tiger: he's still the best

I picked Tiger to win the Match Play tournament, although I perhaps foolishly had him playing Vijay in the finals. After his lackluster play the past few weeks, I can only wonder if all the hype got to Vijay...

Anyway, I didn't want to talk about Vijay. Instead, Tiger deserves his due after successfully defending his Match Play title. My fellow Golf Bloggers have been pretty critical of Tiger, one even suggested something about a slump last week. Some of the criticism has been fair, but some, not. I think Tiger's driver gets a little loose, too often. And it's true that he may be coming to grips with how to balance his golf and personal life.

But, throughout it all, one thing remains the same: Tiger is the best golfer in the world, and has been for a while. His mental game is what separates him from all the elite golfers. Unlike the rest of the competition, Tiger has the ability to will himself to win on a consistent basis -- to have the confidence to hit the clutch shots and make the money putts time and time again. He may not win every tournament, but he's the man-to-beat if he's in contention. If this were the World Championship of Poker, I'd be "all in" with Tiger.