Are you getting sick of Tiger Woods?

That’s a bad question to ask, because if you are sick of a genuine role model on his way to becoming the best his sport has ever seen, then you need to not watch much sports ever again.

Let me ask you two different questions instead.

First, does golf need more than Tiger?

Second, if given a choice between Tiger Woods winning the grand slam or a genuine rivalry breaking out in golf (Phil, anyone, are you listening?), which would you choose?

My answers are yes and a rivalry. The two go hand-in-hand.

If it were not for Tiger Woods, the PGA Tour today would be about where it was in the early ’90s. The leading golfers 15 years ago were Nick Faldo, Paul Azinger, Corey Pavin, Greg Norman and Fred Couples. That sounds a lot like Phil Mickelson, Vijay Singh, Ernie Els, Retief Goosen and Jim Furyk to me.

The PGA Tour 15 years ago was in danger of being surpassed in popularity by the Senior Tour (now Champions Tour). That’s where Palmer, Nicklaus, Trevino and Player were holding court to big crowds and TV ratings which often surpassed the PGA when they went head-to-head.

Then came Tiger. Golf ratings doubled and then tripled. The prize money increased at an even bigger rate.

He was golf.

He still is golf.

Because of Tiger, golf was going to become a major sport along with football, baseball, basketball and NASCAR. Millions of new kids were going to take up the game of golf with a surge of minorities leading the charge. Better build lots of new courses because golf was going to have an explosion not seen in American sports since the tennis revolution of the 1970s.

The truth is Tiger Woods became the No. 1 athlete in the world (and deservedly so). What was false was everything else.

Golf is only a major sport when Tiger is in contention. No explosion with the kids or minorities. In fact, the number of golf rounds played in the United States has been trending slightly downward the last few years.

Maybe Tiger Woods winning the Grand Slam in 2008 would change all of that.

Or maybe it would just turn the PGA Tour into the ABT Tour.

Anybody But Tiger.

There is virtually no resentment or jealousy from tour players or golf fans towards Tiger Woods. Yet.

Even Mickelson fans are awed, inspired and can proudly admire the best-ever golfer under 35. Tiger Woods is a dynasty, and dynasties are good for sports.

For awhile.

The Yankees carried Major League Baseball, winning 20 of their 26 titles in 40 years, from 1923-1962. However, baseball benefited more when great teams flourished in St. Louis, Los Angeles, Oakland, Pittsburgh, Baltimore and Cincinnati from 1963-1979. The Yankees still won two more World Series in those years but the success of others led to baseball’s expansion, free agency and record ratings and attendance.

The Boston Celtics carried the NBA by winning 11 championships from 1957-1969. When did the sport begin to thrive? When Philadelphia, Los Angeles, New York and Detroit were finally able to overcome Boston’s dominance from 1970-1990. The Celtics won five championships during that time, but the field had been leveled for Michael Jordan to take over.

What was better for the NFL, the New England Patriots making history by going 19-0 or the New York Giants winning the Super Bowl? The league will never admit it, but many more NFL fans were happy with the outcome of Super Bowl XXXXII than sad. Why? Because the NFL, the ultimate parity league was close to becoming, ABTP.

Anybody But The Patriots.

What is better for golf? Tiger winning the Grand Slam, further enhancing his dynasty, or sharing the wealth for a little while for the betterment of the sport?

How about the ultimate compromise? In the next three years, Mickelson plays the best golf of his Hall of Fame career and wins four majors. Ernie Els wins a Masters. Vijay wins a British Open. The young guns — Adam Scott, Sergio Garcia, Justin Rose — all win a major. So does K.J. Choi. Oh, by the way, Tiger Woods wins the other two majors while finishing in the top five of the others virtually every time (he has 10 top-fours in his last 12 majors).

This would leave Tiger with only 15 majors as he is turning 35 years old. Tiger is still great but now only one major ahead of Jack’s record-setting pace of 18.

Maybe he has peaked? Maybe, after a decade of dominance, the rest of the world has finally caught up to him? Maybe Mickelson is the best player in the world?

Just when those thoughts are seeping into the golf landscape, then and only then, he wins the Grand Slam in 2011. The win at the PGA Championship completes the most magnificent achievement in sports history while also being the record-setting 19th major of his transcendent career.

Two roads you can travel to reach the same destination.

The answer shows whether you are a golf fan or, really, just a Tiger fan.

It’s OK to just root for Tiger. It sure looks like a lot of NBA fans from 1988-1998 were really just Michael Jordan fans in disguise.

Just don’t tell me Tiger Woods winning the Grand Slam is what golf needs right now.

Golf needs Mickelson to become to Tiger what Trevino, Weiskopf, Miller and Watson all were at some point in the ’70s to Nicklaus. A rival.

Ali had Frazier. Palmer had Nicklaus. Borg had Connors and McEnroe. Chris Evert had Martina Navratilova. The Yankees had the Dodgers, Giants and now Red Sox.

Tiger has taken golf about as far as he can.

Go Phil!

For now ....

David Moulton is co-host of the radio show "Miller and Moulton in the Afternoon," which can be heard 3-7 p.m. weekdays on SportsRadio 770/ESPN. David’s column appears every Sunday. He can be reached at millerandmoulton@sportsradio770.com