Will Tiger Woods go down as best ever?

[allport30]

and not just best golfer ever i think this has already been determined. Will he go down as the best athlete ever once his career is finished? I just wish he would play in more tournaments so then all the records would be DEMOLISHED but the guy averages 13ish tournys a year and still wins 6 or 7 of them.

What do you guys think? Also if you disagree with Tiger being the best ever. Please name which athlete is/or going to be better than Tiger in any sport.

 

[LouPhinFan]

This is probably going to get moved to the "other sports" forum, but I can say he will go down as the best golfer ever. Its hard to say "best athlete" ever because golf is so unlike any other sport. I prefer to group him with a list of superior athletes of all time. A list that would include, but not limited to:

Ali (the greatest ever)
Bobby Jones (had he became pro instead of retiring an amateur, Woods would be chasing his records)
Jordan (I don't need to explain this one)
Rice (his work ethic was second to none)
Montana (what he did on the playing field was magic)
Federer (best tennis player...ever)
Shaun White (best snow athlete ever)
Woods (the mental part of his golf game trumps the physical part)
Barry Sanders (best running back ever, despite his premature retirement)

 

[Phinmedic]

Tiger has taken his performace definitely to that next level, I feel he is the best athlete of his generation (beats out Jordan and Gretzky). But the best athlete ever is still unknown!
I know one thing, I am happy to be part of this generation to witness the performance of Tiger ... well Jordan and Gretzky too.

 

[SabanHater]

I have a tough time thinking anyone was better than Jordan. I love watching Tiger play, and he is with out a doubt going to be the best golfer ever, but Jordan was unreal.

 

[Roman529]

I would say NOOOO.

Who does Tiger have as competition these days on the golf course? There really are not a lot of great golfers during this era, whereas Jack Nicklaus had to battle guys like Arnold Palmer, Lee Trevino and Tom Watson.

I still think Gretzky records are 2nd to none...he just destroyed the record books and the competition.

 

[uga3406]

no way to me the best golfer of all time was bobby jones...the only person to ever win the grand slam..best ever athlete r u kidding me , what about jordan ? montana ? Gretzky ? sampras ? shall i go on...

 

[mf52dolphin]

no way to me the best golfer of all time was bobby jones...the only person to ever win the grand slam..best ever athlete r u kidding me , what about jordan ? montana ? Gretzky ? sampras ? shall i go on...

Gee outside of Gretzky you mentioned people who I don't rank at the top of their respective sport.:rolleyes2:

 

[GreenMonster]

I would say NOOOO.

Who does Tiger have as competition these days on the golf course? There really are not a lot of great golfers during this era, whereas Jack Nicklaus had to battle guys like Arnold Palmer, Lee Trevino and Tom Watson.

I still think Gretzky records are 2nd to none...he just destroyed the record books and the competition.

People totally underestimate Gretzky. Gretzky has more assists (1963) than any other player in hockey has goals + assists. On top of that he is the all-time leading scorer leading everyone but Gordie Howe by 150+ goals. Mario Lemiuex is the 7th leading scorer in hockey history, Jamir Jagr is 12th and combined they have 3251 points. Gretzy has 2857 in 619 less games. The nickname the "Great One" suits him just right.

 

[unifiedtheory]

People totally underestimate Gretzky. Gretzky has more assists (1963) than any other player in hockey has goals + assists. On top of that he is the all-time leading scorer leading everyone but Gordie Howe by 150+ goals. Mario Lemiuex is the 7th leading scorer in hockey history, Jamir Jagr is 12th and combined they have 3251 points. Gretzy has 2857 in 619 less games. The nickname the "Great One" suits him just right.

Gretz was great, don't get me wrong but in my opinion, Booby Orr is the greatest hockey player who has ever lived.

On topic, yes, Tiger is the greatest golfer ever, without question. He is someone we will all be talking about in 50 years.

 

[Roman529]

People totally underestimate Gretzky. Gretzky has more assists (1963) than any other player in hockey has goals + assists. On top of that he is the all-time leading scorer leading everyone but Gordie Howe by 150+ goals. Mario Lemiuex is the 7th leading scorer in hockey history, Jamir Jagr is 12th and combined they have 3251 points. Gretzy has 2857 in 619 less games. The nickname the "Great One" suits him just right.

Gretzky was like Jordan, Woods, Lance Armstrong and Dan Marino combined. No player has ever dominated a sport the way Greztky did....forget about Orr, Lemiuex or anybody else.

 

[djfresh47]

Gretzky was like Jordan, Woods, Lance Armstrong and Dan Marino combined. No player has ever dominated a sport the way Greztky did....forget about Orr, Lemiuex or anybody else.

Lance Armstrong has had alot of allegations towards him. Woods is the best golfer, IMO. Guys who play in individual sports will always rank ahead of guys who play in team sports. Generally i'd put boxers at the top of the list. Though Tiger is soo far ahead of anybody else on the PGA tour it's hard to overlook him.


Just a thought. I think Roger Federer will be the equivalent of Tiger Woods in terms of historical greatness in his sport. Woods transcends Federer because his marketablity.

 

[NoLimit84]

no way to me the best golfer of all time was bobby jones...the only person to ever win the grand slam..best ever athlete r u kidding me , what about jordan ? montana ? Gretzky ? sampras ? shall i go on...

Tiger won the slam too. Personally, to me, I don't see the deal with it having to be in 1 calendar year. He held all 4 at the same time.

 

[uga3406]

Tiger won the slam too. Personally, to me, I don't see the deal with it having to be in 1 calendar year. He held all 4 at the same time.

even Palmer and Nicklaus said it wasnt the grand slam..u half to win it in a calendar year but thats fine if u wanna live in wonderland and think that u r entitled to that

 

[GreenMonster]

Gretz was great, don't get me wrong but in my opinion, Booby Orr is the greatest hockey player who has ever lived.

On topic, yes, Tiger is the greatest golfer ever, without question. He is someone we will all be talking about in 50 years.

Orr no doubt can join the discussion for best player ever. He certainly was the player that opened up scoring for defensemen. He had a really really good 7 year run. Great on Defense, and superior on offense even that of most centers. Won every award imaginable over a 7 year period. But then again so did Gretzky. What stands out to me is this. Orr has 915 career points. Wayne has 894 goals + the assist record. Wayne's best 4 seasons total 840. Orr won 7 straight Norris trophy's as the leagues best defensemen, along with 3 MVP's. Gretzky won 8 straight MVP's plus 7 straight scoring titles. Not only did Wayne Gretzky dominate in the short-term, but his career totals are just crazy. Messier is 2nd in points all-time and Wayne's total is 34% higher. Thats just crazy.

 

[djfresh47]

The more I look at the numbers the most dominant athlete right now isn't even Tiger. Too bad male tennis is dead because Roger Federer will easily go down as the most dominant male tennis player.

I think there is a distinction between most dominant and best athlete. For anybody to be considered atop the sports world in terms of "best" athlete; they've gotta be in an individual sport, IMO. The NFL/NHL/NBA/MLB have too many variables and games count on too many other players.

Even in terms of the major sports doesn't it turnout to be mainly about the team built around a guy. This board is loaded with Heat fan and some made the arguement that Wade was the best player when they won the championship. Now that his team has dissolved is he still not an elite player? It's not his fault the team around him is awful. Though it takes away from the perception of how good he is. Also I think we're more prone to look at things that are recent in terms of greatness. Teams and athletes are "bigger, faster, stronger, and better." So it is impossible to compare athletes from different generations.