Where Does Tiger Rank On The List Of Clutch Performers?
01/04/2009 03:44
On Sunday Tiger Woods added another section into what is quickly becoming the "War and Peace" of sporting resumes.
Only nine months after knee surgery, Woods won his 66th career victory in impressive fashion, tracking down tournament leader Sean O'Hair and clinching the win with a birdie on his final hole.
Woods started the final round of the Arnold Palmer Invitational five off the pace. As the day progressed, he seemed to feed off the pressure to turn in another memorable victory.
Just prior to his knee surgery last year, Woods turned in another clutch performance as he won the U.S. Open essentially playing on one leg. He gutted out a playoff win over Rocco Mediate limping from hole to hole and grimacing after every shot.
It is easy to say Woods is the most dominant golfer of his, or perhaps any other, generation. The question becomes, where does he rank in terms of the greatest clutch performers in the history of sport?
Michael Jordan always seemed to be at his best during the big games. He possessed that extra gear, the ability to seemingly make himself better when his team needed him the most.
One of his more noteworthy moments came during the 1997 NBA Finals against the Utah Jazz. Jordan fought through a severe flu and put up 38 points, seven rebounds and five assists over 44 minutes, and at the end of the game he crumbled into Scottie Pippen's arms, exhausted. The performance not only helped the Bulls win the game, it changed the momentum of the series as the Jazz had won two straight. Jordan scored 39 points and 11 rebounds in Game 6 as the Bulls won the championship.
Curt Schilling was also able to rise to the occasion during big games. He crafted an 11-2 career postseason record with a 2.23 ERA over 133.1 innings. The right-hander delivered a heroic performance in Game 6 of the 2004 American League Championship Series against the New York Yankees. Pitching on a dislocated ankle tendon, held in place by sutures, Schilling threw seven innings, giving up one run in the Red Sox' victory. Boston went on to win Game 7 and complete a shocking comeback after being down 3-0 to the Yankees in the series.
Joe Montana always appeared in control, no matter what situation presented itself, 'Joe Cool' seemed ready to do the impossible. In Super Bowl XXIII he put together a 92-yard final drive with 34 seconds left to give the San Francisco 49ers a 20-16 win over the Cincinnati Bengals.
Patrick Roy will go down as one of the greatest goaltenders in the history of the National Hockey League. His career regular season numbers (551-315 record, 2.54 GAA) are impressive, but his 151-94 career postseason mark combined with 23 shutouts and 2.30 GAA cannot be ignored.
During the 1993 playoffs Roy put together a postseason for the ages going 16-4 with a 2.13 GAA and had an amazing 10 overtime victories.
Over the years fans have been treated to countless clutch athletes and while impossible to name them all, Woods must be considered on any list. Where he ranks is up to you - click the 'Your Call' button below and tell us where Tiger fits on your list of clutch performers.
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