# Can Tiger get it back? **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [July 4, 2010, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-tiger-get-it-back/545533 "2010-07-04T17:20:33Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 7
**Author:** ![DKW](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dkw/32/3118_2.png) [@DKW](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DKW)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2010, 10:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-tiger-get-it-back/545533/121 "2010-08-15T22:21:34Z")
The slow burn continues as Mickelson takes another halting step toward the #1 ranking. At this point, it’s almost inconceivable that he won’t have it by the end of the year, but he needs to remember how to string four good rounds together. Steve Stricker finished two strokes behind Mickelson. I don’t see him making a run anytime soon. ---
**Author:** ![gonzomax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e8c25b/32.png) [@gonzomax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzomax)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2010, 10:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-tiger-get-it-back/545533/122 "2010-08-15T22:53:35Z")
Phil winds up 11th. But if he overtakes Tiger the way it appears he will, it would be like a perfect attendance award. Showing up and not breaking a leg is good enough now. ---
**Author:** ![John\_DiFool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_difool/32/19543_2.png) [@John\_DiFool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_DiFool)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2010, 11:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-tiger-get-it-back/545533/123 "2010-08-15T23:12:06Z")
And meanwhile, we have a 3 way playoff-maybe. Did Johnson ground his club in what may or may not have been a “official” bunker? ---
**Author:** ![gonzomax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e8c25b/32.png) [@gonzomax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzomax)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2010, 11:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-tiger-get-it-back/545533/124 "2010-08-15T23:15:01Z")
What a way for Dustin to lose the playoff chance. They called that bare spot a bunker He ground his club. He knows the rule. If he thought that was a bunker ,he would have been sure to make sure it did not happen. It had no lip. ---
**Author:** ![notfrommensa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/f14d63/32.png) [@notfrommensa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/notfrommensa)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2010, 11:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-tiger-get-it-back/545533/125 "2010-08-15T23:21:43Z")
Phil needed to earn about 30 more ranking points than tiger to overtake Tiger. I believe Phil earned 10.625 pts for his 4 way tie for 12th and TW earned 4.57 pts for his four way T28 finish. So it looks likes Phil needs to earn about 24 more points at the Barclays to overtake TW in the standings. ---
**Author:** ![John\_DiFool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_difool/32/19543_2.png) [@John\_DiFool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_DiFool)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2010, 11:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-tiger-get-it-back/545533/126 "2010-08-15T23:22:27Z")
Whatever lip it had had been completely obliterated by 4 days of crowds. It’s official-2 stroke penalty. You’d think fairness would take precedence here, given the shabby (at best) condition of the bunker, but I’m not an official. And Johnson now has 2 heartbreaking losses this year. ---
**Author:** ![gonzomax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e8c25b/32.png) [@gonzomax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzomax)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2010, 11:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-tiger-get-it-back/545533/127 "2010-08-15T23:27:23Z")
Majors are a big deal. They can make a career. As good as he is, he can not guarantee his time will come again. It is a shame. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2010, 11:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-tiger-get-it-back/545533/128 "2010-08-15T23:31:28Z")
> [@John\_DiFool](#): > > Whatever lip it had had been completely obliterated by 4 days of crowds. It only looked that way when all those people were standing on it. If you look at the early footage w/ Johnson there, you can see a lip. > [@](#): > > It’s official-2 stroke penalty. You’d think fairness would take precedence here, given the shabby (at best) condition of the bunker, but I’m not an official. And Johnson now has 2 heartbreaking losses this year. I think the way they explained it makes sense. The players were explicitly warned about that issue before the tournament. Too bad for Johnson. Especially after that blow-up at the US Open. ETA: Go, Bubba! ---
