Gary Player has offered his opinion on why Tiger Woods never reached his full potential as an athlete.
Woods has won 14 major championships, but Player believes he should have won 20 or more by now.
Woods believes his reliance on coaches who were, at best, average players has stunted his momentum and caused his form to suffer.
The South African multiple major winner said Woods made a big mistake in seeking guidance from a coach, given the state of his game at the time.
The player said he felt the 2000 U.S. Open at Pebble Beach was the peak of Woods’ powers.
The prolific course designer believes Woods had no reason to change his game at that point.
He feels Woods’ attempts to tweak his game will lead to him falling prematurely behind his peak.
Woods is widely regarded as one of the greatest golfers of all time and one of the most celebrated athletes in modern history, but Player believes he is capable of even greater feats.
“At the U.S. Open at Pebble Beach, he wins by 15 strokes. Do you know what it feels like? It’s like running 100 meters in seven seconds. The next week, he’s going to get a lesson from a guy who I don’t think will be able to break 80 in the Masters.”
“And he goes to guys who maybe couldn’t break 85 at the Masters or the British Open or on the final day at the PGA because of the pressure, and he’s taking lessons from them.”
“Why did Tiger do that? He was very good, but I know he wanted to be better,” the player continued.
“If he had just gone along with it and didn’t change anything, he would have won at least 22 games. He would have gone down as the greatest athlete the world has ever seen.”
Woods turned professional golfer in 1996 at age 20 after a stellar junior, collegiate and amateur career.
By the end of April 1997, he had won his first major, the 1997 Masters, by a record-breaking 12 strokes and had won three PGA Tour titles.
In June 1997, just over a year after turning professional, he reached No. 1 in the Official World Golf Rankings for the first time.
Woods dominated the golf world during the first decade of the 21st century. He was the world’s No. 1 ranked golfer from August 1999 to September 2004 (264 weeks) and again from June 2005 to October 2010 (281 weeks). During this time he won 13 major championships.
The second decade of Woods’ career was plagued by personal issues and injuries, and although he won another major title, his fifth Masters in 2019, he was never able to recapture the Tiger mode that defined his early career.
