It's been quite a while since I posted a blog here, so thanks to all of you who have missed my blogging and/or left comments. After watching Phil Mickelson win his third Masters title this past Sunday, (and a BIG congratulations go out to you, Phil!) I felt inspired to blog again.
As those who follow the game closely know, "Lefty's" play had been very lackluster ever since winning the TOUR Championship last September. His finishes over that time: 19,45,8,24,14,30 and 35. Certainly not the type of play you would expect to preceed a major title. All of this got me to thinking about the last time Phil's play was lackluster - the latter part of the 2008 season into early 2009. Not coincidentally (in my opinion), the missing ingredient or common denominator was a certain man named Woods. Check out some numbers I just threw together on Phil on his PGA Tour play since the beginning of the 2008 season. By my count, "Lefty" has played 45 competitive PGA Tour events over that time. In 27 of those tournaments, Tiger was also in the field.
With Tiger in the field (27 tournaments):
Wins: 5 (18.5%)
Top 5's: 10 (37.0%)
Top 10's: 12 (44.4%)
Top 30's: 21 (77.8%)
Median: 14.5
Without Tiger in the field (18 tournaments):
Wins: 1 (5.6%) - note, win was the week prior to Tiger's last return
Top 5's: 3 (16.7%)
Top 10's: 5 (27.8%)
Top 30's: 12 (66.7%)
Median: 19.0
Pretty striking, isn't it? Phil was 3 1/3 times more likely to win with Tiger in the field than not! He was also 2 2/3 times more likely top have a top five finish with Tiger in the field. Given his often "go for broke" style of play, it's not too surprising that when he's out of contention, the "Tiger effect" isn't nearly as pronounced for Phil as shown by the median finishes of 14.5 with Tiger in the field vs. 19.0 without the world's #1 player amongst the competitors.
The bottom line based on the numbers of the past two plus years is that Tiger seems to inspire Phil's play. When Phil is near the top of the leaderboard, he's a MUCH better and more focused player and much more likely to place in the top 5 and/or win!
Showing posts with label Tiger Woods. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Tiger Woods. Show all posts
Wednesday, April 14, 2010
Monday, June 16, 2008
Tiger Goes 91 for 14th Major!
While many golf fans yesterday were thrilled with the thought of an 18 hole Monday playoff to determine the 2008 U.S. Open Champion, many of us who watched as Tiger Woods birdie effort on 18 curled in the right edge of the cup to force today's playoff with Rocco Mediate knew that we weren't going to have the opportunity to see much of it. Yes, Monday is a workday for most of us Americans, and getting a vacation day on a Monday with zero notice is pretty much next to impossible for many (me included). And "calling in sick" of course was never an option.
My morning break from 10:45-11:00 and my 12:30-1:30 lunch would be my only opportunities to see Tiger continue to chase Jack Nicklaus and his 18 majors, and Rocco try to make some history of his own. As I did some quick calculations, this meant I'd probably get to see them play the 8th or 9th hole on my break, and the 17th and 18th holes during the first half of my lunch hour. Little did I know that having that extra half hour in my lunch hour would turn out to be VERY important.
The first nine holes of the playoff were to be televised from 9-11am on ESPN, the final nine on NBC from 11am-1pm. I figured I'd bring my little portable TV into work to try to catch the NBC's coverage. Well, that turned out to be an exercise in futility as the computers in my office all but kill any VHF reception. Thankfully, I had my cellphone. With ESPN offering a constantly updated blog, I was able to keep up with the tournament almost minute to minute on my cellphone even while working.
Perhaps it was nerves, but Rocco had rough first hole, bogeying to fall one down. Both players would par the second hole. The tide turned on the par-3 third, as Tiger bogeyed and Rocco nearly holed out his tee shot, making a short birdie putt to take a one stroke lead. Both players parred the fourth hole.
Then came a remarkable stretch of 11 holes where at least one of the players made either a birdie or bogey. Rocco bogeyed the fifth to make it all square. Tiger then birdied the sixth and seventh to lead by two strokes. Tiger stumbled again on another par-3 - the 8th hole, with a bogey to lose a stroke off his lead. Rocco bogeyed the par-5 9th and the 10th holes to suddenly find himself three strokes back. It appeared to be all but over at that point.
Tiger Woods doesn't give up three stroke leads with eight holes to play very often. Rocco Mediate though was like the prize fighter who would go down, but you could never knock out. The 11th through 15th holes must have been something to see. Bogeys by Tiger on the 11th and 12th cut his lead to one. Both players birdied the par-5 13th hole. Rocco then birdied 14 to tie Tiger and then did it again on 15 to take a one stroke lead. Was this really happening? Was Tiger going to lose?
