He said Tiger is 2-1/2 times better than the second best golfer. He said Tiger is amazing. He said Tiger is one in ten million. He said he's the only one he can see challenging Tiger if he plays to his potential. Nowhere in there did he say Tiger isn't far and away the greatest player right now.
Maybe Poulter should have a little chat with Sabbatini to find out what happens when Tiger is called out. Poulter's not quite the jackass that Sabbatini is, so Tiger may just laugh about the comments and go about his merry way.
Look, I recognize the guy made nice/deferential comments about Tiger, in additional to tooting his own horn. My only point was that it seems like every time one of these golfers makes a comment about Tiger, no matter how innocuous, Tiger seizes upon it and uses it as motivation. Inevitably, he hammers them. I specifically recall Sabattini, Vijay, Ames and I'm sure there are others. This is not unlike how Stoops, Belichik, etc. blow minor comments into major motivational tools. Despite the fact that everyone knows it will happen, these dumbasses keep popping off. While I know some of these guys are just seeking some pub, the better competitive course would be to keep their mouth shut and not provide Tiger with any more motivation than he already has.
Poulter misquoted No surprise here, Poulter is now saying he was misquoted in the Golf World UK article. There's probably some truth in his retraction of what was quoted, but the fact remains that he still challenged Tiger.
Tiger's playing there in part to help pimp his design company's first golf course, set to open next year. Good for him. Should be amazing.
Where did he challenge Tiger, you ask? Even if Poulter feels that his statement was taken out of context, he still said this: "The trouble is I don't rate anyone else. Don't get me wrong, I really respect every professional golfer, but I know I haven't played to my full potential and when that happens, it will be just me and Tiger." Sure, that's Poulter being confident in his own game and skill but, in my book, that's calling out Tiger as well as all the other golfers ranked above him. He hasn't really done much to prove he belongs in the same stratosphere as Tiger, Vijay, Phil, Ernie, etc.
To me, it seems like he called out everyone else except Tiger. It reminds me of back in 95 when Shaq said he didn't compare himself to any other centers except Olajuwon. It wasn't a stab at Olajuwon, it was a stab at Robinson, Ewing, and the rest.
"Don't get me wrong, I really respect every professional golfer, but I know I haven't played to my full potential and when that happens, it will be just me and Tiger." This sounds like a sound bite from some delusional boob on a reality show.
i still don't see where he challenged Tiger. looks like some of you guys are lookin for a fight that's not there.
Tiger did address it though. He was quoted saying that he thought that Poulter was the 2nd best player in the world. A definite jab at a man who finished in the 30s of the tourney.
