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| The Tiger Slam Explained |
| By: Josh Shainin |
| A complete explanation of the Tiger Slam, dealing with what the Tiger Slam is, why it is the greatest feat ever achieved in golf, and why it is not the Grand Slam of golf. |
What is the Tiger Slam?
The Tiger Slam is winning 4 golf majors in a row, with the majors being:
- The Masters
- The U.S. Open
- The British Open
- The PGA Championship
The Tiger Slam is named after Tiger Woods, who recently accomplished this feat.
Why is the Tiger Slam so special?
4 Modern Majors have been around for over 60 years
- Best Major streak before Tiger Woods: Ben Hogan, 3 majors in a row
Winning all 4 majors in a row may be best accomplishment ever in golf
What is the Grand Slam of golf?
The Grand Slam of golf is winning 4 golf majors in a row in the same year.
Unlike the Grand Slam, the Tiger Slam took place over 2 years.
Some important impacts of the Tiger Slam
- Money Issues
- Tiger was 2nd highest paid athlete last year
- Tiger Slam may put Tiger over top as top paid athlete
- More dominance over golf = more money
- Historical Issues
- It took over 60 years to witness this undertaking
- May never see it again in a lifetime
- Dominance Issues
- Dominance by a player/team in sports helps its sport by:
- Increasing popularity
- Increasing revenues
- People begin to take extreme sides, either hating/loving player/team
- Golf vs. Tennis Issues
- Golf and Tennis players like to rival each other
- Tennis has had several Grand Slam winners
- Now, golf can claim Tiger Slam winner, increasing popularity (see dominance issues)
Other significant golf feats:
- "Lord" Byron Nelson wins 11 tournaments in a row
- Jack Nicholas wins 18 career major tournaments
- "Slammin'" Sammy Snead wins 81 career tournaments (PGA only)
- Tiger could very realistically break all these records
- Tiger once won 6 tournaments in a row, 2nd best all time
- Tiger has won 6 career major tournaments
- Tiger has won 24 career tournaments (PGA only)
- Tiger is only 25 years old
What's Left for Tiger to Accomplish?
- Breaking the incredible feats previously stated
- Win 12+ tournaments in a row
- Win 19+ career major tournaments
- Win 82+ career tournaments
- Besides the above, Tiger has virtually accomplished everything in golf
- However, Tiger is a true competitor
- Tiger would still play after breaking all these records
- Tiger will still play just to win because of his competitive spirit
Conclusions:
- Tiger Woods is the first person to win 4 straight majors (the "Tiger Slam")
- Tiger Woods did not win the Grand Slam, which is winning 4 majors in a year
- Tiger Woods still has some incredible records left to break
- Tiger Woods is the greatest golfer ever at age 25
Cover Page:
Hello. I'm Josh Shainin, and I'll be talking about Tiger Woods, and the Tiger Slam -- what it is, why it is important, why it is not the Grand Slam, etc.
What is the Tiger Slam?
The Tiger Slam is what people call what Tiger Woods just accomplished after the 2001 Masters which took place April 5-8, 2001. By winning the 2001 Masters, Tiger Woods has won the last 4 majors in golf -- The US Open, The British Open, The PGA Championship, and The Masters -- a feat which had never been accomplished before Tiger did it.
Why is the Tiger Slam so special?
No one in the history of golf had won all 4 professional modern majors in a row, until Tiger Woods did it at the Masters this month. The 4 modern majors have been around for over 60 years, and only Ben Hogan had won even 3 majors in a row before Tiger Woods joined and passed that feat. Winning all 4 majors in a row had been considered impossible before Tiger did it, and is the greatest feat ever accomplished in golf, and one of the greatest feats ever accomplished in all of sports.
What is the Grand Slam of golf?
Unlike the Tiger Slam, in which Tiger Woods won 4 straight majors over 2 years, the Grand Slam is winning all 4 majors in the same year. Tiger Woods would have accomplished this feat if he had won last year's Masters, but I bet he'll give it a shot this year, already winning this year's Masters.
Some important impacts of the Tiger Slam
The first impact of the Tiger Slam has to deal with money. Tiger Woods was the 2nd highest paid athlete last year, earning $49 million. Tiger Woods was 2nd only to Michael Schumacher, Formula 1 expert, who earned $55 million. The Tiger Slam is only going to show more dominance over the rest of the PGA Tour and the game of golf, increasing Tiger Woods' value and earnings.
The historical impact is obvious: This may be the greatest feat ever accomplished in golf -- a game played by millions of people over the course of hundreds of years. For over 60 years, no one accomplished the feat that Tiger Woods just accomplished. Who knows...it may never happen again, at least not in our lifetime.
Believe it or not, dominance in sports is good. Dominance in a sport by a player or team helps draw fans, even fans who don't like sports, and makes the player/team more valuable to the sport. This results in more popularity and revenue to the player/team and the sport. People start caring about the player/team and the sport, often taking severe sides, either hating the player/team, or loving the player/team, which again helps strengthen the value of the sport and the player/team.
Finally, there is a little rivalry between tennis and golf. Tennis players like to make fun of golfers, and vice versa. Both sports being very popular throughout the world, the Tiger Slam will help increase the popularity of golf, and give golfers more firepower against tennis players, turning more of the balance of power in favor of golf over tennis.
Other significant golf feats:
Golf has a rich history, with many incredible records, many of which Tiger Woods should have a chance of breaking. "Lord" Byron Nelson won 11 tournaments in a row, Jack Nicholas won 18 career major tournaments, and "Slammin'" Sammy Snead wins 81 career tournaments (PGA only). Looking at Tiger's stats so far, he once won 6 tournaments in a row, which is 2nd best all time. He has won 6 career major tournaments, and he has won 24 career tournaments (PGA only). The best part of this: He is only 25 years old, and has realistically over 20 more good years to play.
What's Left for Tiger to Accomplish?
If Tiger is looking to make history, he can continue to try to break the incredible feats previously stated. However, besides those incredible records, Tiger has virtually accomplished everything there is to accomplish in golf. Regardless, Tiger is a true competitor, and will continue to play and continue to win, just for the sake of winning.
Conclusions:
Tiger Woods is already one of the greatest golfers of all time, recently winning 4 straight majors to win the Tiger Slam. Tiger did not win the Grand Slam, which is winning 4 majors in a year, but his accomplishment is still one of the greatest in history. Tiger Woods still has some incredible records left to break, but the list is getting smaller and smaller as he continues to break them. At age 25, Tiger Woods is definitely the greatest golfer ever. I hope today you leave with a greater appreciation and understanding of Tiger Woods and what he has accomplished.
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