Aaron Baddeley has two PGA Tour victories: the 2006 Heritage -- which includes this nifty tartan jacket -- and the 2007 FBR (formerly the Phoenix Open). Tiger Woods has racked up 57 wins, including 12 majors. Badds and Eldrick make up the final pairing for tomorrow's U.S. Open final round.
Despite Baddeley having a two-stroke advantage heading into Sunday's matchup, the talk, as always, is about Tiger. Several FanHouse commenters wondered why NBC focused the bulk of their Saturday coverage on Woods' every move. To me, it's obvious, but maybe I'm in the minority: Woods is the face of professional golf. And no matter how well Steve Stricker is playing -- he shot a 68 Saturday -- nobody outside of the Stricker family (and I mean the immediate family) would prefer to see him play golf over Woods.
Honestly, I don't even think I'm in the minority on this one, but ESPN.com's Jason Sobel had to answer similar concerns from some of his readers during his third-round live blog:
... [T]o those of you who have e-mailed me complaining that NBC is showing too much Tiger: You're completely and utterly insane. The guy is on the leaderboard, making a charge and happens to be gunning for his 13th career major this week. If we don't see every single one of Tiger's shots on the broadcast, we should feel gypped.(Me nodding my head approvingly.)
Look, I understand that there are other golfers on the course, and some of them present interesting storylines, but unless one of them is about to break 60, or better yet, just got stabbed by Sherrie Daly, the story will forever be Tiger.
If you don't think so, take a gander at the gallery following the Anders Hansen (+19)/Rory Sabbatini (+18) pairing tomorrow morning. They're the second group off and the probability either of them wins the Open is actually negative. And the size of the gallery will reflect as much. But what if Tiger was 18-over and was going off with Hansen? Do you think he'd have a few people following him around? It would be a mass of humanity, peeping a meaningless 18 holes of golf a full five hours before the third-round leaders were set to tee off. That, folks, is why the teevees give us Tiger Woods. Because we want it. Well, most of us, anyway.
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Reader Comments ( Page 1 of 1)
1. Tiger does get more then his fair share of the TV coverage. Even when he is 10 shots out of the lead there is still an on course reporter following his group and we probably see more of his shots those tourneys then the leaders. But here's the thing about today - this is a major and Tiger Woods is in the hunt. Tiger is chasing history, the networks want to televise history being made, and heck I want to watch history being made. Not to mention Tiger played a near flawless round of golf. I'm a fan of Steve Stricker, always have been since 1999 and the PGA @ Sahalee, yes he should have been seen, even a little bit. But 20 years from now I'll be telling my kids about Tiger and the shots I saw him play.
Posted at 12:00AM on Jun 17th 2007 by nfr21
2. Tiger does get more then his fair share of the TV coverage. Even when he is 10 shots out of the lead there is still an on course reporter following his group and we probably see more of his shots those tourneys then the leaders. But here's the thing about today - this is a major and Tiger Woods is in the hunt. Tiger is chasing history, the networks want to televise history being made, and heck I want to watch history being made. Not to mention Tiger played a near flawless round of golf. I'm a fan of Steve Stricker, always have been since 1999 and the PGA @ Sahalee. Yes, he should have been showcased more. But 20 years from now I'll be telling my kids about Tiger’s 13th major, not Steve Stricker’s first.
Posted at 12:05AM on Jun 17th 2007 by Norman
3. I just think the Tiger Mania is self perpetuating. The media feeds it and feeds it until the average fan thinks Tiger is the only skilled golfer on the PGA tour.
Posted at 12:05AM on Jun 17th 2007 by Ken
4. Tiger did actually shoot a phenomenal round today. Had three or four of those razor-thin putt misses cupped, it would be business as usual on Sunday. Now at least there is the illusion that anything can happen.
Posted at 2:36AM on Jun 17th 2007 by Ross Grant
5. Tiger isn't the ONLY skilled player on tour, but he IS BY FAR the most skilled...Tiger is heads and shoulders above anyone else...Look at Stenson, Mickelson, Singh, Furyk, etc...all of the golfers that are right behind him in the standings are not even close to being on his level...
http://dswinder.blogspot.com
Posted at 8:28AM on Jun 17th 2007 by sonsofsammalone
6. I turn on my TV to watch Tiger so show me Tiger the entire time if you like, thats the only reason anyone turns there TV on is to watch him so im glad they show every move he makes, Tiger made the prize money Tiger made the cable ratings so why shouldnt they show everything Tiger? Your doing good teeveees keep it up
Posted at 8:28AM on Jun 17th 2007 by nooooch74
7. On many other days, I would agree that it would be nice to see some of the other players, but on Saturday Tiger may have played the finest round of golf --tee to green-- of all time. No I did not see Miller's 63 nor Hogan's fine rounds, but just go back and looks at the tee shots center stripe (OR ON THE GREEN) then the distance control on nearly every hole. He was a machine---my guess is that he will soon get his Lasix re-done and then it will be Nelly-bar-the-door. How will he beat up on the leader Sunday. Badly! Oh yeah, props to Stricker who is surely the comebak player of the year.
Posted at 10:16AM on Jun 17th 2007 by MICHAEL RASHKOW
8. No question I am a fan of Tiger but to say he is the only reason anyone turns on tv is kinda stupid. There are alot of talented players in the world and if you don't see that then you must not play golf. Tiger has increased the purses and he has made golf more popular, he is in my opinion the best player in the world and will be for quite awhile. But you have to give credit to the players on the PGA Tour because they are extremely talented and without them there would be no Tiger Woods.
Posted at 10:16AM on Jun 17th 2007 by Tigerfan
9. I like many may not watch any major unless Tiger is playing. It does not matter if he is +18 or +19. I like many others started watching Golf only because of Tiger. If the networkd do not show Tiger, we may not watch Golf at all.
Posted at 10:16AM on Jun 17th 2007 by Kiritharan
10. The best thing ESPN ever did was the featured pairing option on the on demand network. I do want to see every shot Tiger makes, not have to sit through dvr recorded birdie putts made or missed in complation that the networks seem so fond of showing. And when are they going to stop with the nosatalgic fodder that creates the illuion that people aren't actually tuning in to watch current golf.
Live in the now,Tiger is the now, love it or hate it you get to watch him systematicaly dismantle A. Baddely, every shot.
Happy Fathers Day to all the Dads.
Posted at 11:03AM on Jun 17th 2007 by chris meier
11. That may have been the best ball striking round I have seen in recent major history. He hit good putts that didn't fall and if a couple of those fall today I don't think anyone can keep up with him.
Posted at 5:43PM on Jul 11th 2007 by Tigerfan