The Contender

They come from far and wide. Some of their names are well known. Others are more obscure. But for golf fans, or more specifically Tiger Woods fans, their names are often mentioned with a bit of a smirk and an eye roll for they are the “might have beens”. They are the “should haves” and “could haves”. They are The Contenders. Tiger’s resume is well known but worth repeating. Over the course of his 10 year professional career he has captured 57 PGA Tour victories and 12 Major Championship titles.


The first of them was David Duval. Winner of the 2001 British Open Duval was the other guy for the first 3 – 4 years of Woods’ professional career. He was a 4 time winner in 1998 capturing titles at the NEC, Kingsmill, Houston and Tucson. In 1999 he placed 1st 5 times to include the Players Championship. And in 2000 (arguably Woods’ best year as a pro) Duval won the Buick Open, essentially defeating Tiger on his home turf. More recently Duval has struggled. After winning the British Open in 2001 and being declared the man that could walk toe to toe with Tiger he has fallen off the grid. He’s had zero wins and only 2 top 10 finishes (both in 2002).

Dubbed by some to be the hardest working man on the PGA Tour Vijay Singh is the only contender to actually dethrone Tiger. 2004 was easily his best year as he won 9 tournaments and earned over $10 million dollars. On Labor Day of 2004, Singh won the Deutsche Banck Championship and overtook Tiger at the top of the World Golf Rankings. His was the first name other than “Woods” to sit at that position in 264 weeks. He has captured 3 Major Championships to include a win at Sahalee (just outside of Seattle), and a Green Jacket from Augusta National. Vijay really is a likeable character and in April of 2005 he was elected to the World Golf Hall of Fame. Although he is still very competitive he has only won 7 PGA tournaments since the opening of 2005.

The face that has always lurked in the back ground is Phil (Tits) Mickelson. He is widely considered to be Tiger’s main rival. Truthfully I’ve run into two sorts of people, those who like Tiger, and those who like Phil. Winner of 31 PGA Tour victories including 3 Major Championships, his detractors think of him as the man who for so many years could not close things out on Sunday. Can any of you Phil Phans forget the “Disaster at Winged Foot”? The most recent example of collapse known as the Phil Phenomenon was last weeks Scottish Open. After leading the tournament all day on Sunday he found a way to give the title away on the 18th hole. Just this past Friday he missed the cut at the British Open. He is certainly the most talented of the contenders. And as is most often with golfers his biggest obstacle is himself. Those who love him call him Lefty because (despite doing everything else from the right side) he golfs left handed. He has a two inch vertical and a very comfortable C cup. "Is it his time?" No!

And finally there is El Nino. Sergio Garcia is a whiny spoiled Spaniard with a ton of talent and a 5 cent (or .05 Euro) head. Most of us first noticed him during his duel with Tiger during the 1999 PGA Championship. At that time he hadn’t yet opened his mouth and he was a young exciting player with an incredible enthusiasm for the game. His shot on the back nine that day from behind the tree is still one of those magic moments in golf. He hit it with his eyes closed (didn’t want to see it ricochet off the tree) and then ran as fast as he could up the fairway to see the results. Since then his best performances have been during the Rider Cup where he always seems to play his best golf. But the kid is still a punk. This past spring he spat into the cup after retrieving his ball and when asked about it shrugged it off as if it was the sort of thing that happens all the time. The world was watching dick head.

Still, he does deserve some credit. As of this moment he is the wire to wire leader at the 136th British Open Championship. His current success is being attributed to his new (lame ass girlie) belly putter. And as the putter has often been the weakest point of his game there could be something to that claim. Over the last 3 days he has looked unflappable and you can hear the Anti-Tiger Wing beginning to murmur now. “Could he be the one?” “He has all the talent”. “Unlike Phil he’s not afraid of Tiger”. In a way I almost hope El Nino can pull off the victory this weekend. It’s been a while since the media told Tiger he couldn't do something and he always seems to play his best under that circumstance. I will credit Sergio for one thing. He is always the most colorfully dressed on the course