As my lunch started right at 12:30pm, I saw the players putting out on 16 for their pars. Rocco was at even par for the day, Tiger was at +1. Both players missed long birdie putts on 17 and tapped in for pars. The par-5 18th hole would again prove to be pivotal. Rocco hit first and pulled his shot into a bunker to the left of the fairway. Tiger striped his drive some 350 yards into the middle of the fairway. Rocco laid up with his approach shot, while Tiger's approach found the green about 45 feet away. Rocco's third shot is true, landing only about 15 feet away. Tiger's eagle putt was never online and ended up just under five feet from the hole. Rocco's birdie putt for the championship was left all along, rolling three feet past the hole. Tiger prowled around for seemingly forever before draining his birdie putt to tie Rocco for the lead. Rocco sank his 3-footer and with that, they were off to the 7th hole to begin a sudden death playoff. Both players had played the course in even par, 71 strokes. Yes, we were going to 91 holes and beyond!
Tiger's tee shot on the 91st hole just found the right edge of the fairway. Rocco's drive on his nemesis hole found a left fairway bunker. Rocco's second shot was hooked badly, just missing going into the bleachers. Tiger then stuck his approach a little less than 25 feet away from the pin on the right side of the green. Rocco takes a drop from his bad lie, and I mentioned to a co-worker that "it was sad that he had to lose this way"... Rocco's approach shot was about 20 feet beyond the hole. In order for the playoff to go on, either Rocco was going to have drain that putt, or Tiger would have to three-putt. It seemed that finally the 2008 Open U.S. was going to be decided. Tiger hit his putt firmly and perfectly online, but it stopped just a few inches short of the hole. He tapped in for his par, and then watched as Rocco lined up his putt to extend the match to a 92nd hole. The putt was hit firm, but read with too much break. It slid by on the high side, and with that, at 1:28 pm Pacific Time, Tiger Woods had won his 14th major. Rocco Mediate had won the hearts of millions all around the world... Seriously, how can anyone not like that guy? Three minutes later, I was back at my desk working. Blessed? You bet I was!!!... it could not have worked out more perfectly! I got to see some more history made, and boy was it amazing!!!
Congratulations to Tiger on his win, and congratulations to Rocco on such a truly inspiring performance... it wasn't too long ago that Rocco was contemplating retirement thanks to a bad back. We're all pretty thankful he didn't retire aren't we? GREAT job, Rocco! In defeat, you truly were victorious this week.
For an even more detailed breakdown of what happened today, go to the terrific www.PGATOUR.com website and this "blow by blow" account of Tiger vs Rocco...
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My morning break from 10:45-11:00 and my 12:30-1:30 lunch would be my only opportunities to see Tiger continue to chase Jack Nicklaus and his 18 majors, and Rocco try to make some history of his own. As I did some quick calculations, this meant I'd probably get to see them play the 8th or 9th hole on my break, and the 17th and 18th holes during the first half of my lunch hour. Little did I know that having that extra half hour in my lunch hour would turn out to be VERY important.
The first nine holes of the playoff were to be televised from 9-11am on ESPN, the final nine on NBC from 11am-1pm. I figured I'd bring my little portable TV into work to try to catch the NBC's coverage. Well, that turned out to be an exercise in futility as the computers in my office all but kill any VHF reception. Thankfully, I had my cellphone. With ESPN offering a constantly updated blog, I was able to keep up with the tournament almost minute to minute on my cellphone even while working.
Perhaps it was nerves, but Rocco had rough first hole, bogeying to fall one down. Both players would par the second hole. The tide turned on the par-3 third, as Tiger bogeyed and Rocco nearly holed out his tee shot, making a short birdie putt to take a one stroke lead. Both players parred the fourth hole.
Then came a remarkable stretch of 11 holes where at least one of the players made either a birdie or bogey. Rocco bogeyed the fifth to make it all square. Tiger then birdied the sixth and seventh to lead by two strokes. Tiger stumbled again on another par-3 - the 8th hole, with a bogey to lose a stroke off his lead. Rocco bogeyed the par-5 9th and the 10th holes to suddenly find himself three strokes back. It appeared to be all but over at that point.
Tiger Woods doesn't give up three stroke leads with eight holes to play very often. Rocco Mediate though was like the prize fighter who would go down, but you could never knock out. The 11th through 15th holes must have been something to see. Bogeys by Tiger on the 11th and 12th cut his lead to one. Both players birdied the par-5 13th hole. Rocco then birdied 14 to tie Tiger and then did it again on 15 to take a one stroke lead. Was this really happening? Was Tiger going to lose?
