Wayne Riley

In late December, the great Tiger Woods turned 50 years old. I'd urge you all to read the feature on page 32 counting down some of his greatest moments, but given I've known Tiger for 30 years or so, I thought I'd talk about his impact on the game and a couple of interactions I've had with him over the years.

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To be perfectly honest, I don’t know where I sit on whether he’s the greatest golfer of all time. You all know the stats and facts, so I won’t go into it, but can you rank anyone above Jack, a man who got to 18 Majors and recorded so many runner-up finishes? I'm not sure. It’s an extremely difficult one. Either way, the impact Tiger has had on the world of golf is like nothing else we've ever seen before.

Every professional golfer who came after him owes so much to Tiger (and Arnold Palmer for that matter). Woods has meant so much to the game and he’s had a huge impact on me personally, both in terms of playing and watching. I can’t see him coming back and competing in Majors again, but there's still a part of me that hopes he can somehow get one more PGA Tour victory and reach 83 on his own. Currently, he’s stuck on 82 and in a tie with Sam Snead.