Do Dustin Johnson And Others Think They Could Beat Prime Time Tiger Woods?

As Tiger Woods returns to full-field with cut tournament play this week, some of today’s stars were asked how they’d fare against TW back in his prime. The answers to AP’s Doug Ferguson were fairly interesting.

However just remember that no one gave Woods much pressure during his heyday run from ’97 to 2008.

Brooks Koepka: “You’d be stupid to say you couldn’t. You’d be doubting yourself. I watched it growing up. I knew exactly how good he was. I wish I could have played against him. I think it would be cool to compare yourself to it.”

Zach Johnson: “Truth be told, I’d love to have these young guys that are dominating the game have a piece – just one year – of what we experienced.”

Stewart Cink: “I’ve played with Tiger when he was playing the best he’s ever played, and it was a real treat to see it – although it wasn’t a treat to be humiliated by his dominance,” Cink said. “I’ve also played with some of these younger guys. They’re special players. I would love for the game to give us Tiger getting back to where he was so we could see what he would do against Justin Thomas, Dustin Johnson, Jordan Spieth and Rory McIlroy.”

Justin Thomas: “My self-confidence and self-belief would say. Then he paused and began to smile before adding with a chuckle, “But everything I’ve watched and everything I’ve heard … no.”

Dustin Johnson: The No. 1 player in the world, has 17 victories on the PGA Tour. Woods played in only one of those events, the 2010 BMW Championship. “If I’m playing my best? Yeah, I’d take him,” Johnson said. “But over the course of a season? For nine years, 10 years in a row? He kept that level up for 10 years. That’s very, very sick. My best versus his best, I think it’s going to be neck and neck. But he was playing at his best for 10 years.”

Comparing Woods with current stud Jordan Spieth…

Until Woods had his first back surgery in April 2014, his rate of winning on the PGA Tour was 26 percent. Spieth is the most reasonable comparison because of his age and the schedule he keeps. He already has 11 wins and two majors at age 24.

His rate of winning is 9 percent.