Intensity

After watching TW fall to TC in the 2nd round of the Matchplay yesterday, and noting his smile when he said "I lost" I got to thinking that the intensity Woods once had is gone. And it will not return.

Having climbed the mountain and paid a fearful price, in pain and doubt, I believe that Tiger's quest to surpass Nicklaus' record in majors will not be successful. He's matured beyond the boyish single-mindedness and begun to THINK about the value of records. 65 wins before your 33rd birthday, against stronger fields than anyone before him, and now, as he ages, and endures the highs and lows of parenthood...there's no way he can compete with the same fire in his belly.

Yes, and one more thing...he's now the second most successful multiracial citizen of the United States!

But there's more. Watching TWs swing in SloMo I was struck, again, by the extreme downward shift he uses to start the downswing; he keeps his spine angle, but comes down about six inches by flexing both knees. It's the key to his swing, and it's a move that is fiendishly difficult to repeat without lots and lots of practice. When he overdoes this, it's FORE RIGHT...yesterday, that took him O.B., and probably cost the whole match.

Well, when that happens, it has to affect his confidence. He is human. And now he's shown Tim Clark up close and personal -- and the rest of the pros in clear relief -- that he's all to human.

That doesn't make him any easier to beat, and he's still the best golfer in the world, off his record, but it gives 200 other great golfers hope that, if Tim Clark can take him down...