Tiger just made the cut this week. He is hanging around the bottom.
GIR 51st
Sand saves 25th
putts per rd 54th
driving accuracy 39th
dr. dist 2nd
What is there to point to that makes you feel he can get it back. He is driving the ball all over the place. He is missing greens badly. He is not chipping close .He is not making putts.
In the past, some part of his game would cancel out the other. But, he is not doing anything very well. Could he be fighting this the rest of his life?
I think Tiger is important to the game and they may be without him for a long time.
I really doubt he ever becomes the old Tiger ever again. From the age of 3 he has benefited from buying into the myth of himself, I don’t think he ever really had to come to terms with self-doubt. Now he does, doubt in the normal life and doubt in his game.
He will certainly win more tournaments, and will likely be among the top players of the game for years. But the time where he can go out and be head and shoulders above everybody for 9 months in a stretch are over. Like everyone else he will have good days and bad days.
From what I read in the gossip columns, his divorce is being finalized. That’s gotta fuck with your head. He needs to get that over and put into the past. Looks like he’s not losing $750M as first reported, but still a lot. And she gets custody of the kids.
I’ve mentioned a few things to this effect before: His moment of overwhelming, crushing dominance happened when everything was perfect. Perfect health, perfect mentality, perfect control, perfect confidence, perfect momentum…and perfect timing. Jack and Arnie were long gone by 2000, and the American contingent had lots of good contenders but no real standout, no man to beat; the stage was all set for a world-beating megastar to bust out.
It was not sustainable. It was never sustainable. In hindsight, the only amazing thing was that it lasted as long as it did. Those 320-yard drives? They take a toll on a golfer’s body. As do all those miracle sand and rough saves. Putting has always been the great equalizer, and it’s a very short drop from a dead-center hole out to a lip out or a complete misread. And let’s not forget the real Sports Illustrated curse, i.e. heightened expectations. Winning the Masters by about 15 strokes sounds awesome until you realize that there’s nowhere to go from there but down.
And now you can tack on an absolutely devastating divorce (which is going to continue to cost him due to child support payments, never mind the endorsements he’s losing), which, in addition to a myraid of other things, means that he now has the pressure of needing the money. Also, he’s always thrived on the support of the crowd (remember that time his fans moved a boulder for him?), which will now be far more hostile, not to mention those honestly wondering why the hell he got married in the first place.
Nonetheless, he’s long since earned the right to be on the PGA Tour for as long as he damn well wants. He’s shown flashes of his old form, and I’m certain that he has at least one or two more wins in him, and almost certainly one more top-five finish in a major. The question is, is that good enough for him? He’s demolished just about every milestone there is. The only one left of any significance is the all-time major championship record (he’s not even sniffing Nicklaus’ 37 top-twos).
In the past, every time we thought he was done, he sprung back to 100% of his old form. In the most recent U.S. Open, he only got to about 90%, and I don’t see it going anywhere but down.
He’s played in two majors since his return to golf, and he’s been top five in both of them. The next one is going to be at St. Andrews, where he’s won both times he’s played there.
He’s going to be fine.
I am a Tiger fan. Golf needs him. But 4 rounds without breaking par and winding up in 46th place gives me pause. He couldn’t find the fairways, chip or putt. I didn’t see a thing that makes me think he is ready to win. I hope I am wrong. He needs the money after his divorce. He may be under a billion now.
Jury’s still out, but I’ll say he’s bouncing back more slowly than I had expected. If he goes the season without a major win - man, that could make his road tougher.
I hope the other guys see him as fallible, and cease to fall back to him on Sundays.
How about a minor win? He does not look major ready.
He’s just going through a tough, emotional time. It’ll pass. Remember when his father died and he missed the cut at the US Open*? Same thing going on here.
*Pretty sure it was the US Open, but maybe it wasn’t one of the other majors.
You know, I might put it at even money whether he wins any event this year. It is not like he piles up the time in Quad City and Milwaukee Opens, begging for some coin and next year’s exemption… I agree, it does not look like he is ready for a major. But we all know he’s got game, and all he has to do is come CLOSE to his zone on the right weekends. Remember, his B-game was generally good enough to win him at least a couple of majors, so long as he avoided the most inopportune and most costly mistakes, and sank a miracle putt, chip, or recovery shot late on Sunday while others faded…
OTOH, my prediction is that he gets written off as dead following a lackluster season, but then comes roaring to win at least one of the season-ending FedEx Cup events.
