Be careful what you ask for because you may not like it. Case in point. As a former professional golfer I grew up with the media clamoring for when the next Jack Nicklaus would come on the scene. Well the last ten years we have witnessed Tiger Woods grow into the greatest player of all time. Many may disagree with me because he hasn’t surpassed all the big records, yet. What Tiger has done is raise the standards of professional golf well above what even Jack Nicklaus accomplished. The shear domination and consistency of his performance is second to none. So as great as witnessing history is the media now is complaining that nobody is challenging Tiger and they are afraid of him. First off, Tiger is the best and with his combination of skills, mindset, and physical tools no one is going to push him. However I believe that any one tournament a player can step up and challenge Tiger. The issue becomes that as Tiger distances himself even further from his competition the opportunities diminish. This weekend Ernie Els had the opportunity to take advantage of an opportunity to beat Tiger and it fell through his fingers. Els may get only a couple more opportunities to beat Tiger this year and letting this one go makes it tougher in the future. When I work with my athletes I teach them about stepping up when the opportunity arises. Be ready to be at your best and know that there are no guarantees. Prepare, believe, and execute to your strengths. You can’t control your competition you can just step up and be ready.