When legendary sportswriter Dan Jenkins talks, people listen ... and report it, unfortunately for Tiger Woods.
The Fort Worth Star-Telegram interviewed the 85-year-old author and Sports Illustrated contributor in advance of the Colonial golf tournament in Fort Worth, TX and Jenkins had some interesting-but-less-than-flattering words for the former king of golf.
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In a question about Texas product Jordan Spieth, Jenkins, a Fort Worth native managed to throw in a dig at Woods' expense:
Q: Is Jordan Spieth the next big thing on the Tour, or are we kidding ourselves that, because of the depth of talent at the top, anybody will ever replicate Tiger's run a decade ago?
A: "Jordan Spieth is the real deal. As I tweeted from Augusta, he appears to be the perfect Texas pro. He has the will and the focus of Ben Hogan, the likability of Byron Nelson and the putting stroke of Ben Crenshaw. I'm delighted that we now have a youthful Top Three - Rory McIlroy, Jordan and Rickie Fowler. Rickie doesn't have the physique or the size and strength of Rory and Jordan, but he's a fierce competitor, a fighter who has to get everything out of himself, somewhat on the order of a Gary Player. Incidentally, there's much more talent at the top (and the bottom) than there was during Tiger's peak years. Tiger beat a lot of nobodies to win most of his majors.
Yeah, there was Phil [Mickelson] and [Ernie] Els around, in and out, but go back and look who was second to him in those majors and tell me where they are now."
Q: Did we take Tiger Woods' dominance for granted, and will he catch Jack Nicklaus' record for majors?
A: "I never took Tiger's dominance for granted. The media loved him because he was golf's only rock star, only dynasty, and people like dynasties in any sport. People also like to see dynasties crash and burn. Every golfer hits a wall eventually. Tiger has hit his, in more ways than one. He's lost his game and putting stroke and his head. It happens. And I've only seen one player lose it all and come back. That was [Ben] Hogan, who damn near died in the car wreck. He came back and won six more majors. Tiger seems more confused about it than anyone I've ever covered. Maybe that's partly because it came so easy for him in the beginning....
All this is a roundabout way of saying, no, he won't break Jack's record, and he'll be lucky to win another major. He's a few months away from turning 40, which means he will only have five good years left to do it. In all of history, only four players have won a major beyond the age of 44. One more thing to consider: Tiger gets older every year, and the current best players are much younger and are no longer intimidated by him."
Jenkins has revealed himself to be quite the Tiger critic in recent years, the Washington Post reported. In 2010, he told Golf Digest, "Never in my knowledge of history has any famous personality - in sports, show biz, or politics - ever fallen so far so fast. Tiger Woods is graveyard dead, as the Southern expression goes."
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And last year, Jenkins told Texas Monthly: "I never really knew Tiger. He won't let anybody know him. I think the reason is that he doesn't have anything to say. All he knows is how to hit a golf ball."
Both of which have been argued about Woods before. But no one else ever has said that the competitors in Tiger's prime were soft. Until now.
Do you think Tiger Woods' reign was enhanced by a lack of worthy competitors? Comment below or tell us @SportsWN.
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