"Why bother trying?"
/I normally don't pay attention when non-golf folks dare to write about golf, but in the case of Tiger and his peers seemingly being afraid of the man, I think Bill Plaschke's outsider take is worth noting. I'm not quite sold on this data though:
At least one study has shown that other golfers' fear of Woods is not only palpable, but measurable.
According to eight years of data collected by Jennifer Brown, a doctorate candidate in agricultural and resource economics at California, tour regulars average nearly a stroke higher in tournaments that include Woods.
Brown formulated her theory in a paper titled "Quitters Never Win: The (Adverse) Incentive Effect of Competing With Superstars."
She discovered a .80 stroke differential when golfers are confronted by Woods, a number that rises during periods when Woods is hot, and decreases during those rare times when he is perceived to be in a slump.
"This shows that if you are competing against an opponent you believe will win, you think, 'Why bother trying?' " said Brown, whose study has been embraced by several national media outlets.