Jordan Spieth matched Tiger Woods’ Masters scoring record on Sunday en route to his first career major win. Which 18 under par performance was more impressive?
M.B: When a 22-year old Tiger Woods won the green jacket in 1997, it came as a surprise to everyone. The start of the Tiger era began that April. Just his third victory on the PGA tour, it became one of his 14 major championships.
This win is so notable, because the next closest competitor, Tom Kite, finished 12 strokes behind.
But what sets Jordan Spieth apart from Tiger is the level of competition they competed against. The 1990s saw no dominant figure in golf. Major championships were shared between Nick Price, Vijay Singh and Greg Norman, to name a few. The competition was great for any golf fan, but it’s safe to say that golf lacked the star power of the 1970s—Jack Nicklaus—and 1960s—Arnold Palmer.
Jordan Spieth’s win on Sunday was against the likes of Rory McIlroy, Phil Mickelson, Bubba Watson and even Tiger Woods, all faces of the sport. Like the 1990s, it’s anyone’s to lose come Sunday; there are just so many more players that are capable of winning. Last year, 39 different players won on the PGA Tour. So now, stars like Phil Mickelson and Tiger Woods have to fight to win on the circuit.
Not only did Spieth compete at such a high level, but also I’m forgetting to mention that he did so in just his eighth major tournament as a pro, and at Augusta National. Woods’ 18 year-old record of is a testament to how hard the golf course is.
Spieth is no Tiger Woods. Arguably the best player of all time, Woods score doesn’t seem that unreasonable looking back. At just 21, Spieth will have to prove himself in the coming years to show that his 2015 Masters score wasn’t just a fluke.
Spieth may have made Tiger’s record seem easy to match, but he did so against some of the best players of all time.
M.K: There’s no denying that what Jordan Spieth did this past Sunday at Augusta was historical. In just his second Masters appearance, Spieth cruised to victory while finishing 18 under par, tying the lowest aggregate ever. He also became the second youngest winner of the green jacket at 21 years old. Since his tenth hole during the first round last Thursday, Spieth held at least a share of the lead.
But the most impressive performance of all was Tiger Woods at the 1997 Masters.
Woods turned professional and made his first appearance on the PGA Tour in the summer of 1996. Next April, in his first major as a professional, Woods won the 1997 Masters. What made his round a whole lot more impressive that Spieth’s was the fact that Woods straight up dominated the competition. He, like Spieth, finished at 18 under par.
His closest competitor, Tom Kite, finished six under par. The 12-stroke difference is still the largest margin of victory at the Masters. The next closest to the record is nine strokes, set by Jack Nicklaus in the 1965 Masters. At the time, Woods’ victory was considered one of the most impressive wins of the century.
Also, something noteworthy about Woods’ performance is that he didn’t even have the lead going in Friday’s round. He trailed the leader, John Huston, by three strokes. This makes Tiger’s Masters victory all that more impressive.
Even though Spieth’s score matched Woods’, he certainly did not wipe the floor with the competition. Runner-ups Justin Rose and Phil Mickelson were absolutely in the race for the green jacket come the back nine on Sunday. In the end, Spieth defeated them each by four strokes.
I’m not taking anything away from Spieth’s historic performance, but, in the grand scheme of things, Tiger Wood’s victory at the 1997 Masters is the most impressive of all time.
The Cleveland Browns and Milwaukee Bucks have been the most recent major sports teams to update theirs logos and uniforms. Some uniform changes are much needed while others leaving leaves fans scratching their heads and thinking, “What was the owner thinking?” What is the single best sports uniform of all time?
M.B: My heart says that the Chargers’ powder blue jerseys from the 1970s are the best, after watching LaDainian Tomlinson run through the NFL for nine years in San Diego.
While this jersey is among the best it falls second to another NFL team—the Miami Dolphins. The home jerseys of the Dan Marino era are the best of all time, regardless of the sport. A great uniform needs a great logo and the helmet-wearing dolphin is one of a kind. While the helmets show the logo, the pants and jerseys are actually plain. The turquoise and orange can be a little bright, the colors and indicative of the city they represent—Miami.
Why the Dolphins changed their logo in 2013 is beyond me.
M.K: When deciding on what the best jersey of all time is, first you have to establish the criteria. Every great jersey must have an appealing color scheme. Bright and bold colors are usually better than dull and boring ones. Also, you have to have an amusing logo. There can’t be any monotonous logos like single letters or just simply the team’s name. These logos have to be fun and exciting. Lastly, iconic jerseys have their own separate category. Even though they may be boring, historical jerseys have a sentimental meaning that is hard to top.
The Toronto Raptors have the best uniform in sports. Worn most notably by the likes of Vince Carter and Tracy McGrady, the ‘90s Raptors throwbacks with the velociraptor on the front is my favorite jersey of all time. The jersey has plenty of awesome features such as thunderbolt pinstripes, a back nameplate and distinctive fonts. In fact, the only reason I was excited that the Raptors held “Drake Night” this year was because they were wearing these throwbacks for the game.
Over time, there have been many great and distinct jerseys in all of the four major sports, but nothing surpasses the greatness of the Toronto Raptors throwback jerseys.