Tiger on the Prowl

Tiger Woods is just coming off a nice comeback victory in the Buick Invitational. That gives him five wins for the Buick Invitational, tied for his personal best. Followed by that is his 4 times winning the Masters. His win at the Buick Invitational was his 7th consecutive PGA Tour Victory. Tiger is more interested in a fifth green jacket at the Masters than 11 straight victories on the PGA Tour, but at this rate, he might have a chance to get both.

All that matters to Woods is his pursuit of Jack Nicklaus' record 18 professional majors. Woods has won two majors during his PGA Tour streak, taking him to 12 for his career. Woods recently left for the Dubai Desert Classic (an 18-hour flight) and said he wasn't sure if his next PGA Tour event would be the Nissan Open at Riviera that starts Feb. 15, or the Accenture Match Play Championship in Arizona a week later. He no doubt wants his game to be at its climax as he rolls into Augusta.

All this talk is great and I could hit you readers with almost all the stats on Tiger that you want, but I want to address some other questions that Tiger brings upon himself. As a sports fan, having even the slightest knowledge of statistics, one can deduce that Tiger (barring some golf-inhibiting injury) will break Nicklaus' record for Major titles. And also that Tiger will likely go down as the most prolific player in the history of golf (if he isn't already considered so).

One could argue that Tiger dominates his field of opponents like no one else in sports does; period. You just can't compare even what Peyton Manning does in the NFL as to what Tiger does to the PGA Tour. Not only will he go down as the most prolific golfer in history, but possibly the most prolific athlete in the last decade. What about when things are all said and done? Tiger retires to his luxurious abode in Orlando and spends everyday sitting between his beautiful blond wife and neighbor Roger Federer while watching Jr. hit it around the backyard. When we get to this point is it possible that we will be calling Tiger the best ATHLETE ever?