I’ll admit it, I don’t know too much about golf. I don’t play it, I don’t watch it but for the highlights, and I have a limited knowledge of the history of the game. But there is one thing I do know: Tiger Woods is incredible. The domination by this guy is amazing. Every time he’s involved in a tournament lately, he’s winning. Five straight PGA Tour wins, seven straight wins worldwide? That’s not exactly easy when you’re going through the equivalent of an 128-team tournament every single time. There’s a lot left up to chance that Tiger will have off-days, or one of the other hundred-something golfers will be completely on. But Tiger’s able to find a way to win, and he’s even come back like he did at Bay Hill this weekend.

The best part about Tiger, and what makes me truly respect the man, is his comments after his wins recently. He constantly preaches hard work and talks about his time in the gym and on the course practicing. He’s talked about improving his game in the off-season despite already being the best player in the world. He always wants to get better, no matter how large the gap is between him and his competition. He understands the difference between good and great, and he strives to be the very best. I really don’t see how you can dislike a guy like Tiger. He represents some of the greatest qualities you could possibly want to impart on your children; respect for the game, humility, hard work, a killer-instinct, and a winner’s attitude. The dude is just awesome.

If you remember, John Daly got off one of his legendary quotes recently, saying he doesn’t work out because it makes him throw up. The money shot … why work out to throw up when you can drink and throw up just the same? Daly at his finest. Well, this just into the LBS newsdesk, John Daly apparently loves to party. Who knew? And this time it got to be too much for his swing coach, Butch Harmon:

“My whole goal for him was he’s got to show me golf is the most important thing in his life,” Harmon said from his golf school in Las Vegas. “And the most important thing in his life is getting drunk.”
…
“All the guys I work with are working their (tails) off. John didn’t have it. I like the kid, but he’s got to get his head on straight. The partying and other shenanigans, if that’s the way he wants to be, I don’t choose to be a part of it.”

Tiger’s always said he works as hard as he does because he doesn’t have Daly’s talent. That say enough for you? And the recent shenanigans by Daly included letting Jon Gruden to caddy for him, and then spending the weekend at Hooters after missing the cut. Maybe he just goes there for the food.

Maybe this can put a halt to all the talks about Tiger being the best athlete in the world. A few days after going golfing with a Braves threesome including Tom Glavine, Jeff Francouer, and John Smoltz, Tiger decided to slip on a batting helmet and step into Smoltz’s office. From the description of the event in the AJC, Smoltz more than handled Tiger, striking him out twice, walking him once, and letting up a grounder to second. There weren’t any fielders out there so I guess you could call it a “hit,” but pitching coach Roger McDowell said a second baseman would have made the play.

It’s too bad Tiger didn’t take a round of plain old BP off some schmo like McDowell to see what he could do with the ball. I guess it is impressive that Tiger could even work a walk against Smoltz, but I would have liked to read about line drives spraying around the yard. Don’t get me wrong, Smoltz is one of the top pitchers in the game, but come on, can’t say you’re not disappointed by Tiger, right? Tell you one thing, he ain’t no Michael Jordan. At least MJ batted .202.

OK, told you I might be checking in with a post here and there. This video got passed along to me with such high praise that I had to take a peak. It’s hilarious, and I guess semi-NSFW after about the 30 second mark, depending on the stance your workplace takes towards weird animal behaviors. Check it:

You couldn’t possibly find more polar opposites on the golf course than John Daly and Tiger Woods. Woods is athletic, hard-working, and meticulous. Daly is carefree, out-of-shape, and sloppy. Woods gives golfers a good name in the athletic world. Daly single-handedly undoes 10 years of progress in the way golfers are viewed. So when Tiger Woods suggested being in good shape helped him rough the heat at Southern Hills in Oklahoma last weekend, it was no surprise to hear that John Daly was having none of that nonsense.

“Fat boys like me can get through the heat. Every time I worked out I threw up and I thought to myself that you can get drunk and throw up, so it’s just not for me.

“I’m flexible enough, there are probably some things I could do to keep my flexibility up, but I’d rather smoke, drink diet Cokes and eat. I get enough exercise walking five or six miles a day.”

You know what, there are similarities between the two situations. The more you do of each — drinking and exercising — the harder it becomes to throw up. Who knew? I guess Daly never wanted to get that far with working out.

Honestly, if you’re going to go ahead and talk some smack, you better be able to back it up. Or at the least, don’t wuss out when you get rattled, because that just looks pathetic. During the final round, Sabbatini got irritated with a fan on the 9th hole and acted in the most pussified of ways.

Seconds later, after Sabbatini made a double bogey and was walking away from the ninth green, retired firefighter and paramedic Steve Banky casually said to him, “Hey, Rory. Still think Tiger’s beatable?”

Sabbatini wheeled and pointed to Banky, telling a police officer that he wanted Banky removed from the course. He was escorted to the course’s front entrance by two officers.

“We’re out here to do our job - let us do our job,” Sabbatini said later. “Have a little bit of decorum, a little bit of class out there. I guess a few too many beers were talking.”

So Rory’s allowed to say that Tiger’s beatable, but then he can’t handle it when a fan calls him out. What a puss. Really, he needs to have his crap-talking license taken away after that display.

(Photo Courtesy Amy Sancetta/AP)