**Author:** ![DKW](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dkw/32/3118_2.png) [@DKW](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DKW)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2010, 11:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-tiger-get-it-back/545533/129 "2010-08-15T23:37:40Z")
gonzomax - 12th, actually, since there’s a 2-way tie for 10th. As for reaching #1 based on “perfect attendance”…not quite. Rankings are based on the past two years, so one brief flash of dominance can’t make up for a long period of mediocrity (which is why Sergio Garcia never became #1 :D). More to the point, the ranking score is total points _divided by the number of events_ in the past two years. Someone who consistently makes the cut in a lot of tournaments but doesn’t crack the top five isn’t ever going to be anywhere near the top spot. The missed cut at the Crowne Plaza Invitational definitely hurt him, but he’s managed to rebound. One more win should ice it. ---
**Author:** ![Baron\_Greenback](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baron_greenback/32/48_2.png) [@Baron\_Greenback](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baron_Greenback)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2010, 11:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-tiger-get-it-back/545533/130 "2010-08-15T23:38:51Z")
> [@John\_DiFool](#): > > You’d think fairness would take precedence here, given the shabby (at best) condition of the bunker, but I’m not an official. Aye, golf is notorious for being fair to people who haven’t bothered to check the local rules. Or having consulted the PGA official accompanying them. In a major tournament. ---
**Author:** ![notfrommensa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/f14d63/32.png) [@notfrommensa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/notfrommensa)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2010, 12:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-tiger-get-it-back/545533/131 "2010-08-16T00:24:59Z")
> [@DKW](#): > > More to the point, the ranking score is total points _divided by the number of events_ in the past two years. Not quite, there is a minimum divisor. Including this weeks event, TW has played in only 27 events. Many of the events he is “missing” are from when he was rehabbing from his knee surgery. Which would be nearly depreciated by now. Other events he is missing, are from last winter, when he was rehabbing from a nine-iron to the side of the head, (or other things :dubious:). BTW, Congrats to Martin Kaymer. The shot on hole 17 in the playoff was incredible. FWIW, Martin Kaymer, like most of the golfers (male and female) from continental Europe, speaks English fluently. I doubt if many US-born pro golfers speaks any other language fluently. ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2010, 12:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-tiger-get-it-back/545533/132 "2010-08-16T00:30:30Z")
> [@notfrommensa](#): > > FWIW, Martin Kaymer, like most of the golfers (male and female) from continental Europe, speaks English fluently. I doubt if many US-born pro golfers speaks any other language fluently. Sorry for the hijack but why is this a big deal? It is beneficial nearly to the point of being a requirement for a European who wants to be successful in business, including athletics, to speak English. Not so much the other way around. If Americans needed to learn German to hugely increase their odds of becoming financially successful, most ambitious Americans would speak German. As it is, they can concentrate on other things. ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2010, 12:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-tiger-get-it-back/545533/133 "2010-08-16T00:46:03Z")
Johnson is an ass. From an [interview after his round](http://www.bunkershot.com/index.php?option=com_myblog&show=dustin-johnson-interview-pga-championships.html&Itemid=161): > [@](#): > > Q. Were you aware all week that even waste areas were considered bunkers here? Should have read the sheet? > DUSTIN JOHNSON: Yeah, I guess, I asked Nick, I said, “Did you know that”? He didn’t know that, either. > You know, I only look at it if I have a reason to, and I didn’t see I had a reason to. How do you know if you have a reason to unless you look at it, dipshit? If the caddy didn’t read the sheet either, he should be fired. That’s just straight up incompetence. Nothing unfair about what happened. If he didn’t know he was in a bunker, that’s only because he didn’t bother to do his homework. he was a victim of his own smug arrogance. Maybe now he’ll deign to find out what the course rules are. Ignorance was not an excuse. Professionals read the sheets. ---
**Author:** ![notfrommensa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/f14d63/32.png) [@notfrommensa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/notfrommensa)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2010, 12:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-tiger-get-it-back/545533/134 "2010-08-16T00:47:46Z")
Its not a big deal, and I didn’t mean it to be. It was more of an observation. I did notice that the Chinese golfer (Wen Chong Liang) that was playing well needed an interpreter. Many of the Korean Players (especially on the LPGA tour) need an interpreter. YE Yang, KJ Choi speak English but not fluently. Ryo Ishikawa, young hot shot player from Japan, is learning English… And yes, if I was a young ambitious person whose native language was not English, i would be learning English. In fact, the growth area in my business background is China. I have urged young people entering my industry to learn Chinese. I wish I did when I was younger. ---
