Last month’s PNC Championship where you got to see some of the game’s greats play with a family member was fun to watch. It is a fun format, though competitive, and attracts viewers that might not watch a traditional stroke play event. Obviously, the event received a huge boost with Tiger and his son Charlie in the field.
It will be hard for Charlie Woods
It’s great for the younger generation to get involved in the sport as the new wave of golfers needs to be found. The Tiger appeal is certainly still there and who knows what the future brings for Charlie. He might only be twelve years old, but Tiger is certainly getting him use to the pressure, in a similar way he was brought up by his father Earl. The pressure will be even harder when you consider that no great golfer’s son has gone on to win a Major title. Let alone the son of one of the greatest golfers of all time. Tiger had his own path to walk and had no shoes to fill. This will be equally as difficult for John Daly’s son, where comparisons with his farther will be made every time he picks up a club.
There are more players with talented kids, so things could change
This time it might be different as there are more great tour players kids with potential. It’s not just Tiger and John Daly with talented sons. Two of my own players, Stenson and Poulter, have young sons with their father’s natural gift. So, who knows, it would be great to see that myth over-turned. The hard part, not just the player’s kids, but for young talent in general to become a great like Tiger is to remain focused. I’ve seen talented tour pros come into the game with tremendous potential and even win Majors. But the moment the money comes in, the effort to become great starts to fade. It’s not just golf but all high paying sports where the money takes away that drive and hunger.
Jack is still the dominant force others need to top
If you want to be great at anything, you have to put 100% effort in all the time. Tiger was unique but his focus was surpassing Jack Nicklaus’s total of 18 Majors. As long as Tiger still believes he can overtake Jack, he will be giving it 100%. Though the injuries he sustained in the car crash and the serious amount of talent teeing it up in Majors these days makes the goal of 19 Major victories even harder. He has silenced the critics before when he won the Masters Tournament in 2019 and lets hope for the game he can do it again.
The game needs to get away from money
We do not grow the game enough internationally as the players can only play a certain number of events. You can understand it from a player’s point of view in terms of travelling as it has become so difficult due to Covid. If a player has banked $100 million it is very difficult for them to maintain that hunger. You will need a Tiger-like mindset to become the greatest ever golfer and Jack Nicklaus will still be a role model for that golfer. Though who can challenge 18 Majors when there is some much talent teeing it up each week. Nicklaus realistically only had five or six top players to beat in his prime – that is not the case these days. To become the dominant figure in today’s game you have to consistently win Majors and not allow for the well to run dry. Koepka won four Majors in two years, he finished second to Tiger at the Masters; finished second to Woodland and this year he finished second to Mickelson. He could quite easily have seven Majors to his name and be the dominant figure right now. We all know he’s been battling with injury but still managing to play good golf. He’s back on track and hungrier than ever to win Majors. Everyone is looking towards Morikawa, Rahm and Rory but Brooks is the player that I feel stands the best chance of getting that Major total increasing closer to Jack and Tiger. Brooks will do whatever it takes to be the best and fully fit he is a difficult player to beat! n
