PGA Tour Wimps?

Pat Perez only said yesterday what I've suspected for a while. He knows he can't beat Tiger Woods. In case you missed it, Perez backed his way into the Accenture Match Play Championship to be held later this month. Unless someone withdraws, he faces Tiger in the 1st round. Perez said, "The last person I want to face is Tiger. I don't want to embarrass myself." Now perhaps he's just saying what most of the other players are thinking, but for my money the pie hole stays closed. As my mother often told me, "Just because it pops into your head doesn't mean it has to dribble out of your mouth."

I'm not Perez bashing here, although he does have the consolation of taking home $40,000.00 after his Tiger smacking. For one day's play. Justin Leonard at The Buick Invitational earlier this year said, "There's two tournaments going on. I'm trying to win the one Tiger's not playing." How inspiring. There was a host of players praising the glory of Tiger with rounds left to play. They literally sounded like paid PR staffers for Team Tiger. Stuff like that really makes me, average golfer, want to watch when the field has cashed it in. Cashed it in is right! A cool half million or so for second place isn't a loss, is it?

When I played high school sports, if I had even hinted at the superiority of the other man or team, I would have turned in my uniform without the courtesy of being asked. Plenty of other guys were lined up to take my spot. I don't mean to imply that taking Tiger down is easy. That's stupid. For my money he's the best I've ever seen and will no doubt shatter every conceivable record in the sport. Still, does he win every time he tees it up? Listen to these guys and you'd think he did. You have to admire Rory Sabbatini, and to a lesser degree Ian Poulter, for the stones to at least let you know that on the 1st tee they think they can win. When I'm sitting in my Lazy-Boy in the winter longing for golf season there's a few things I'd like. I'd like to drink my sponsored beer, wear my sponsored golf hat, shirt, consider new sponsored clubs, balls, etc., suffer through seemingly thousands of commercials for other crap I don't buy.....and know that the guy on the tee with Tiger thinks he's got a chance. If he doesn't feel that way, then lie to me.