O'Neill: Not only does the defeat to Y.E. Yang prove Tiger Woods is human, it shows the 14-time major winner can get even better.
Article Source: NBC Sports
from:NBC SportsTiger's PGA Championship loss is golf's gain
Seeded on Sun Aug 16, 2009 9:36 PM EDT (NBC Sports)
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why bring kirstie alley into it? i think dan o'neill is a jerk for doing that!!
eureka..depends on how you look at it. i've always had the hots for kirstie alley...and even love her plump. in fact, i'd just love to roll around in that cheesecake with her. o'neil is a jerk, but thanks for the visual...haha
I'm so tired of punky needless insulting comments from sports reporters. The comment about Kirstie Allie was completely unnnecessary....it shows how assinine this reporter is! NBC....this guy makes you look bad!
We are seeing the humanization of Tiger Woods. He has fallen back to earth to become a great pro and not the super man he was for the last decade. You can just see it, he has a little bloated body, not the svelte muscle ripped trim version. His hair loss has accelerated in recent years. He has too many demands on his life and the least being a wife and kids. This all makes us all feel a little older as we are watching the rounding out of a carrier than we thought was going to continue to rocket towards a distant galaxy. Yesterday, for the first time, I saw a look on Tigers face that had desperation on it. Desperation in the way that his game was working but couldn't rise to a higher plateau to fend off a rival.
Yea, what's that about? I think the author has some serious issues of some sort to be attacking Kirstie right out of the blue like that.
WTF?
Dan O'neill scums the bottom looking for humor at the expense of what is a growing concern in our the USA.
Woods with the lead on Sunday is like Kirstie Alley with cheesecake on her plate, you can bet it’s going to be put away.
Uncalled for and totally inappropriate. O'Neill's opinion lacks integrity and is part of the sickness of opinion journalism plaguing journalism today. There should be an apology for such blatant disparaging remarks...you can fire an LPGA Commissioner for derisive policy such as English training...you should fire reporters for abuse of humor at the expense of health and wellness.
Finally, a sports writer who can write! Good job! Good thinking is like good putting - a marvel to see.
Yang's second shot from the 18th fairway is one of the best ever seen in a major tourney. Tiger had the best seat in the house to watch it and must have known at that moment that he was not going to win. That shot should be included in the greatest shot ever reels. It was unbelieveable.
What a way to make me lose interest in a story, the Kirstie Alley reference was pointless and unnecessary.
We are talking about a Golf tournament and you bring in Kirstie Alley and Cheese Cake ????
Nothing against Tiger but its always nice to see someone new win a major, it keeps the game interesting. Im sure once its all said and done Tiger will have al least 20-25 majors and over 100 PGA tournament wins. The Man is only 33 years old. 5 wins this year and the FedEx Cup in his grasp. Its a great year for Tiger. So hats off to Y E Yang for a great tournament.
Yang needs only 17 more major wins to tie Jack. This should be am exciting ride.
In reference to Y.E Yang’s win yesterday at the PGA Championship. We have learned many lessons from Tiger Woods defeat.
1) Tiger is not always going to win and he will have bad days putting. Note! Sometimes we put too much pressure on ourselves which takes us out of our game. Being an observer you could see that Tiger was not as focused as he usually is. There were many times of indecisions and the club he should use. He did this more at this tournament than at any golf tournament he played this year. That being said he still played a great tournament, but he faced someone that was better than him on this day. Tiger puts allot of pressure on himself expecting to win every tournament. That’s what great athletes do. Tiger would probably admit that he wasn’t in the right zone for many of his shots from the fairway to the greens didn’t live up to his expectations. He usually hits shots that are pass the pin and has a spin on the ball that brings them back to the hole. He wasn’t doing this yesterday and he left himself some considerable puts. Like hunting he wasn’t on target. Gee, how many times has that happen to PGA pro’s.
2) Y.E Yang was the best golfer that day. He made the right shots and did the what was needed to win. What I liked about Yang’s game yesterday is he stayed focused and put pressure on Tiger.
