So am I alone in thinking that Tiger is his own worst enemy on the course? It's very strange. I have thought that the last few times I've seen him play (and lose it) that he may be too arrogant for his own good.
Even his "B" game is good enough to win most major tournaments (and almost certainly the Masters). But where others (e.g. Els, or even Mickelson this week) seem capable of making smarter choices when they aren't on top form (laying up, using a 3-wood instead of driver) Tiger doesn't seem willing to do this.
He seems incapable of accepting that he won't always be able to play his way out of problems with a brilliant shot. Whereas a better-than-average shot might well allow him to avoid bogey and even have remained in contention this weekend.
Maybe its just an issue of maturity. We hackers seem to have learned a humility that Tiger lacks. Even the commentators marvel at the stupidity of using driver on some of the holes he hits it on.
Posted by artandscience at April 10, 2004 05:47 PM