thanks USGA for posting. i remember this round particularly. the wind made the course spicy and tiger grinded out a solid even par round despite making a triple bogey. solid playing
6:54:47. Roger Maltbie sums it up right here. And all you people that still think Jack is the GOAT take note. Maltbie turned pro in 1974. He was on tour in the middle of Jack’s prime. Johnny Miller was on tour in 1969. He saw Jack up close even more than Maltbie did. Nobody had ever seen anyone play golf as well as Tiger. They repeated their astonishment at the things he could do for a decade because they had simply never been done before. If not for the injuries and scandals Tiger would have won 25 plus majors. It didn’t work out that way but who cares? At his best, nobody has come close to Tiger’s level of mastery of the game. In my book, that means he’s the greatest player who ever played. He has a case on numbers alone but it’s what Maltbie says here that matters. Tiger was shockingly good because what he could do, the shots he could play, in every element of the game added up to a player nobody had ever seen the likes of before or since. Trying to pretend that wasn’t the case now is just revisionist nonsense. 7:29:35
Couldn’t have put it better myself. He’s the most dominant force the game has ever seen. Nicklaus may have 3 more majors but he never won a us open by 15 shots or a masters by 12. The difference is Nicklaus was only marginally better then his closest rivals, whereas tiger was miles better. the greatest player ever unquestionably
@@RobertG-uu3xm, Yup. He was better than the hype. Just magical to watch. That’s why he drove TV ratings. You just couldn’t believe what you were seeing sometimes. You had to tune in to see what he would do next. Every week he did something nobody had ever seen before. Especially in that 1999-2002 stretch. It was just absurd. My favorite weeks were when he was spraying his driver around. The recovery shots Tiger could play were the most impressive shots I’ve ever seen in my life. Nobody will ever play golf that well again. I really don’t think it’s possible. Tom Watson agreed: 7:00:24
J Miller is making me mad. Was he not watching? I think Tiger showed a little more than just 315 yard carries!! R Maltby gave Tiger his due. Tiger showed the whole package and Miller ended up sounding jealous.
Johnnie was funny like that. He was hot and cold. He says Tiger is doing things nobody has ever done in one breath but then takes a shot at him in another breath. It’s just the way he was and that’s why the players didn’t trust the guy. But Maltbie and Ferhety always put what Tiger was doing in the proper historical perspective because they both played with everyone AND they had no ego about their own game. They always talked about how blown away they were by the shots Tiger could play, and even more importantly, the shots he was willing to try under pressure. Nobody had ever seen anything like it. And we’ve never seen it since. There’s a reason Tiger drew huge television ratings and nobody else did before him or has since then in golf. The dude was just miraculous. Dumbfounding really. The craziest thing was his putter and short game. Best iron player ever obviously, god mode. But the short game and putting combo Tiger possessed was unmatched. Week in week out. Even if he wasn’t hitting it straight he could win because he was so ridiculous around the greens. Tiger was a gift to golf. Period.
@ good analysis. But answer me this. I find him personally a little different. I’m not sure if it was his upbringing or success to soon or just him. After Peeble in 2000 I thought he could win at least 24 majors especially after ripping off the next 3. But he decides to fire his coach and make a swing change. I think he liked the thought of doing a Faldo and the praise Faldo got for “going through it “. Later he would remind people of the swing change, almost like he was searching for the credit. Also the whole weight training thing? I think he could handle the “just golf” criticism. He knew there is a proper weight regimen for golf and it’s not squats and bench work. But he looked good in his shirts. Weights and a 1000 swings a day? I loved watching him play oh my gosh!! Other than Jordan he had no rival in dominance. But I wish he would have had a couple of older brothers. Older brothers will be your fan, protector and tell you to stop being weird.
