>>>http://www.pgatour.com/tourreport/2014/08/08/rory-mcilroy-louisville-fan.html
>>>
>>>Great story about a great golfer.
>>
>>How can you not cheer for a guy like that?
>
>
>Before TV and before Arnold Palmer, there were no ropes except for the big tournaments, and you could walk down the fairway and chat with the players between shots.
>I walked several holes with Sam Snead, Byron Nelson, Jimmy Demaret and Ben Hogan at a tournament on Long Island.
>
>Hogan was like ice and spoke to no one.
>Nelson was warm and invited people to chat with him. Demaret was hitting on any woman in sight.
>Snead had a reputation for being nasty but I worshiped him so I approached him anyway. He was surprisingly gracious with me and we discussed his last few shots a bit.
>He won the tournament with ease.
>In my view there hasn't been a golfer before or since who could match Snead's ability.
>
>Tiger's 79 lifetime victories are amazing, but if you factor in Snead's lost years at his peak during WWII, his 82 are unbelievable.

I never saw Sam Snead play but will take your word for it. Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicklaus, and Tiger were all pretty good.

In a way it's sad what has happened to Tiger's game. When his marriage busted up was exactly when it went south. We have found out that he isn't that nice a guy but it's still sad to see talent of that magnitude fade. As my daughter would say, he was scary good. Shooting something like 15 under to win the U.S. Open at Pebble Beach when no one else could break par. Absolutely destroying courses that were set up to confuse the best. He looked like a lock to break Jack's record of wins in majors. Then he had to go and meet that woman.