A day after Darren Clarke‘s win in the British Open, you’re likely to hear words to this effect: It was a good tournament, but something’s missing without Tiger.
Those sentiments come from nouveau golf fans, brought under the tent by the most dynamic player in the history of the sport. And those fans will be the first to flee when convinced that Tiger Woods will never conquer his knee/personal/swing/head problems.
But for those willing to pay attention, the major championships contested since Woods last won one have provided some of the best drama, including Sunday’s victory by Clarke. The day included Phil Mickelson‘s stirring charge as he played the first 10 holes in 6 under.
Woods added similar voltage to this year’s Masters when he made up a seven-stroke deficit on the front nine before giving way to a wild scramble in which eight different players had at least a share of the lead. It ended when Charl Schwartzel became the first champion to birdie the last four holes.
The U.S. Open was no slouch either, with Rory McIlroy‘s record-breaking star turn.
Consider some of the other major championships in which Tiger didn’t factor, such as the 2008 British Open. Greg Norman made a turn-back-the-clock run at the title at age 53 before Padraig Harrington won. An even-more-improbable storyline emerged at the 2009 British Open as 59-year-old Tom Watson took a lead to the 72nd hole before falling to Stewart Cink in a playoff.
So even with 12 different champions in the last 12 majors and no Americans winning the last six, there’s plenty of drama — with or without Tiger Woods.
