So, Is "Tiger Effect" Still a Thing? (Merged)

Some people say it's not. That this new generation of players are not affected by Tiger crowds the way that players were in years past. That the dunked shots, the missed putts, those were just the breaks of the game. Tiger's crowd did not alter anyone's play any more than if Dustin Johnson had been the one making the move up the leaderboard.

I tend to think that the Tiger crowd did rattle a few, whether or not they care to admit.

I think it still exists. Most of the leaders and top 20 finishers at the Masters were under par - except two. Tigers playing partners, Molinari and Finau.


It certainly seems to affect Rory. In final rounds when Rory is both contending and paired with Tiger, he has always struggled.

I think after what we saw with McIlroy & Rose at the Tour Championship along with guys like Molinari & Finau today, you gotta say Tiger's aura is making at least somewhat of a comeback.

I'm writing off Koepka's double bogey at the 12th as a fluke more than anything. He played very well from 13 through 18 and just did not make enough putts. But even though I'm writing this off as a fluke, I want to see Koepka in a final round of a major staring down Tiger...let's see how that plays out. They were not in the same group today and they were not in the same group at 2018 PGA either.

Tiger changed the game ... did you see those athletes on the leaderboard

Koepka DJ Cantly Bubber etc etc ... guys that would play other sports if not for Tiger making golf popular to everyone.

Jack had to beat Watson and Trevino and a bunch of Billy Kratzerts.

It's definitely real.

You could see when it impacted BK.. Tiger, almost drains it on 16 and the tee box @ 17 sees and starts going crazy.. The group themselves look back to see what was happening. In the back of his mind he knew he had to make birdie, because he knew Tiger was pressing.

Even more telling are the interviews with BK, Xander and even Molinari.. They all acknowledge his greatness..

Tiger, knows again that he can win against the new crop of assassins... that confidence being restored is huge.. I see his putting becoming "telepathetic" again quite soon.

This season will be epic!

Tiger has been in contention a lot the past couple of years and hasn't won as much as he used to, certainly. He was always going to win again, playing as well as he was, but I don't think you can say that everyone was intimidated just because he won today. He won because he was the best IMO. That happens sometimes too, the best guy just wins.

In 1998-2006 guys like Ernie Els flat out admitted they altered their game with Tiger because they knew they couldn't beat him unless they did crazy things. When he was in contention they'd hit dumb shots, be overly aggressive etc...

I dont think guys like shauffele, Koepka, Johnson and others think like this now. I think they see tiger as a peer but not an immortal. Tiger will still beat them, but Koepka didn't seem to crumble at the PGA championship either.

I'm really looking forward to this season to see for sure though

Before today I got the feeling that Rory would have felt guilty beating him, like the Tour Championship last year I didn’t think Rory had it in him to get competitive enough to really try and take that one from him. Not saying he definitely could have that day but I got the feeling he didn’t give it his best shot

> @Pent08 said:

> It certainly seems to affect Rory. In finals rounds when Rory is both contending and paired with Tiger, he has always struggled.

> @redfirebird08 said:

> I think after what we saw with McIlroy & Rose at the Tour Championship along with guys like Molinari & Finau today, you gotta say Tiger's aura is making at least somewhat of a comeback.

>

> I'm writing off Koepka's double bogey at the 12th as a fluke more than anything. He played very well from 13 through 18 and just did not make enough putts. But even though I'm writing this off as a fluke, I want to see Koepka in a final round of a major staring down Tiger...let's see how that plays out. They were not in the same group today and they were not in the same group at 2018 PGA either.

Koepka is interesting. He altered his timing twice on 17 with Tiger’s shot on 16. I could argue that kind of disruption to his rhythm didn’t help him putting.

No I think it’s a myth it didn’t happen at bellerive or the British open when Tiger was in contention.

> @Chazb said:

> No I think it’s a myth it didn’t happen at bellerive or the British open when Tiger was in contention.

He did not win every major in his prime either. His best run was 7 of 11. He got some pretty serious payback on Molinari & Koepka today. I want to see Tiger in a final group with Koepka and let's see how that plays out.

> @redfirebird08 said:

> I think after what we saw with McIlroy & Rose at the Tour Championship along with guys like Molinari & Finau today, you gotta say Tiger's aura is making at least somewhat of a comeback.

>

> I'm writing off Koepka's double bogey at the 12th as a fluke more than anything. He played very well from 13 through 18 and just did not make enough putts. But even though I'm writing this off as a fluke, I want to see Koepka in a final round of a major staring down Tiger...let's see how that plays out. They were not in the same group today and they were not in the same group at 2018 PGA either.

