1focusing 99 percent of its attention on Tiger Woods, leaving the rest of the field in the dust, and always begging the question: Are you picking Tiger, or are you picking anyone else? In truth, Tiger did appear to have some injury concerns today, so I suppose he was worth mentioning. But over the past couple of days, the vast majority of what I have been hearing is people wondering if Tiger is putting extra pressure on himself becuase he hasn’t won a major yet. Fair question, I suppose. But the next question is always, “If he doesn’t win, will Tiger consider it a failure?”

Here’s where I have a problem. I don’t care whether TIger considers his season a failure, I get to choose what I think on that subject. And when the question is always answered with, “Tiger has set different expectations for himself because of his surgery.” So what? Tiger’s job is to go out there and try to win the major. End of story. Then the rest of us get sit around the dinner table and debate whether he is really that good or whether this season was a “failure” and when his knee will fully recover and all that business. And by all means, Tiger can go ahead and say he doesn’t expect much out of himself this year. He can say it, but I don’t care and I really wish ESPN didn’t report on it, because an athlete has to go out and try to win, and that’s it. It’s not like Brian Urlacher gets to say that after missing the playoffs, the Bears are happy with their season because they won seven games and that’s pretty good.

Interesting semi-side note: Yesterday on Around the Horn they were debating whether Tiger should have been fined for his comments against the referee (don’t know how I feel but I though it was a good thing for Tiger to do anyway). Woody Paige wondered what would have happened if the PGA had fined Tiger, and then Tiger said no? Seriously, I don’t know what would have happened, because the PGA needs Tiger, but Tiger doesn’t need the PGA. He can just go out and play and someone’s going to play with him.

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