Beating Tiger Woods: Richard Sterne
This week on Beating Tiger Woods we profile Richard Sterne; the latest golf legend who is now ranked higher than the best golfer of our generation.
Welcome to the newest feature on Golf Unfiltered: Beating Tiger Woods, a satirical weekly report of where Tiger Woods sits in the Official World Golf Ranking and who is immediately above him on that list. This is the place to honor these budding golf legends who clearly deserve your attention as they supplant our generation's greatest player from his steadily decreasing ranking. In the event that I can't find any information on the newest Tiger Tamer, I'll just make something up. You probably won't know the difference.
Tiger's Current OWGR: 351
Player Better than Tiger Woods today: Richard Sterne
Golf is a funny game. One moment you are winning the 1999 South African Junior Strokeplay & Matchplay Championship; the next, you are officially known as a better golfer than Tiger Woods.
Such is the case for Richard Sterne, the 34-year-old South African golf juggernaut who can now bask in the glory of being ranked higher than Tiger in the OWGR. Sterne's rise to golf glory may not come as a surprise to some, as he has made a name for himself on not one but TWO professional tours: the European Tour and Sunshine Tour. He has amassed nine professional wins in his career -- a mere 70 wins fewer than Woods -- each proving to be vital steps in what has become a staircase of greatness.
With homes in both Pretoria, South Africa and Manchester, England, it is fair to say that Sterne may flash his fame and fortune louder than the tastefully muted celebrations of success a-la Ian Poulter and Bubba Watson. Still, it is hard to fault a man who, after years of struggling with the hardcore streets of South Africa and listening to workout stories from Gary Player, can now take pride in besting the greatest golfer of our time.
"That was probably the best final round of my career,'' Sterne, a man of few words, once said following his victory at the prestigious Joburg Open in 2013. "It was quite special to finish the way I did.''
Indeed it was, King Richard. For now the kingdom is truly yours, and we are simply peasants living in it.
