Is Tiger the Greatest?

Is Tiger Woods the greatest of all time? After another victory at the Buick Open this weekend, the paradoxical question of greatness that haunts sports fanatics is, again, brought into light. What has not been questioned is his place in the golf ranks. As he nears shattering nearly every significant golf record, including the most career majors victories, the debate has become solely, is he the greatest athlete of any sport? Now, the very idea that a golfer would rank as one of the best athletes of all time might make true naturalists cringe. But the statistics speak for themselves. In 11 years he has amassed 14 career majors wins, an amazing 69 tour wins, and has been named P-G-A player of the year on nine separate occasions. Jack Nicklaus won a major 18 different times, still the record today, but it took him 25 years to do so. Tiger Woods is only 33 years old and is still winning events after reconstructive surgery on his knee last year, which most believe will only make him stronger as his knee heals. What about Michael Jordan, Roger Federer, or Jim Thorpe? All incredible athletes that have won on a consistent basis and have left their mark on their respective sports. For someone like Michael Jordan, no one questions that he was the reason the Bulls won six championships in the 90's. But could he have done it without Scottie Pippen or his coach Phil Jackson? No, it's a team sport and therefore it is hard to justify that it was Jordan that won 6 world championships. Thorpe was an amazing athlete who was dominant in multiple sports and his abilities have rarely been seen since. But when Jim Thorpe was playing, where were the Ray Lewis' of the world, or the 250 pound defensive lineman he had to get through. He was superior at a time of mediocrity, he was ahead of his time against weaker opponents. And Federer, possibly the closest to compare to Woods' astonishing career. He holds the record for most majors in his career and has held the number one rank for most of his tenure. But Federer's reign as the best is already seemingly coming to a close while Woods continues beating everyone. No one has put fear into his opponents like Woods does every single tournament. Other golfers are said to be terrified to face Woods on a Sunday with a small lead. We may not know for another 50 years if Woods is truly the greatest, but when it comes to dominating a sport, nobody does it better.

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