Roger Federer has tied the record for major championships in his sport, and Tiger Woods remains four Grand Slam Sundays away from equaling the record in his. But the debate over which man is more dominant, Roger or Tiger, should disappear faster than a 1-foot putt.

It’s game, set and no match for Woods.
The clay-stained images of a triumphant Federer have been all the rage, his breakthrough at the French Open inspiring claims that the Swiss Can’t Miss now officially is the greatest tennis player of all time. Pete Sampras didn’t reach a French final, never mind win one, and Rod Laver is far too agreeable to make any noise building a public case of his own.
Fine. Federer can have his rightful place in history, his gold-medal stand rising above the runner-up platforms granted Pistol Pete and Rocket Rod.
Just don’t try convincing any right-minded sports fan that Federer has been a more thorough terminator in tennis than Woods has been in golf.
Make no mistake: When Tiger returns to the metropolitan area this week to play the U.S. Open at Bethpage Black, he will do so as the world’s most dominant athlete.
It doesn’t matter that Federer has won his 14 majors in 40 tries while Woods has won his 14 in 53. It doesn’t matter that they’ve formed a Nike-fueled friendship and acted as equal partners in a commercial endorsement or two.
They are not equals, and they never can be equals, not when you consider the wildly contrasting natures of the games they play.
In tennis, a megastar gets to duel one opponent at a time. He gets to see his opponent, play defense against him, even blast overhead smashes at him. He gets to contain that opponent in a box, and he gets to compete without worrying that surface and weather conditions could be more benign for the man on the other side of the net.
In golf, a megastar must play dozens of opponents on the same day, the overwhelming majority of whom he can’t even see, never mind intimidate with screaming 3-iron shots fired at their midsections. The megastar can’t play defense or offense against his opponents, and he can’t do a damn thing about the swirling winds and spiked-up greens that many foes avoid by landing the early tee times.
So Woods has had a tougher task than Federer, the more unruly beast to tame. And that’s before you consider this cold and hard fact:
Federer has been manhandled by his chief rival, Rafael Nadal, in their head-to-heads. Woods has suffered no such humiliation at the hands of his chief rival, Phil Mickelson.
That’s why two-time U.S. Open champ Andy North, now an ESPN analyst, predicted that the major knee and leg surgery that shelved Woods after last year’s epic triumph over Rocco Mediate wouldn’t slow the Tiger train. North said Woods might win the Bethpage Open by 10 shots and ultimately finish his career with 25 major titles.
That’s why Jack Nicklaus, holder of the record 18 majors, said he expects Woods to blow past him, and to do so in the next couple of years.
“I’m hoping to,” Tiger said after winning Nicklaus’ Memorial tournament. “It’s five to pass him, four to tie him. That’s a lot. Most of the guys in my generation haven’t won more than three. So it’s quite a challenge, there’s no doubt about it.
“I probably wouldn’t have had as good a chance to put myself in position to tie or pass, whatever it may be, if I hadn’t had the surgery. My (left) leg was deteriorating the past couple of years. I’m healthy enough where I think I can give it a go.”
Relative to his otherworldly standards, Woods looked sluggish in his first post-surgery events. He didn’t look so sluggish at the Memorial, where he couldn’t miss a fairway if he tried. And when Tiger is hitting fairways — the one thing he doesn’t do when he falls short in majors — golf is reduced to a man-versus-boys proposition.
“I just wish (reporters) would just quit (ticking) him off so he has to come back and keep proving stuff,” Jim Furyk said.
Once upon a time, columnists and commentators wondered if Tiger could ever be Tiger after marriage, and then after fatherhood. When that didn’t fly, columnists and commentators wondered if Tiger could ever be Tiger after his chew toy for a left leg had its date with a surgeon’s blade.
“(It’s) frustrating in the sense that, coming off what I came off, I win one tournament and ... excluding the Match Play, I had 18 straight top 10s,” Woods said. “That’s not bad.
“But people said, ’You’re not that good anymore.’ I’m pretty consistent. Just give me a little bit of time so I can work on my game. Now I’m able to start doing that.”
As Tiger showed off his rust-free game in his most recent round, the Sunday round at Memorial, his playing partner, Michael Letzig, made like a tourist checking out the big city buildings for the first time.
Letzig never had seen anyone hit a golf ball the way Woods was hitting. “I tried not to watch,” he said, “but some of those shots were unreal.”
Yes, on the tennis side, Federer can inspire the same kind of awe.
“It’s just truly remarkable when he gets it going,” Tiger said of Roger. “He just hits shot that nobody else can hit.”
Nobody but Woods. Only Tiger’s sport doesn’t allow him to control his opponents one by one, point by point, set by set.
So there should be no confusion for sports fans making their way out to Bethpage this week. On Sunday, the guy in the red shirt will represent the most dominant athlete in the world.