People say Tiger Woods is ungodly. I’d say his performance is often flat-out godly. During yesterday’s dramatic playoff at the U.S. Open, one of the TV commentators said that Tiger isn’t used to chasing someone this late in a Major.  The pressure is on Tiger, he said.  A friend, who is an avid golf fan, turned to me and said, "The pressure is always on the other guy because Tiger is relentless."

Today, Joe Posnanski wonders what drives Woods and notices that there aren’t many telling anecdotes about the living legend.  Michael Jordan’s competitiveness is well-documented, but Woods is almost like an android, he’s so contained, so controlled.  But I thought this was revealing. Woods told reporters: 

"This week had a lot of doubt to it, to be honest with you.  I hadn’t walked 18 holes until the first round here since Augusta.  You know, you keep playing.  You just keep going, keep going forward.

All my buddies, when we were working out, used to always say ‘For.’  How many more reps do we have? ‘For.  Forever.’  And that’s the idea.  You just keep going.  There’s no finish line."

I think Woods is simply one of the most focused, disciplined, single-minded champions of all time. He is relentless. That’s why the pressure is always on the other guy. I’m sure he doesn’t let anything get in the way of his game–family, friends, even business. It doesn’t make me want to hang out with him. How could a guy like that be fun to have a conversation with? But it’s hard not to marvel at his drive, nerve, and his continued excellence in the world of golf.