Other than Tiger of course, Brooks Koepka really impressed me today. We know how he can win majors but him overcoming double bogey and making a run even though his putter wasn’t on to me was his most impressive stuff. Other than Tiger I think it’s fair to say BK is the most clutch golfer currently and has more majors in him.

> @00steven said:

> > @redfirebird08 said:

> > I think after what we saw with McIlroy & Rose at the Tour Championship along with guys like Molinari & Finau today, you gotta say Tiger's aura is making at least somewhat of a comeback.

> >

> > I'm writing off Koepka's double bogey at the 12th as a fluke more than anything. He played very well from 13 through 18 and just did not make enough putts. But even though I'm writing this off as a fluke, I want to see Koepka in a final round of a major staring down Tiger...let's see how that plays out. They were not in the same group today and they were not in the same group at 2018 PGA either.

>

> Other than Tiger of course, Brooks Koepka really impressed me today. We know how he can win majors but him overcoming double bogey and making a run even though his putter wasn’t on to me was his most impressive stuff. Other than Tiger I think it’s fair to say BK is the most clutch golfer currently and has more majors in him.

Yeah, I was very impressed by Koepka's ballstriking from 13 to 18. He knew he needed some special stuff after the double bogey and he stepped up big time. If he gets even one of those putts to drop, he's in a playoff despite the double bogey.

> @redfirebird08 said:

> > @Chazb said:

> > No I think it’s a myth it didn’t happen at bellerive or the British open when Tiger was in contention.

>

> He did not win every major in his prime either. His best run was 7 of 11. He got some pretty serious payback on Molinari & Koepka today. I want to see Tiger in a final group with Koepka and let's see how that plays out.

It would be interesting though to hear opinions from people who watched all or most of Tigers earlier majors. You may have, I did too. The other players you could just tell were very rattled. The ones who held up the best were the pure underdogs like Bob May or Rocco, because they used Tigers overwhelming persona to their advantage I felt, like they literally had nothing to lose. Guys like Ernie looked like a deer in headlights.

I don't see it the same right now. At least right now. I doubt Johnson or Koepka thinks they have to get lucky or alter their game. The eye test was just different in like 2004. Guys couldn't wear white pants playing with tiger back then

Rickie just said 18 majors is in play for TW

Its real.

TW effect came back in full effect today?

> @MtlJeff said:

> > @redfirebird08 said:

> > > @Chazb said:

> > > No I think it’s a myth it didn’t happen at bellerive or the British open when Tiger was in contention.

> >

> > He did not win every major in his prime either. His best run was 7 of 11. He got some pretty serious payback on Molinari & Koepka today. I want to see Tiger in a final group with Koepka and let's see how that plays out.

>

> It would be interesting though to hear opinions from people who watched all or most of Tigers earlier majors. You may have, I did too. The other players you could just tell were very rattled. The ones who held up the best were the pure underdogs like Bob May or Rocco, because they used Tigers overwhelming persona to their advantage I felt, like they literally had nothing to lose. Guys like Ernie looked like a deer in headlights.

>

> I don't see it the same right now. At least right now. I doubt Johnson or Koepka thinks they have to get lucky or alter their game. The eye test was just different in like 2004. Guys couldn't wear white pants playing with tiger back then

I agree, the guys today are extremely talented. They are more talented than Tiger. But he is still a better iron player than any of them and he's still a smarter player than any of them. They have to be sharp if they want to beat him. I believe he is gaining a lot of confidence from his results at Tour Championship and The Masters. He took down the biggest and baddest names in golf for these two victories.

He is doing it pretty early in his comeback from the back surgeries. He is doing it with a new golf swing that he dug out of dirt without a swing coach. He now owns his golf swing and is becoming more confident as time goes by. This could be like what Hogan did later in his career once he really had full control of his golf swing. If he keeps gaining more confidence, these wins will become more frequent. Once that starts happening, the intimidation factor becomes a thing even for the most talented players.

I would put it this way, they all know about it. They basically came up trying to emulate that against each other. I think for that reason it has a different effect. No longer is it sheer intimidation, I think it is more like the constant pressure of the aura, it permeates, its there everywhere. The biggest difference is I think Tiger believes completely in his game again. And he is managing his health and stamina much better now.

Tiger was in the last group today, big difference vs last year. Look at the TC, last group and a marked effect happening. It's not all just coincidence. On 12, Finau looked scared to hit that putt. Had it not been for the 3-person groupings and Tiger getting in with Finau, Moli might be looking a few shades greener, greener dressed I mean!

> @MtlJeff said:

> > @redfirebird08 said:

> > > @Chazb said:

> > > No I think it’s a myth it didn’t happen at bellerive or the British open when Tiger was in contention.