**Author:** ![notfrommensa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/f14d63/32.png) [@notfrommensa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/notfrommensa)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2010, 1:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-tiger-get-it-back/545533/135 "2010-08-16T01:02:30Z")
[Official Statement from PGA of America](http://www.pga.com/pgachampionship/2010/event/loader.cfm?csModule=security/getfile&pageid=36224) > [@](#): > > Bunkers: All areas of the course that were designed and built as sand bunkers will be played as bunkers (hazards), whether or not they have been raked. This will mean that many bunkers positioned outside of the ropes, as well as some areas of bunkers inside the ropes, close to the rope line, will likely include numerous footprints, heel prints and tire tracks during the play of the Championship. Such irregularities of surface are a part of the game and no free relief will be available from these conditions ---
**Author:** ![John\_DiFool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_difool/32/19543_2.png) [@John\_DiFool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_DiFool)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2010, 2:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-tiger-get-it-back/545533/136 "2010-08-16T02:38:40Z")
> [@Baron\_Greenback](#): > > > [@John\_DiFool](#): > > > > You’d think fairness would take precedence here, given the shabby (at best) condition of the bunker, but I’m not an official. > > Aye, golf is notorious for being fair to people who haven’t bothered to check the local rules. Or having consulted the PGA official accompanying them. In a major tournament. Okay, some what-ifs (I acknowledge that from a strict reading of the local rule that he was guilty): what if the crowd not only collapsed the wall of the bunker (which appeared to be the case along part of its edge), but ended up tracking sand outside of its original boundaries, perhaps destroying the grass in the process? And a ball lands in such an area-was grass a week before the tourney, isn’t anymore. Is he still guilty? To me, if I was playing I would have suspected that it was a bunker and not grounded my club-it is hard for me to understand how that could “never have crossed my mind.” But in some proportion he got a raw deal. ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2010, 2:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-tiger-get-it-back/545533/137 "2010-08-16T02:48:52Z")
He got the same deal as everyone else in the field. ---
**Author:** ![gonzomax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e8c25b/32.png) [@gonzomax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzomax)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2010, 3:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-tiger-get-it-back/545533/138 "2010-08-16T03:07:57Z")
Just be happy that it was Johnson. What if the Chinese or Korean player had trouble deciding if that was a hazard. Then the language barrier would have been fun . Maybe we could have had an international incident. ---
**Author:** ![Baron\_Greenback](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baron_greenback/32/48_2.png) [@Baron\_Greenback](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baron_Greenback)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2010, 3:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-tiger-get-it-back/545533/139 "2010-08-16T03:37:50Z")
> [@John\_DiFool](#): > > Okay, some what-ifs (I acknowledge that from a strict reading of the local rule that he was guilty): what if the crowd not only collapsed the wall of the bunker (which appeared to be the case along part of its edge), but ended up tracking sand outside of its original boundaries, perhaps destroying the grass in the process? And a ball lands in such an area-was grass a week before the tourney, isn’t anymore. Is he still guilty? > > To me, if I was playing I would have suspected that it was a bunker and not grounded my club-it is hard for me to understand how that could “never have crossed my mind.” But in some proportion he got a raw deal. It’s the same rules as everyone else plays. _shrug_ ---
**Author:** ![gonzomax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e8c25b/32.png) [@gonzomax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzomax)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2010, 4:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-tiger-get-it-back/545533/140 "2010-08-16T04:07:51Z")
No shrug. He lost a chance to win a major. That is not easy for him. It was his fault. He should have not swung . But apparently it never crossed his mind that it was a sand trap. It didn’t look like one. But they claim 1200 traps on the course so you have to consider it. Just think if he sunk that last putt and they would take the victory away from him. So it could have been worse. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-tiger-get-it-back/545533.md?page=6) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-tiger-get-it-back/545533.md?page=8)