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PGA Tour commish: Tiger Woods 'probably the greatest' ever
Tim Finchem may be a little biased. He’s been the PGA Tour commissioner since 1994, and he’s presided over the tour for all 79 of Tiger Woods’ PGA Tour wins. Finchem has seen the impact on television ratings and sponsor interest. He saw how Woods continued to win even as his competition improved and deepened.
So, when he spoke Tuesday in his final Tour Championship press conference, Finchem had no problem paying the ultimate compliment to the 14-time major winner.
“He’s the only living player to win 79 times,” said Finchem at East Lake Golf Club in Atlanta. “He’s the only active player to win 14 majors, and only one player has won more. I love Jack Nicklaus beyond belief, but I have to put Tiger down as probably the greatest player ever to play.”
Finchem, who is in the process of transitioning his job to deputy Jay Monahan, seems to base his argument largely on Woods’ prolific winning in his peak years, and it’s almost impossible to question Woods as the most dominant player in golf history.
“His domination at a time when you’re bringing more and more good players along is incredible,” Finchem continued. “It lifted all boats. I always refer to it kind of like Michael Jordan in the NBA. He just lifted boats and brought in so many new fans to the game.”
However, Finchem did admit that Woods’ incredible career put him and his PGA Tour team at a disadvantage. Woods’ success made it tougher for them to develop new stars in comparison to a guy who was the story every week, if he played or not.
“The dominance does have a negative,” said Finchem. “The one negative about it … he takes all the air out of the media. The entire focus is the dominant player. It’s very difficult to create new stars in that environment.”
Ryan Ballengee is a Yahoo Sports contributor. Find him on Facebook and Twitter.
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