Is this good for golf. Absolutely! It will bring the best out of Tiger. PGA professionals can learn from this and it will encourage younger golfers to stay focused and develop their golfing skills.
Remember, Tiger didn’t win any of the majors this year. That being said he has brought golf to a higher standard. Think what he has gone through in the past year and what he has accomplished since he has come back. There are many PGA professionals that would love to be in Tiger’s position. Wow! He’s won five golf tournaments already this year. Don’t worry about Tiger. He’s back. In 2010 Tiger will win more than one major.
Tiger realizes that he has to be at the peek of his game to win majors and compete with other PGA Professionals.
Clearly, Tiger is still the best in the business but there's something missing. Nothing shabby about coming in 2nd in the PGA - and still leading the FedEx - but, you have to admit, that wasn't a Tiger finish yesterday. I no longer think that he will overtake the Major crown. The competition has caught up with him. We're not even seeing the "elite" guys challenging him either - last year it was Rocco, this year a guy named Yang. Woods has other priorities now - a family (and a mega-fortune) will do that to you. He's still an amazing technical golfer, but that will carry you so far - especially with these guys. It's such a thin line between desire and skill. So I'll say it plainly: winning isn't the most important thing in Tiger's life anymore. He's only human after all.
I would disagree here - the competition has not caught up with him at all. The fact is there is no consistent competition for Tiger, just a fluke now and again.
Tiger will pass the record precisely because there is no Watson, Palmer, Player, Ballesteros or Trevino to stop him. Jack Nicklaus came in 2nd 22 times in a major, 15 of those to one of these five. Tiger now has 4 second place finishes, only this one of which someone came and beat him. The fact is that Harrington and Singh blew up again, Furyk/Cink/Mickelson were no where to be seen, Ernie Els and Lucas Glover doing nothing, etc. etc.
Tiger is nothing more than Larry Holmes - a good golfer who looks better than he is because he has gotten to beat up on weak opponents
What could possibly be the point of making a comparison between Woods having a lead on Sunday and Kirstie Alley having cheesecake? Apparently O'Neill only sees his audience as being those good ole boys of the golf world of yesterday - haven't you heard? Golf is for more than just you anymore. I will assume from now on that whatever O'Neill has to say, it is not something I care to read.
That being said, I agree with others here - hats off to Yang, he played a fabulous game, and Woods simply could not find his game on Sunday. But Thursday through Saturday were a real treat to watch. Tough time for Paddy though!
Please don't put too much salt in it. It's just something bound to happen, as well as that Tiger will come from behind to win a major (majors), one day. The fact that it hasn't happened until now is a STATISTICAL MARVEL in itself, Tiger's talent notwithstanding.
The countdown (or "countup") to 18 will march on. I won't even call this a hiccup - golf is not meant to be won every time you lead, it's not just abnormal - it's absurd. Tiger will have his share, the fact that he's starting to dip into his "other share" - the losing share just makes me go "hmmm"...
Why not just tell the great points of Yang's game. Tiger is an exceptional player, and he will not always win. But it really seems strange that there are people more interested in Tiger losing than the winner. Why do we have such glee for a Tiger defeat.
He did play great and deserve to win, but I honestly think it's one of those "random fluctuation", once-in-a-life-time type of thing for him. He's close to 40, didn't win much even in Asia. Golf is a game that's "TaylorMade" for this type of thing, you don't have to look deep to find 5 or 6 names that fit this bill to a T in the last 5 years.
Nothing against him and wish him all the best, but I say no more major for him. A frequent reference in sport trivia in the future...
It's always good to see the underdog win. Especially in golf where there is so little competition.
I think you hit the nail on the head Mom. The golfing press seems to think there is only one player on the tour. You know, the story headline says a lot--it does not even mention the winner of the tournament, only Tiger! I do agree that Yang's win is great for the game of golf.
