The Open Championship Preview: Parity is Certain

Photo courtesy of zimbio.com. Will Tiger Woods (pictured above) be all smiles come Sunday?

By David Clark

Tiger Woods was the poster child for the game of golf for decades.  The man was simply unbelievable—racking up 14 Major Championships in a ten-year span.  Tiger was not only the best golfer in the world; he was the best and most dominant athlete of our generation.  He transcended the game by dominating it like nobody ever has in the history of sport and golf was rolling in the dollars that he was attracting on a weekly basis.

Then, the unthinkable happened, and we realized that Tiger Woods was, indeed, human.  The man who was on top of the world came crashing down to Earth in the blink of an eye.  Ever since the man who wears red on Sundays lost his mojo, the game of golf has been able to promise one thing: uncertainty.

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Who You Should Want to Win on the PGA Tour

Photo courtesy of zimbio.com. Despite not playing this weekend at the Masters, golf expert Peter Schmidt says Dustin Johnson (pictured above) is a definite player to keep an eye on during 2012.

By Peter Schmidt

It is common golf etiquette that one player never roots against or jeers on another player. In a game that prides itself on its gentlemanly nature, a sign of negative disapproval is seen as a lack of integrity and honor. It is because of this that golfers shake hands, tell each other “nice shot” even while competing against one another, and wait their turn politely.

However, this is 2012. We, as a race, love to pick sides and cheer for and against our favorite teams and athletes. Sometimes this can be difficult with the PGA Tour because there are always so many fresh faces and it is so difficult to differentiate many of the players. In order to remedy this situation, I would like to present you with who you should and shouldn’t be cheering for this year at the Masters and for the remainder of the PGA season. I left out some of the more obvious players like Tiger, Phil, and Rory because I am sure even the casual golf fan has developed an opinion on these guys. I will split it up into three categories to help you pick which type of player is right for you: The John Daly’s, The Rocco Mediate’s, and the Payne Stewart’s.

The John Daly’s

These are the kind of guys who play the sport with reckless disregard. They are so villainous that they may have an alcoholic drink named after them someday. They are out to earn championships and will cut throats to do so. If you are looking for the bad guys, here they are.

Dustin Johnson. The towering power hitter just does not care what you think about him. He tees it up and is hoping to hurt the ball. He has had a few encounters with greatness (2010 US Open where he choked, 2010 PGA where he cheated, and 2011 British Open), but has yet to reach the pinnacle of his golfing career. He is the gunslinger out to cash checks. He oozes arrogance and although he is not playing at the Masters this weekend, he will surely have an impact on the tour. Plus, he is sponsored by Taylor Made’s Rocket Ballz, which just sounds devious (or childish).

American golf in the woods?

Photo courtesy of currentlyhot.com.

By Josh Kramer

Tiger Woods has been in the “woods” for nearly three years now.  The once most iconic figure in all of sports (yes a golfer) has hit rock bottom.  Today, arguably the greatest golfer of all time finished off the 2nd round at a +10 clip and missed the cut at the PGA Championship.

Tiger Woods is now 35 and does not look to be close to regaining his old form.  Could the days of the dominant Tiger we once knew be over?

We all are more than aware that American tennis has struggled for a good five plus years now following the retirements of Sampras and Agassi.  Well now, the other lifelong sport, which is typically dominated by American players, is not looking so great.

Americans are in the midst of their longest drought at the majors (6 without a title).  Luckily for golf, there are four Americans ranked in the world top ten at the moment.  In addition, Tiger could play the worst round in the history of golf, and he would still get more attention than the leader on that particular day.  Tiger is as close as any athlete has ever come to being bigger than the game itself  (Brett Favre and LeBron James should take notes).  In tennis, there is just one American cracking the top ten.

The top of the leaderboard is littered with American hopefuls.  Eight of the top ten at the end of Round 2 are Americans.

Will an American come out victorious come Sunday?  Or has American golf gone into the “woods” with Tiger Woods?

Stay tuned for the next edition of TheSportsKraze.

How could Steve Williams be surprised?

Photo courtesy of the orlandosentinel.com

By Josh Kramer

The biggest news in the golfing world since Darren Clarke’s triumph at Royal St. Georges pertains to none other than golf’s biggest star Tiger Woods.  It is refreshing to see that things are somewhat back to normal.  I was getting a little tired of hearing about golf without hearing about Tiger Woods.  There is a reason why the “Golf” page on ESPN.com has a “Tiger Tracker” section.

When the casual golf fan thinks about the life-long sport, Tiger Woods is still the first name that comes to mind these days despite all of his recent troubles.  Well lately, all the attention has been focused on the “young” version of Tiger Woods, Rory McIlroy, Darren Clarke, and others.  Golf misses Tiger just as much as Tiger probably misses golf (or at least winning).  So what if the guy has not won a Major since he put on the gutsiest effort the majority of the world has ever seen on a golf course, winning the 2008 US Open on basically one leg.  The guy has not won a PGA tournament since 2009.  But any Tiger news, whether it is on or off the course, always captures the attention of not only the golfing world, but the entire sporting world.