As my lunch started right at 12:30pm, I saw the players putting out on 16 for their pars. Rocco was at even par for the day, Tiger was at +1. Both players missed long birdie putts on 17 and tapped in for pars. The par-5 18th hole would again prove to be pivotal. Rocco hit first and pulled his shot into a bunker to the left of the fairway. Tiger striped his drive some 350 yards into the middle of the fairway. Rocco laid up with his approach shot, while Tiger's approach found the green about 45 feet away. Rocco's third shot is true, landing only about 15 feet away. Tiger's eagle putt was never online and ended up just under five feet from the hole. Rocco's birdie putt for the championship was left all along, rolling three feet past the hole. Tiger prowled around for seemingly forever before draining his birdie putt to tie Rocco for the lead. Rocco sank his 3-footer and with that, they were off to the 7th hole to begin a sudden death playoff. Both players had played the course in even par, 71 strokes. Yes, we were going to 91 holes and beyond!
Tiger's tee shot on the 91st hole just found the right edge of the fairway. Rocco's drive on his nemesis hole found a left fairway bunker. Rocco's second shot was hooked badly, just missing going into the bleachers. Tiger then stuck his approach a little less than 25 feet away from the pin on the right side of the green. Rocco takes a drop from his bad lie, and I mentioned to a co-worker that "it was sad that he had to lose this way"... Rocco's approach shot was about 20 feet beyond the hole. In order for the playoff to go on, either Rocco was going to have drain that putt, or Tiger would have to three-putt. It seemed that finally the 2008 Open U.S. was going to be decided. Tiger hit his putt firmly and perfectly online, but it stopped just a few inches short of the hole. He tapped in for his par, and then watched as Rocco lined up his putt to extend the match to a 92nd hole. The putt was hit firm, but read with too much break. It slid by on the high side, and with that, at 1:28 pm Pacific Time, Tiger Woods had won his 14th major. Rocco Mediate had won the hearts of millions all around the world... Seriously, how can anyone not like that guy? Three minutes later, I was back at my desk working. Blessed? You bet I was!!!... it could not have worked out more perfectly! I got to see some more history made, and boy was it amazing!!!
Congratulations to Tiger on his win, and congratulations to Rocco on such a truly inspiring performance... it wasn't too long ago that Rocco was contemplating retirement thanks to a bad back. We're all pretty thankful he didn't retire aren't we? GREAT job, Rocco! In defeat, you truly were victorious this week.
For an even more detailed breakdown of what happened today, go to the terrific www.PGATOUR.com website and this "blow by blow" account of Tiger vs Rocco...
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Saturday, June 14, 2008
Tiger = Terrific!
Yes, it can sometimes be boring to watch a tournament in which Tiger Woods is competing as he seemingly always wins. Truth of the matter is though that he doesn't always win - he came in second in the Masters this year and due to injury he didn't play in the Players Championship or Memorial tournaments. Playing with an obvious hobble and wretching in pain with every shot hit with his driver, just him being out and playing at the U.S. Open was a remarkable accomplishment. After shooting a 30 on his final nine holes yesterday, he was only a shot off the lead at 2-under par at the midway point.
Today, Tiger struggled mightily all day to get the ball in the fairway, double-bogeying the first hole for the second time in three days. Through 12 holes, he was three strokes over par for round, and 1-over par for the tournament. With six holes left to play, he was five strokes behind Rocco Mediate who had gotten to 4-under par. And then came the Tiger Show: Part 74...
On the par-5 13th hole, another wayward drive somehow found a good lie on the rough that had been trampled down by the gallery. His second shot found the back fringe of the green some 65 feet away. Tiger rolled the long, right-to-left curling putt with a deft touch... as it approached the hole, it looked to have a chance. Sure enough it found the bottom of the cup. A bogey by Mediate on the same hole minutes later trimmed the margin to two strokes. A wayward drive by Tiger on 14 led to a bogey, to put him back down three. Mediate would stumble again on 15, with a double bogey that would cost him the lead. At one under par, he now was a stroke behind the steady Lee Westwood who made two birdies, a bogey and 15 pars in his round. With these developments, Tiger was still two strokes back. Mediate would bogey 16 to drop to even par. Suddenly, Westwood was the only player left in the field who was under par.
Tiger parred both 15 and 16, and then hit his tee shot into the left rough on 17. His approach to the green was well short, leaving him a tricky pitch from an awkward lie. Tiger hit his shot, and it looked right away like he hit it too hard. The ball landed only a few feet from the hole, bounced in the air and then on it's way down glanced off the flagstick and into to the cup for an improbable birdie. Westwood was being interviewed by NBC at the time, and the interviewer told him he was the only player under par and started to ask him about what it would be like to be the leader going into the final round of a major. The interviewer had to correct himself as word reached him that Tiger had birdied 17 to get to 1-under.
