He's G-R-R-R-R-R-EAT!!!!!!

It being St. Patrick's Day, the one day that everyone in America somehow is Irish and drinks stout, I had planned on devoting today's column to the Celtics. Right up until about 5:45 yesterday afternoon. That's when I watched Tiger Woods sink a 25-footer for birdie on the 72nd hole to take Bay Hill. To avoid a playoff. To Win. It was a defining moment in a career of defining moments. It was something no one does. It was simply Tiger Being Tiger (sorry Manny).

As any golfer, no matter weekend duffer or the Greatest Player to Ever Play The Game, can tell you, there are shots that define you, shots that you never forget. And the best tend to be the putts that shouldn't go in, but do. Sure, driving the green on a Par 4, setting up my first ever eagle, 10 years ago, was a great moment. But I 2-putt from 8 feet to secure it, and to be fair, it was a 285 yard Par 4 playing about 250. Sure, the 300+ yard drive I hit on the 18th hole of a tournament last year, setting up a birdie and a T-4 finish for my team (gotta love best ball) felt great. But these still aren't the strongest memories I have on the golf course. No, those come on the greens. You know, the old "Drive for Show, Putt for Dough" thing. My defining moment as a golfer? Father's Day 2006, 6th Hole of Beaver Brook Country Club. I sank a 30-footer for birdie, after hitting a pretty sweet approach from about 150. But it is the putt that sticks with you. Hell, it sticks with my buddies JonO and Ed. They still say "hey, remember that putt you sank on Father's Day a few years back? That was great."

And that is the story of Tiger Woods life. The shots, the putts in particular, that make people say "remember when Tiger did that? That was great." And to make this one all that much more poignant (as if it needed help)? It was basically the EXACT SAME PUTT he sank at Bay Hill back in 2001 to beat Lefty on the last hole of the tourney with a birdie, which was also the last time Tiger made birdie on the 72nd hole to win a tourney. See what I mean? These things define you. Tiger is 7 of his last 8 in PGA Tour events (finishing second in the other), and 8 of his last 9 over-all. He hasn't lost a tournament he's entered this season. And remember this: Tiger was 7 strokes back at the end of the day Friday. SEVEN STROKES!

In a career defined by defining moments, we may be watching the Most Defining Moment Of Them All. We may be watching the early steps of the most dominant year in the History of Golf. Earlier this year, we saw Tiger pass this weekend's host, the great Arnold Palmer, on the career PGA Tour victories list. Yesterday, he tied Mr. Ben Hogan for third on the all-time list at 64. At this point, it is no longer hard to imagine that he will catch the Golden Bear at 73...this season!

We are witnessing something that happens rarely in sports, we are witnessing the Greatest Ever. And there is really no argument. Those of us fortunate enough to have watched Jordan, we can say we saw "arguably" the best ever. But there is still an argument. You can make a case for Bird, Magic, Russell, Wilt, a few others. In baseball, you can argue who was the greatest ever, by position even, but you'll never have consensus. Same with football, the Greatest Quarterback of All-Time is a debate that will rage forever. Try another individual sport. Boxing? Go ahead, try to get 10 guys to agree that it was Ali. You might get 7 of 10. Maybe.

In golf, until recently, a solid case could be made that Tiger was "one of", but not "the" best. But since the death of his father, Tiger has been gaining steam. And since Bridgestone last year, he's been like a fully-loaded freight train heading downhill. Only the conducter has the train under full control, everybody else just needs to step out of its way. A few months ago, Tiger said that winning all four majors this year was "within reason". Jack Nicklaus said "I wouldn't put it past him." At this point, I don't think any one would argue with them.

I wonder what will become of Tiger Woods when he closes the records books, with his name at the top of every list. I wonder if he will carry on, playing till his body won't let him any more, like Arnie and Jack. I wonder if 30 years from now, we'll be watching an aging Tiger make his last trip around Amen Corner, or over the bridge at St. Andrew's. I wonder if he'll gracefully move on when he has etched his name firmly atop the world of golf, going out at the top of his game. With Tiger, it's hard to say. But in the meantime, I'm going to enjoy every moment, knowing that for what may be the only time in my life, I'm watching The Best Ever.














And yes, I know I didn't mention March Madness. I'm still bitter, leave me alone. We'll tackle that later in the week.