By Jim O'Shea
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| (AP Photo/Gerry Broome) |
Now that the election is over and with
that the end of the presidential debates, it’s time to turn to another hotly
contested debate. Any guess? No, not Kobe vs. MJ. I’m talking about Rory vs.
Tiger. This is not a debate of who’s had a better career because that answer is
easy. Instead, this is: Who’s better right now?
Yes, Rory is ranked #1 and Tiger
actually is #3, recently surpassed by Luke Donald for #2. But, let’s look
beyond the rankings. Let’s look at on-course performance.
Rory had 4 PGA Tour wins in 2012. Tiger
had 3. So, Rory 1, Tiger 0.
Rory had 10 Top-10 finishes, while
Tiger had 9. Rory 2, Tiger 0.
Rory made the cut 81.25% of the time.
Tiger, on the other hand, made it 89.5% of the time. Tiger gets one back,
making it Rory 2, Tiger 1.
Rory’s scoring average was 69.63.
Tiger’s was 69.78. Rory widens the gap, making it 3-1 in favor of Rory.
In tournaments where they both played,
Rory’s average score was 4.5 under par, while Tiger averaged 4.36 strokes under
par. Advantage: Rory. Now, the tally sits at Rory 4, Tiger 1.
Now, onto stats that go beyond the
score or tournament finish. First up, driving accuracy, which is key in a
player’s success.
Rory hit the fairway 56.61% of the
time. And, surprisingly, Tiger was accurate 63.93% of the time. So, Tiger wins
the category in which he is most criticized. Tiger now makes it 4-2 Rory.
Up next, Greens in Regulation where
Rory put it on the dance floor 66.36% of the time. Tiger put it there 67.58% of
the time. Tiger, as usual, with the comeback to make it 4-3.
In the all-around ranking, Rory ranked
2nd, but Tiger only ranked 10th. So, Rory makes it 5-3
now.
And when it came down to the key part
of the season, the FedEx Cup Playoffs, Rory gained 2,827 points and Tiger
allotted 2,663. Rory, stepping up in the clutch, has made it 6-3. Now, let’s go
onto the back nine.
In the scrambling category, which is
when a player makes a par or better after not hitting the green in regulation,
Rory’s equaled 60.24%, while Tiger bettered him at 63.17%. After 10, Rory has
the slim 6-4 lead.
On Par 5s, which are key in gaining
ground in a tournament, Rory was 84 under par and Tiger was 92 under par. Tiger
is cutting into the lead on the back nine, making it 6-5 Rory now.
Now, putting inside five feet which
players, especially Tiger, get criticized for when they miss. Rory made the
putt 96.86% of the time, while Tiger put in the cup 97.07% of the time. Tiger
has come from three back to even it up at 6 apiece.
Staying on the green in another
category that ruins players’ rounds, the three putt. Rory three putted 3.09% of
the time he hit the green, but Tiger only three putted on 2.82% of his chances.
Tiger has beat Rory on the green, surprisingly, to gain the 7-6 lead.
From the green to the tee where let’s
take a look at Total Driving Efficiency. Rory had a value of 95, while Tiger’s
was 182. Just like in golf, in this category, the lower the better. So, Rory
gains ground on Tiger to even it up at 7.
Now with four remaining, what perfectly
fits this? That’s right, the four majors.
In the Masters, both shot 5 over par,
but Rory had one round in the 60s, while Tiger had zero, so the slight edge
goes to Rory. The score: Rory 8, Tiger 7.
Onto the next major, the U.S. Open,
where Rory faltered early, not making the cut after a 10 over par sum after his
first two rounds. Tiger made the cut, but only finished at 7 over par, but
still beat out Rory to tie the score at 8.
Now let’s go across the pond to the
Open Championship. Rory did not use his U.K. heritage in his 8 over par score,
while Tiger competed and finished at 3 under par. Tiger takes the lead again,
this time at 9-8.
The eighteenth “hole” or category in
this situation, the PGA Championship. Rory finished atop the leaderboard at 13
under par. Tiger shot 2 under par in the four rounds here. So, after 18
matchups, it’s still tied at 9-9.
The tiebreaker: Who won a major?
This of course is Mr. Rory McIlroy, who
gets my vote for the best golfer right now on tour.