> >

> > He did not win every major in his prime either. His best run was 7 of 11. He got some pretty serious payback on Molinari & Koepka today. I want to see Tiger in a final group with Koepka and let's see how that plays out.

>

> It would be interesting though to hear opinions from people who watched all or most of Tigers earlier majors. You may have, I did too. The other players you could just tell were very rattled. The ones who held up the best were the pure underdogs like Bob May or Rocco, because they used Tigers overwhelming persona to their advantage I felt, like they literally had nothing to lose. Guys like Ernie looked like a deer in headlights.

>

> I don't see it the same right now. At least right now. I doubt Johnson or Koepka thinks they have to get lucky or alter their game. The eye test was just different in like 2004. Guys couldn't wear white pants playing with tiger back then

I watched all of them as well and yes, I do agree that the "deer in headlights" effect will probably not happen to DJ, BK, etc.

But it doesn't have to be that. The Tiger effect could be just enough in your head to make you pull a putt left or maybe chunk a bunker shot. That's still an advantage.

Is the "Tiger effect" still a thing? His iron play says, "of course, it is."

> @"A.Princey" said:

> Tiger was in the last group today, big difference vs last year. Look at the TC, last group and a marked effect happening. It's not all just coincidence. On 12, Finau looked scared to hit that putt. Had it not been for the 3-person groupings and Tiger getting in with Finau, Moli might be looking a few shades greener, greener dressed I mean!

Agreed, the weather situation turned out to be a big break for Tiger. With his back situation it's not good for him to have to get up super early for a round. But he needed to be in that final group. It allowed him to know what guys like Koepka and Xander were doing ahead of him. So he did not have to be extremely aggressive trying to chase other people besides Molinari. He was very patient out there and took full advantage of Molinari/Koepka/Finau mistakes at the 12th.

> @"Big Cat 3" said:

> Tiger changed the game ... did you see those athletes on the leaderboard

> Koepka DJ Cantly Bubber etc etc ... guys that would play other sports if not for Tiger making golf popular to everyone.

> Jack had to beat Watson and Trevino and a bunch of Billy Kratzerts.

What are these other sports those guys could succeed in? Cricket?

> @"Big Cat 3" said:

> Tiger changed the game ... did you see those athletes on the leaderboard

> Koepka DJ Cantly Bubber etc etc ... guys that would play other sports if not for Tiger making golf popular to everyone.

> Jack had to beat Watson and Trevino and a bunch of Billy

What sports? All mentioned wouldn’t play professionally in baseball, basketball, or football. Golf is like motocross; you need a dad that’s really into it.

> @BottleCap said:

> > @"Big Cat 3" said:

> > Tiger changed the game ... did you see those athletes on the leaderboard

> > Koepka DJ Cantly Bubber etc etc ... guys that would play other sports if not for Tiger making golf popular to everyone.

> > Jack had to beat Watson and Trevino and a bunch of Billy Kratzerts.

>

> What are these other sports those guys could succeed in? Cricket?

>

>

Competitive chess. Oh wait, you said DJ

> @IamMarkMac said:

> Some people say it's not. That this new generation of players are not affected by Tiger crowds the way that players were in years past. That the dunked shots, the missed putts, those were just the breaks of the game. Tiger's crowd did not alter anyone's play any more than if Dustin Johnson had been the one making the move up the leaderboard.

> I tend to think that the Tiger crowd did rattle a few, whether or not they care to admit.

Naw it never was.

If it was real... why does TW have a grand total of one come from behind win out of 75 or however many majors he's been trailing in?

> @JAMH03 said:

> If it was real... why does TW have a grand total of one come from behind win out of 75 or however many majors he's been trailing in?

Then again, when you do this, plus for a decade win 25% of your starts (includimg majors) and in some years 35% or more, it tends to create a certain "effect"....

"Woods is 52-4 when holding a share of the 54-hole lead, including 41-2 when he's held it outright."

From 2015.

https://thegolfnewsnet.com/golfnewsnetteam/2015/08/22/tiger-woods-pga-tour-record-36-54-hole-lead-12650/

> @redfirebird08 said:

>

> Yeah, I was very impressed by Koepka's ballstriking from 13 to 18. He knew he needed some special stuff after the double bogey and he stepped up big time. If he gets even one of those putts to drop, he's in a playoff despite the double bogey.

That isn't necessarily true. If Koepka sinks the put on 18, tiger isn't playing it safe on his chip up to 18 green. He's looking to stick it tight and sink a closer putt to win the masters. At that point it was match play and all he needed was a 5, so he played for a 5.