I dunno. What do you think.
I have watched carefully and don’t see a starting point. I had a friend who was a 3 handicapper that all of a sudden lost the ability to chip. I told him work hard on it or it will spread to the rest of your game. He thought I was nuts, but it did. He was a terrific putter, all of a sudden his putting started to weaken. Then his irons were missing greens. He got bad enough that he thought of quitting the game.
He took about 3 months off and then worked like crazy on his chipping. Slowly he got it back. But Tiger is not doing anything well. He used to save his score by chipping close from anywhere on the course. Now his chipping is weak too. He used to save par with difficult putts. He is not doing that either. He is blowing the ball over the green from 80 yards. I don’t see a starting point. If his confidence is wounded, it will be hard to come back. His aura is going rapidly. That too is part of the reason he was the best.
He is a great athlete undergoing mental trauma with a divorce and losing public adoration at the same time. It will not be easy. I just don’t know how he starts. He hit tee shots in the wrong fairway this weekend. If you get on a roll and blast a tee shot a mile off line, you can derail everything in one swing.
Are you guys talking about the Tiger Woods who has finished 4th in the last two majors played or some other less effective Tiger Woods?
How about Tiger Woods that finish T46 yesterday in a weak PGATour field. One that didn’t shoot under par all week.
How about the Tiger Woods that finished fourth at the last two majors - you know, the ones he puts all his focus on?
Since when is finishing 4th was an ‘remarkable’ achievement for Tiger Woods? Especially when he was never in danger of winning either tournament.
He also has MC, a WD, a T19 to go along with his T4s and T46.
I never said it was a “remarkable” achievement (BTW, who were you quoting?) It’s two top five finishes from a guy who is going through a hellish public embarrasment (that he is responsible for) and who missed eight months in 2008-2009 and then another six months in 2009-2010.
‘remarkable’ was in quotes because you and don’t ask remarked on it.
And FTR, Tiger missed 4.5 months in 2009-2010.
Despite the popular opinion, top 10 finishes in majors are not all that tough to come by. a 58 yr old Jack Nicklaus finished in the top 5 at the Masters. Well past his prime. A 52 yr old Greg Norman finished in the top 5 at the British Open a couple of years ago despite playing little competitive golf. A 59 yr old Tom Watson lost the British Open in a playoff last summer.
What do these three players have in common (4 if you count Woods)? They have won major Championships and instinct takes over and they know how to post a score.
Woods is a great golfer, no question about it. But IMO, he has lost his edge. He is not intimidating any more. The top players (and journeyman players) do not shake in their spikes when he is in the field.
Case in point: Gregory Havret (ranked #391 in the rankings) was paired with Woods in the penultimate pairing at the US Open last month. Woods had a one stroke lead on Havret. Havret beat by three shots in the final round. Did I mention that Havret was ranked #391 in the world at the time.
Tiger Woods jets off to Ireland for British Open tuneup - ESPN This week Tiger is skipping the Scottish Open to play schmooze golf with big shots. Phil could knock him off the number one spot before the British Open starts.
I think Tiger needs to play more tourney ,high pressure golf.
Phil will take over the #2 spot if he can finish solo 2nd or better in the Scottish Open.
Tiger has said several times that he needs to get more “reps”, yet he has not played in any tournaments that he normally does not play. He could have played in Memphis, and/or Hartford and/or Loch Lomond this week.
Based on what he’s done a couple times before, I’d expect Tiger to get back to being the top player in the world. Probably not dominant to the level he has been previously, but still winning majors. Having said that, it’s certainly not a lock.
Look at his current level of play, and his current results. He is playing so far below what we’re used to, but still finishing top 5 in majors and actually half-decent in other tourneys. This week he was driving the ball all over the place and was missing the green from 80 yards, but he still made the cut. When anybody else starts hitting shots like that they usually end up about 120th, not 46th.
One thing that could happen though is that he might just decide not to dedicate himself as much as is necessary. I know that if I were in his position, I might just say to hell with it and retire, or at least play a bit more for enjoyment rather than only for results. He’s maybe a bit more competitive than me, though 