@@tomretallick1719, Honestly, I think he just got bored. The kid had been playing golf since he was a child and almost nothing but. He was under tremendous pressure from an early age. Maybe blowing everything up every now and then was a challenge and an act of rebellion. Anyone could see the guy was bored at times and repressed. I think he could have left his swing alone completely and just retired from golf for a couple years in 2003-2004 like Jordan did and he would have come back to the game rejuvenated and beaten Jack’s record by a mile. That might have been just the thing for him, just put the clubs away for a couple years and live his own life, but he had hundreds of millions in advertising contracts that required him to play, his family’s expectations to live up to, and the whole PGA tour depending on the attention he brought to the tour. I think he carried a lot of weight for a lot of people from the time he was in junior high and it was just all a little much, and that’s understandable. But ultimately, who cares? Anyone that knows golf a got to see peak Tiger feels lucky. And what more could any golf fan ask of him than that in the end. The guy was a joy to watch on the course. He played with unmatched skill, power, passion, and flair. And he had that unspeakable quality that manifests a vision. He could just make things happen that he saw in his head, under tremendous pressure. Nobody knows what that thing is, but everyone knows it when they see it. And it’s so rare. The mold was broken when his body quit on him and now golf is a bore. If any golfer ever comes along and brings as much attention to the sport as he did, I would be shocked. Everything after Tiger just feels meh. Maybe that’s the best testament to his greatness.
@, Scheffler cannot hit the quality of recovery shots as peak Tiger. Nobody ever has. Nobody in golf would dispute that. So no. He doesn’t hit it as good because ballstriking isn’t just about what you can do from the fairway or rough. It’s a skill and talent to flush it from awkward lies and stances. Scheffler isn’t even close in that department. Imagine Scheffler even trying to pull off the shot Tiger hit in the 2003 PGA from the bunker at Hazeltine. Not happening.
You’re spoiling us… thank you.
thanks USGA for posting. i remember this round particularly. the wind made the course spicy and tiger grinded out a solid even par round despite making a triple bogey. solid playing
Thank you usga. Full tournaments are the way to go
Tiger tees off at 4:00:46
6:54:47. Roger Maltbie sums it up right here. And all you people that still think Jack is the GOAT take note. Maltbie turned pro in 1974. He was on tour in the middle of Jack’s prime. Johnny Miller was on tour in 1969. He saw Jack up close even more than Maltbie did. Nobody had ever seen anyone play golf as well as Tiger. They repeated their astonishment at the things he could do for a decade because they had simply never been done before. If not for the injuries and scandals Tiger would have won 25 plus majors. It didn’t work out that way but who cares? At his best, nobody has come close to Tiger’s level of mastery of the game. In my book, that means he’s the greatest player who ever played. He has a case on numbers alone but it’s what Maltbie says here that matters. Tiger was shockingly good because what he could do, the shots he could play, in every element of the game added up to a player nobody had ever seen the likes of before or since. Trying to pretend that wasn’t the case now is just revisionist nonsense. 7:29:35
Couldn’t have put it better myself. He’s the most dominant force the game has ever seen. Nicklaus may have 3 more majors but he never won a us open by 15 shots or a masters by 12. The difference is Nicklaus was only marginally better then his closest rivals, whereas tiger was miles better. the greatest player ever unquestionably
@@RobertG-uu3xm, Yup. He was better than the hype. Just magical to watch. That’s why he drove TV ratings. You just couldn’t believe what you were seeing sometimes. You had to tune in to see what he would do next. Every week he did something nobody had ever seen before. Especially in that 1999-2002 stretch. It was just absurd. My favorite weeks were when he was spraying his driver around. The recovery shots Tiger could play were the most impressive shots I’ve ever seen in my life. Nobody will ever play golf that well again. I really don’t think it’s possible. Tom Watson agreed: 7:00:24
There’s a difference between greatest player and greatest record and I think people conflate these.
For all his tremendous talent, Tiger’s greatest asset was his ability to grind. Tiger was the ultimate grinder.
this is great stuff put them all up all rounds of all US OPENS this is fantastic to go back re watch brings back memories
Thank you USGA! Can you post the full rounds for 2002 as well, please!
