Collegiate Times

When Tiger Woods tees off this morning at this year?s British Open at Royal Liverpool, it will be only his seventh round of competitive golf since late April, playing two rounds at the U.S. Open and four at last week?s Western Open.

Now, one can hardly blame Woods for giving golf a rest while mourning the death of his father Earl Woods, who passed away at the beginning of May. That Woods had no desire to compete in the game his father raised him to play is entirely understandable.

However, Woods paltry playing schedule after his father?s death is hardly atypical. Woods almost never plays tournaments that aren?t majors. And herein lies the quandary that surrounds the game of golf.

Are majors all that matter?

Imagine the hypothetical: Virginia Tech scores an awesome recruit, the top-rated running back in the nation. His freshman year is a flash, rushing for over 1,000 yards, and about a dozen touchdowns. He leads Tech to an ACC title and a BCS bowl berth.

In the offseason he makes this startling announcement: ?From here on out, I?m only going to play in bowl games,? says the recruit. ?Bowl games are really all that matter. They have the highest prestige, draw the most viewers and pay the most to the winner. Those are really the only games I want to play in.?

Ridiculous. He?d be cut from the team halfway through his press conference. But this is exactly what Woods is doing, and an alarming number of golfers are following his lead.

Now, it?s true golf isn?t football. A football player would never get away with only playing in just the Gator Bowl each year. In golf one can avoid less important tournaments, but if this trend continues the smaller tourneys might go the way of that egotistical recruit.

Woods has stated that his only goal is breaking Jack Nicklaus? record of 18 major championships. Golf?s four majors ? the Masters, the U.S. Open, the upcoming British Open and the PGA Championship, are called majors for a reason. They?re major tournaments.

Played at beautiful courses, attracting the largest crowds and bringing out the best fields of golfers, majors are where golfers should want to shine.

But it?s not where they should only want to play.

On average, the PGA Tour hosts about 50 tournaments a year

Tiger typically plays less than half of those. So, about one quarter of his schedule is dedicated to winning majors. Currently Woods has 48 career wins, with ten of those coming in majors. His devotion solely to major tournaments is alarming.

The trend of golfers increasing their focus on majors is radical. Phil Mickelson spent three weeks preparing for this year?s U.S. Open, much more than the typical first few days in the week players spend at a course before playing a Thursday thru Friday tournament. Both he and Woods played in only one of the four tournaments between the Masters and British Open, the Western Open a couple of weeks ago.

Athletes are constantly judged by the performance at the highest stage. Quarterbacks are judged by Super Bowl wins, soccer players by performances in World Cups (sorry, no Zidane jokes) and NBA-ers by playoff performance. It?s right to judge athletes that way.

However, inherent in those judgments are the circumstances surrounding them. Quarterbacks have to lead their teams through a 16 game schedule and three or four playoff games. Soccer players have to navigate two years of qualifying and basketball players an 82 game season.

Woods could sit out every tournament but four. He may be peaking in majors, but he?s slanting the playing field. He can afford not to play smaller tournaments, so he doesn?t.

Woods could win the next two majors this year, and no mention would be paid to the laxness of his schedule. He doesn?t play a full schedule comparable to other players and routinely skips tournaments if it interferes with his preparations for majors.

Doesn?t that devalue his accomplishments?

Yes. It?s a selfish way to play the PGA Tour. The minor focus on majors minimizes all other tournaments on the tour. Why did anyone pitch and putt in the John Deere Classic last week? Woods and Mickelson, the world?s one and two deemed it unworthy, as they have with numerous tournaments before other majors. Should the PGA Tour eliminate one before?

What about the ones right after majors too? After preparing so hard for these tournaments, the world?s best should be exhausted and need time to unwind. Woods and Mickelson both skipped the Booz Allen Classic after this year?s U.S. Open. Should the PGA Tour just reduce its schedule to four tournaments a year?

Maybe if that?s all that matters.

But anyway, my column will be taking a three-week hiatus as I prepare for the upcoming Pulitzer Prize. After all, that?s all that really matters, right?