There is no doubt that Tiger is a great player, and handles himself well with the media. But I'm personally tired of hearing about Tiger finishing seventh or tenth or wherever when ther is no mention of the guys who finished ahead of him. If the man plays well, he should receive media attention, and if he does not..............
Unfortunately, there is only one player on Tour that is competitive. How many times do you hear players say, "Well, this week we're playing for second," because Tiger's on his game. The so-called Top Players in the game have done nothing to solidify their status. As golf fans, our only hope is that someone unknown will step up with nothing to lose and make a game of it.
I agree the press focuses way too much on Tiger, but seriously, what else is there to focus on? Watching a fairway grow is more interesting than 95% of the tour players out there now.
"Why do we have such glee in a Tiger defeat?" The Germans have a word for it: "Schadenfreude"
So true, Roy, so true.
But this "writer" is a bit more absurd than the others. He's a little more in line with the Ellsworth Toohey sort of vision.
And the cheesecake comment? Just his own tiny brand of small-minded, petty meanness. The article shrilly screams envy.
The only way this would be a gain for golf is if it shuts up the golf announcers who are so mesmerized by Mr. Woods. If they will actually talk about golf and not golf how it relates to their god, then some of us will be able to enjoy watching coverage on the tube again. But, that isn't going to happen is it? No, probably not.
AMEN!
Maybe someone could explain why O'Neill made this statement. I just don't understand how this shows that Woods can get even better. Am I missing something? If so, please enlighten me.
LOL!!! Oh, Puh-leeeeeze!!! LOL! Some vague shaped light is an angel who saves a kid at Christmas? LOL! What a great plot for a B-grade movie.
This is just a side note to NBC....The TV series THE PHILANTHROPIST has such class....so much better than most TV....I hope there will be more episodes.
You're a jerk O'Neill! I was terribly disappointed that Tiger lost and was hoping to read an article that made me feel better, ie, why it would mean Tiger would be better. Instead I chose to read no further and make this comment.
Agreed. Tiger's loss helps golf. But if you consider all he had to do was sink 4 of the fairly routine putts he missed, and he would again have won, then it is a lot clearer just how great and how consistent he usually is.
No, it's a lot clearer that Tiger wins because the competition sucks in modern day golf where you can make $500K a year just coming in the top ten a couple of times.
Let's say he makes 2 of those putts. Then, for the weekend, he would have shot just par. And there's only 1 guy who took advantage of that? In the 5 final groups before Tiger/Yang, NONE did better than 1 over par. Ridiculous.
maybe one of these days the media will reconize the fact that there r over 200 other Pro golfers out there n yes they do win tournaments. It is disgusting that every tournament it is always about Tiger n never any one else even though they r winning. The Golf Channel TGC better knowns as TIGER'S GOLF CHANNEL promoted so Homer style as Kelly n Group that she n colleagues can not have a sentence with out mentioning Tigers name in it. Any one who plays the game knows Tiger is the best ever but we all don't always have our A game at all times .Hmm ask Padreigh eh? so come on give the other guys some LOVE Tigers Parking Spave sign got more Air Time then did Yang or any other player.How many minutes did we see the camera on Tiger when he would walk back n forth over the birdge etc Yang is not a fluke We all saw Yang win @ Honda he also beat Tiger head on in HBSC so he isnt just hambuger meat. If he hadnt kinda choked on 2 sort birdie putts he would have won it with out making the fantastic chip. How good r these other guys HMM May a lowly rated guy almost did Rocco very low almost did it all 4 majors were won by a low rated guy HMMM. Beemer beat him head to head right there in Hazwltine or did the writeres forget that shows any one can win as the SLOGAN SAYS THESE GUYS ARE GOOD getting back to TGC it was like they were all at a funeral wake trying to make excuses why Tiger didint win. Simple TGC He got his butt beat by another pretty good PGA Player n it will happen many more times like if any one has noticed he doesnt win every time he plays so give the other guys some love n gve Tiger his when he deserves it
O'Neill what's your Handicap??? It's a well known fact that when Tiger doesn't play the ratings go waaay down and people don't watch, that was proven last year when he took off because of his knee injury. It was also very noticeable to me in watching yesterday's game that a lot of folks didn't hang around for the trophy presentation when the game was over. They simply were not interested. Watch what you wish for O'Neill, Tiger can walk away from golf anytime he wants, then where would the sport be, because no matter how you cut it he is the most exciting player on the tour. Now I will get political, I think if your a pro golfer playing on the American Tour you should speak ENGLISH, and before you get your knickers in a twist, just remember Sergio, Spider man, Angel, Goosen, Parnevik and the list goes on all playing on the American tour and all speaking English. I for one was extremely disapponted when a guy accepts the trophy and can't say thankyou in English, and it appered to me as if the PGA officials were not happy campers either with this scenario.
