Whenever you pass golfing royalty by any name, it’s worthy of applause and appreciation. Not to get too far ahead of ourselves, but allow me to throw some impressive numbers at you for a moment.
Tiger Woods has won (79) official PGA tour events, second only to Sam Snead, who has (82) and six ahead of Jack Nicklaus, who has (73).
Phil Mickelson has (42) PGA tour wins. Mickelson was ranked second in the world for (270) weeks without ever reaching No. 1. Tiger was ranked first for a record (683) weeks. The next highest total for third place was Jim Furyk with (39) weeks. Nearly two decades Tiger dominated the No. 1 spot and the golfing world in general. He ranked as the world’s highest paid athlete every year from 2001 thru 2011.
Phil Mickelson just recently passed Tiger on golf’s all time money list by earning $50.8 million over the last twelve months.
Tiger still holds the record of consecutive cuts made at (142) over a seven year span ending in 2005. Second is Byron Nelson at (113), Jack Nicklaus (105), Hale Irwin (86) and Dow Finsterwald with (72). To think that Tiger is washed up, or doesn’t have anything left in the tank is ludicrous. Can he still pass Nicklaus’s (18) majors win record? I would say conservatively no, but can he pass Sam Snead’s all time PGA tour win record? I would say emphatically yes.
Tiger’s dominance over the years was no fluke, so let’s not close the book on his career just yet. I think there’s still room for at least one more chapter. Maybe not Jack’s (18) majors, but let’s keep an eye on Snead’s (82) wins. That stat is not exactly chopped liver may I remind you.
Tiger’s next tour win may not come this weekend at the U.S.Open at Chambers Bay, but it could be just a chip shot and a putt around the corner.
Oh, yeah. Let me know your comments on this!
ABOUT JOHN PERRY
John Perry is a freelance writer, poet and active golfer with a passion for calling shots like he sees them and, then, telling it like it is. He resides in Vauxhall, NJ. Email: johnpgolf@icloud.com
