The US will miss Tiger

Over the last few weeks I have been staggered to see how many eminent golf writers have suggested the absence of Tiger Woods might benefit the US Ryder Cup side.

Their argument seems to suggest the Americans will bond better without Tiger, which might well be correct, but which surely cannot compensate for the loss of points that the world’s No 1 golfer would accumulate for his side.

It is sometimes said that Tiger is not a team player but that has not stopped him amassing 10.5 points in his five appearances to date.

That means he is already eleventh on the list of all-time US Ryder Cup points earners, and, at the age of 32, it is surely not outwith the bounds of possibility that he could still come close to matching Billy Casper’s record haul of 32.5 points.

Woods is utterly irrepressible, as he showed when winning the recent US Open with one good leg, so to suggest the Americans are better off without him smacks of desperation brought about by a dire sequence of four defeats in the last five matches.

I have no hesitation in suggesting Tiger’s absence is a massive blow for the US captain, Paul Azinger, particularly as I believe the combative former US PGA champion would have been more than capable of bringing the best out of his most talented player.

It is probably fair to say that Woods has never placed as much emphasis on Ryder Cup success as the leading Europeans but, with Azinger acting as cheerleader-in-chief, I would not have been 
surprised if he had produced five points out of five at Valhalla.

Now senior players such as Phil Mickelson and Jim Furyk will be asked to fill that considerable void and, frankly, I’m not sure they are up to the task.

The 2008 Ryder Cup will be seriously diminished by Woods’ absence and the same can be said for last month’s Open and this month’s USPGA. Inevitably, the achievements of the respective winners will be diminished by the fact the best golfer of his age was unable to compete.

Just ask Peter Thomson.

He won five Open titles in the 1950s and 60s but has never been given the credit that considerable achievement deserves on the grounds that four out of the five were achieved without many of the leading Americans in the field.

It is my belief that Tiger’s enforced absence will cast a considerable cloud over the remainder of the 2008 season but at least it gives one or more of his peers the opportunity to dominate 
proceedings in a manner than would have been all but impossible had the undisputed world No 1 been around.

Success breeds success at all levels of the game so, if one golfer can win four or five times between now and the end of the season, he might well build up enough confidence to mount a meaningful challenge against Woods when he returns to competitive action after the turn of 
the year.

Tiger’s break from the game represents something of a godsend for the likes of Mickelson, Adam Scott, Sergio Garcia and the other leading golfers.

But one thing that is sure is that if his recovery continues apace he will not lose the coveted world No 1 position he has now held for more than 500 consecutive weeks.

Woods will lose a lot of points while he is out of action but, such is his lead at the top of the rankings, that the second-placed Mickelson would need to accumulate almost 600 points to supercede him.

That seems highly unlikely given that prior to his break Tiger was able to amass 586 points in a 10-tournament sequence that included a truly remarkable seven victories.

I predict that Tiger will come back fitter and stronger in time for next year’s Buick Invitational and with his place at the top of the ranking still intact.

In the meantime, however, we need to desist from suggesting we won’t miss him – because it is just not true.