This whole Golfers as athletes tangent is so stupid. Although Golf is a very recognized, interesting and fantastic sport, I don't see how it can be considered an athletic endeavor. It's NOT athletic, my grandpa could've played better than me, it's a sport of skill, control, patience, and hand-eye-coordination. It's the same class as pool, snooker, bowling etc. except that it is outdoors. None of these require athleticism or conditioning, although I'm sure it would help in some ways to be conditioned (you'd have more powerful throws in bowling, breaks in pool, longer drives in golf) but they're primarily about hand-eye coordination. To compare them to actual athletics in terms of "toughness" IS stupid, I have to agree with Alex there. I wouldn't be opposed to athletes like Lance Armstrong, Muhammad Ali, Michael Jordan, Ronaldinho, Joe Montana etc. being placed ahead of fighters in toughness.. but they are ATHLETES. Look up the definition.. athleticism does not mean having practiced control of your swing, it means hours of grueling cardio, pushing the limits of your strength, endurance and speed. None of those are significant factors in Golf. EVERY sport and game involves pressure and overcoming it, but that doesn't make you the toughest person in the world.. it would be ridiculous to think of Kasparov as tougher than Ali just because Kasparov kept his cool playing chess. Pushing the limits of your body is a far "tougher" thing than keeping cool under pressure in a game of skill.
And it's not "ignorant" to say it.. I respect and enjoy golf, this is not about hate, just common sense. I don't mean to disrespect golf as a sport, it is very much a valid sport and a great pastime, but I don't see why people are getting so touchy over this Tiger Woods thing. Ya ok, we get it, you guys are fans of the sport, but look at the argument logically. If I was looking for a background for an inspirational poster with the word "TOUGHNESS", I'd put Ali on it, not Woods.