I am so f**king sick of TIGER WOODS stories in the headlines. Hey MSNBC, listen, golf is a minor sport, if it is a sport at all. So whoever the Exec is at MSNBC who loves golf so much, tell him we're sick of TIGER WOODS headlines all last week and now this week! Makes me want to find another home page. Hey, maybe that's not a bad idea!
Golf is unusual in that even the "greats" cannot win all the time. It just isn't possible. On any given Sunday, things can happen. A guy named Yang, not one of the big names, won. Stuff happens.
The reference to Kirstie Alley was completely uneccesary. It added nothing to the story, but it did make you appear to be cruel, insensitive person.
Woods is as Asian as Obama is African American, so why is Yang the first PGA winner from Asia?
fact 1. just about everybody outside of Soul, wanted Tiger to win. period. (the prez...the camera's are always on him because he is a superstar who does amazing things and we don't want to miss it, idiot! (everybody else is just a good golfer)
fact 2. most people would have rather seen Rocco win last year's Open than this guy yesterday.
fact 3. if you have any type of talent as a golfer (ie low handicap) you know some days the putts drop, some days they don't. only for Tiger these days happen fewer times than for other mortals.
fact 4. while talented, Yang had a fluke yesterday...2 PGA wins in his entire career (vs 70 to Tiger) and 110th in the world...not that i wouldn't give my eye teeth to be anywhere near that!
fact 5. like asians really need a korean winner to promote golf?...if you live in the DC area you can't walk on a muni w/o bumping into a korean. (not that there's anything wrong with that)
Not that there's anything wrong with that?
That caveat does not dismiss you from the fact that you are obviously a real racist.
The other fact is that on any given day, nearly any of the tour players can do what Yang did. They are all that good. Every week there is usually somebody different challenging Tiger. He's just the most consistently great one out there.
I am from Virginia and I was rooting for Yang from the middle of the second round. After a rough start he was the best player on the course, and played with discipline.
What's with the slam on Kirstie Alley?! I don't care WHAT her weight issues might be, she does NOT deserve this smart-ass - out of left field - comment! [Woods with the lead on Sunday is like Kirstie Alley with cheesecake on her plate, you can bet it’s going to be put away.] You owe her a public, written apology!
The sooner the media realizes that there are more players on the tour than Tiger, the better off the game will be. I sick and tired of hearing about how tiger did not win while not hearing about the guys that finished ahead of him.
Just look at the headline in this article! Not even a mention of Yang, only Tiger. Maybe it doesn't sell as many newspapers (so to speak), but "Yang's Win Great For The Game Of Golf" is a more positive headline, and certainly as accurate.
There are other players? Are any of them competitive? Hardly. I'm happy for Yang and I agree golf needed this, because no one else was able to step up and do it. But the story isn't about Yang, it's about the defeat of someone who everyone thought was undefeatable. That is the story. Yang will be a footnote in history, which ain't a bad place to be. But he's 37, so his career has probably peaked.
Frankly, unless the media is covering John Daly (the only interesting guy left on tour), I don't care who they write about. I probably won't read it.