HOWARD WARD: Greatness Of Tiger Stirs Debate

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It’s easy to get into an argument about whether Tiger Woods is the greatest golfer who ever played the game.

Most people feel that Tiger still has to put some time in before claiming title to the “best that ever was.” No one can be called the greatest who is only 24 years old, they chime.

But perhaps even more relevant than Woods’ claim to greatness is whether his dominance is good or bad for the game. Almost everyone has an opinion, as was evidenced at the Champions Dinner at the 100th North and South Amateur Championship at Pinehurst Monday night.

With some of the best amateur players in the world gathered for the celebration along with many golf legends and dignitaries, the time seemed right to pop the question. And who better to begin with than Don Padgett, the Pinehurst Resorts Director of Golf who has been proclaimed a Living Legend by the PGA?

So, what do you think, Mr. Padgett?

“It’s good,” Padgett said. “It’s going to make everyone else raise their level of play. It’s going to be tough for Tiger to keep up the caliber of his play, but I think he can. That means the other players must raise their level.”

But aren’t the others already playing at their highest level? How do they raise it a notch?

“They have to focus,” Padgett said. “Tiger is great at keeping his focus, no matter the situation or what’s going on around him. The other players have to learn to do that.”

Aha! So what does Kelly Mitchum, the 1993 North and South champion and now an assistant professional at Pinehurst, think?

“I think it’s bad in the long run,” Mitchum said. “If Tiger keeps running away from the field, people won’t watch it. Right now they’re watching because it’s so incredible, but I don’t think they’ll keep doing that. I feel sorry for some of the other guys. They’re at the top of their games and they can’t win.”

Well, how about a view from a woman who knows a little something about the game, the legendary Peggy Kirk Bell?

“I think it’s great!” Mrs. Bell said. “You know Tiger can’t win all the tournaments, but he thinks he can.

“I’ve seen Ben Hogan, Arnold Palmer and Jack Nicklaus, and they had streaks of greatness. Tiger Woods is it right now.”

Tommy Albin has been a player, a course owner, president of the Carolinas PGA Section and now publishes a monthly magazine, The Golf Record of the Carolinas. He is definitely a man of strong opinion.

“There’s no way it’s good for golf,” he said, “and I think it will be proven before long. Television revenue drives the PGA Tour, and Tiger is beating everybody so badly that people are going to get tired of watching it. When they do that, you’ll find that sponsors won’t be so quick to put the money up for those big purses.

“I think people are going to get bored, and instead of watching Tiger nuke the field, they’re going to go out and hit some balls themselves.

“Maybe in that respect, it isn’t all bad. It’ll get some people off the couch.”

Harvie Ward knows about good golf. There was time when he was one of the best players in the world, winning back-to-back U.S. Amateurs and competing at the highest level. Does he think the Tiger Phenomena is good or bad?

“Tiger is just so dominating that a lot of people are getting tired of it,” Ward said. “The outcome is so predictable that fans are going to start saying, ‘What the heck, let’s go do something else.’

“Can the other players raise the level of their games? I don’t know. There’s so much money out there now that they don’t have to win to be millionaires. Maybe they’re satisfied with being second.

“Someone suggested that they make first place a $1 million prize and the winner takes all. Maybe that would get the other players’ attention.