This US Open was great to watch again, USGA CAN PUT Rds 1 through 3 of the 2002 US Open
stay tuned 👀
@usga thank you
Round 3... oh goody goody! I gotta woody!
J Miller is making me mad. Was he not watching? I think Tiger showed a little more than just 315 yard carries!! R Maltby gave Tiger his due. Tiger showed the whole package and Miller ended up sounding jealous.
Johnnie was funny like that. He was hot and cold. He says Tiger is doing things nobody has ever done in one breath but then takes a shot at him in another breath. It’s just the way he was and that’s why the players didn’t trust the guy. But Maltbie and Ferhety always put what Tiger was doing in the proper historical perspective because they both played with everyone AND they had no ego about their own game.
They always talked about how blown away they were by the shots Tiger could play, and even more importantly, the shots he was willing to try under pressure. Nobody had ever seen anything like it. And we’ve never seen it since. There’s a reason Tiger drew huge television ratings and nobody else did before him or has since then in golf. The dude was just miraculous. Dumbfounding really. The craziest thing was his putter and short game. Best iron player ever obviously, god mode. But the short game and putting combo Tiger possessed was unmatched. Week in week out. Even if he wasn’t hitting it straight he could win because he was so ridiculous around the greens.
Tiger was a gift to golf. Period.
@ good analysis. But answer me this. I find him personally a little different. I’m not sure if it was his upbringing or success to soon or just him. After Peeble in 2000 I thought he could win at least 24 majors especially after ripping off the next 3. But he decides to fire his coach and make a swing change. I think he liked the thought of doing a Faldo and the praise Faldo got for “going through it “. Later he would remind people of the swing change, almost like he was searching for the credit. Also the whole weight training thing? I think he could handle the “just golf” criticism. He knew there is a proper weight regimen for golf and it’s not squats and bench work. But he looked good in his shirts. Weights and a 1000 swings a day? I loved watching him play oh my gosh!! Other than Jordan he had no rival in dominance. But I wish he would have had a couple of older brothers. Older brothers will be your fan, protector and tell you to stop being weird.
@@tomretallick1719, Honestly, I think he just got bored. The kid had been playing golf since he was a child and almost nothing but. He was under tremendous pressure from an early age. Maybe blowing everything up every now and then was a challenge and an act of rebellion. Anyone could see the guy was bored at times and repressed.
I think he could have left his swing alone completely and just retired from golf for a couple years in 2003-2004 like Jordan did and he would have come back to the game rejuvenated and beaten Jack’s record by a mile. That might have been just the thing for him, just put the clubs away for a couple years and live his own life, but he had hundreds of millions in advertising contracts that required him to play, his family’s expectations to live up to, and the whole PGA tour depending on the attention he brought to the tour. I think he carried a lot of weight for a lot of people from the time he was in junior high and it was just all a little much, and that’s understandable.
But ultimately, who cares? Anyone that knows golf a got to see peak Tiger feels lucky. And what more could any golf fan ask of him than that in the end. The guy was a joy to watch on the course. He played with unmatched skill, power, passion, and flair. And he had that unspeakable quality that manifests a vision. He could just make things happen that he saw in his head, under tremendous pressure. Nobody knows what that thing is, but everyone knows it when they see it. And it’s so rare. The mold was broken when his body quit on him and now golf is a bore. If any golfer ever comes along and brings as much attention to the sport as he did, I would be shocked. Everything after Tiger just feels meh. Maybe that’s the best testament to his greatness.
@ I don’t think it’s a bore I think it hurts that it’s split up. Scheffler hits it as good as anyone ever, Tiger included.
@, Scheffler cannot hit the quality of recovery shots as peak Tiger. Nobody ever has. Nobody in golf would dispute that. So no. He doesn’t hit it as good because ballstriking isn’t just about what you can do from the fairway or rough. It’s a skill and talent to flush it from awkward lies and stances. Scheffler isn’t even close in that department. Imagine Scheffler even trying to pull off the shot Tiger hit in the 2003 PGA from the bunker at Hazeltine. Not happening.