It’s hard for anything at the Masters (or any golf tournament, for that matter) to come close to matching the perennial “How is Tiger Woods doing?” story. Even Rocco Mediate’s amazing underdog bid in last year’s U.S. Open played second banana to Woods’ gut-it-out victory on a broken leg.

A prime example of the immensity of Tiger’s shadow is the lack of buzz surrounding Anthony Kim. The guy is hardly an unknown to serious golf fans, but the 23-year old phenom has managed to fly largely under the national radar.

Yesterday, Kim made Masters history by recording a single-round record 11 birdies. Naturally, it was overshadowed by Woods’ day, as everyone chose to talk about Tiger’s missed opportunities on the putting green.

Kim has often been mentioned in the same breath as Woods: Is he the next Tiger?, critics ask. These questions are dismissed quickly — after all, Tiger will likely go down as the greatest to ever play the game. But how about this for a comparison: Can Kim become who Sergio Garcia was supposed to some 10 years ago? Can Kim be the talented gunner with both the skill and confidence to challenge Tiger as a young pro and eventually eclipse him as Tiger gets on in years? Will he be the one to finally give us a real Tiger rivalry?

It’s clear Kim has the talent, and many accounts say that he’s also got the hubris to challenge Tiger’s (check out this feature Golf Magazine wrote about him).

Only time will tell, but do yourself a favor and take a break from the Tiger watch this weekend to scope out Kim’s game (he heads into round 3 in a tie for sixth-place at -4, and tees off at 2:25 p.m.).

Mark Kiszla of the Denver Post writes that Tiger Woods is a ‘poor sport’ and a ‘sore loser’.

Miss a shot and Woods tosses the offending club in anger. It is a wonder he has not taken a divot out of the shin or forehead of caddie Steve Williams.

Is that how Jack Nicklaus or Ben Hogan or Bobby Jones believed in playing a game for gentlemen? Should we care?

The competitive fire in Woods’ eyes burns so hot they can burn a hole through the chest, and Tiger is so intense he has been known to walk past his own mother on the golf course and be blind to her presence.

On the opening day of the Masters, a sea of red numbers on the leaderboard posted by everybody from Chad Campbell to 50-year-old Larry Mize turned Woods green with envy.
After an inconsistent round of 70 in which his frustration showed when he slammed a club after airmailing the green on the final hole, Woods was asked what it was about him and the first round at this prestigious tournament, where in 15 tries he has never posted a score in the 60s.

“Yeah,” Woods said Thursday, barely concealing his disdain, “that’s how I won it four times too.”

Kiszla goes on to write about how competitive Woods is and whether or not we as sports fans should care whether or not he can be kind of prickly when he’s playing.

Personally, I could not care less. I think Tiger has been such a phenomenal presence in the sports world over the years that writers are trying to drum up new storylines. That’s not to say Kiszla doesn’t make good points in his article, but it almost seems nowadays that writers are finding ways to criticize Woods’ game anyway they can. The bottom line is that most great athletes have egos the size of Saturn (the planet, not the car company) and they buy into how good they are. Tiger is no exception and considering how competitive he is, it’s no surprise that he’ll toss a club after a bad shot or give a snarky comment from time to time. Most of the great ones hate to lose and Tiger is no exception.