On the par-5 18th, Tiger was simply trying to do one thing: hit the fairway. Since he had been slicing his shots most of the day, he figured he would just play the slice with both his tee and approach shots. He grimaced in pain after hitting both shots, but as his approach stopped some 35 feet above the cup, you almost knew what was going to happen. Tiger hit the put well left of where announcer Johnny Miller seemed to think it should be hit. Nonetheless, the ball started tracking towards the hole... and once again found the bottom for another eagle! Tiger was finally in familiar territory: in the lead going into the final round of a major! If you didn't see it happening for yourself, you probably have believed it. Then again, with Tiger we've come to expect the unexpected. Three of the most amazing shots that I've EVER seen in the space of six holes. WOW!
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Today, Tiger struggled mightily all day to get the ball in the fairway, double-bogeying the first hole for the second time in three days. Through 12 holes, he was three strokes over par for round, and 1-over par for the tournament. With six holes left to play, he was five strokes behind Rocco Mediate who had gotten to 4-under par. And then came the Tiger Show: Part 74...
On the par-5 13th hole, another wayward drive somehow found a good lie on the rough that had been trampled down by the gallery. His second shot found the back fringe of the green some 65 feet away. Tiger rolled the long, right-to-left curling putt with a deft touch... as it approached the hole, it looked to have a chance. Sure enough it found the bottom of the cup. A bogey by Mediate on the same hole minutes later trimmed the margin to two strokes. A wayward drive by Tiger on 14 led to a bogey, to put him back down three. Mediate would stumble again on 15, with a double bogey that would cost him the lead. At one under par, he now was a stroke behind the steady Lee Westwood who made two birdies, a bogey and 15 pars in his round. With these developments, Tiger was still two strokes back. Mediate would bogey 16 to drop to even par. Suddenly, Westwood was the only player left in the field who was under par.
Tiger parred both 15 and 16, and then hit his tee shot into the left rough on 17. His approach to the green was well short, leaving him a tricky pitch from an awkward lie. Tiger hit his shot, and it looked right away like he hit it too hard. The ball landed only a few feet from the hole, bounced in the air and then on it's way down glanced off the flagstick and into to the cup for an improbable birdie. Westwood was being interviewed by NBC at the time, and the interviewer told him he was the only player under par and started to ask him about what it would be like to be the leader going into the final round of a major. The interviewer had to correct himself as word reached him that Tiger had birdied 17 to get to 1-under.
On the par-5 18th, Tiger was simply trying to do one thing: hit the fairway. Since he had been slicing his shots most of the day, he figured he would just play the slice with both his tee and approach shots. He grimaced in pain after hitting both shots, but as his approach stopped some 35 feet above the cup, you almost knew what was going to happen. Tiger hit the put well left of where announcer Johnny Miller seemed to think it should be hit. Nonetheless, the ball started tracking towards the hole... and once again found the bottom for another eagle! Tiger was finally in familiar territory: in the lead going into the final round of a major! If you didn't see it happening for yourself, you probably have believed it. Then again, with Tiger we've come to expect the unexpected. Three of the most amazing shots that I've EVER seen in the space of six holes. WOW!
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Tuesday, March 25, 2008
Oglivy Slays Goliath AGAIN!
It wasn't at a major this time as it was in the 2006 U.S. Open, when Geoff Oglivy came from one stroke behind while sitting in the clubhouse to defeat both Colin Montgomery and Phil Mickelson on the 72nd hole as the two Goliath's both managed to double-bogey it, to go from one up to one down.
Still his accomplishment this weekend at the famed "Blue Monster" course in a rain-delayed event which ended on Monday afternoon was against just as stellar a field as that major win, and also included a player who hadn't lost in over six months! Yes, Tiger Woods' quest for a perfect season ended as he could only close with a four under par 68 to get to 15-under par - two strokes behind the winner and alone in 5th place. By the way, that top 5 finish was his 9th consecutive one, the most top 5's in a row he's had in his illustrious career.
Woods wasn't the only Goliath, Oglivy slayed this weekend. Vijay Singh, Retief Goosen and Jim Furyk (all of whom have been in the top 5 of the World Golf Rankings at some point in the past two years) finished a stroke back at 16 under to tie for second.
A little more than two weeks from now, the Masters begins... with Woods in top form, and Oglivy and many others looking to challenge it should be an interesing week.
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Still his accomplishment this weekend at the famed "Blue Monster" course in a rain-delayed event which ended on Monday afternoon was against just as stellar a field as that major win, and also included a player who hadn't lost in over six months! Yes, Tiger Woods' quest for a perfect season ended as he could only close with a four under par 68 to get to 15-under par - two strokes behind the winner and alone in 5th place. By the way, that top 5 finish was his 9th consecutive one, the most top 5's in a row he's had in his illustrious career.
Woods wasn't the only Goliath, Oglivy slayed this weekend. Vijay Singh, Retief Goosen and Jim Furyk (all of whom have been in the top 5 of the World Golf Rankings at some point in the past two years) finished a stroke back at 16 under to tie for second.
A little more than two weeks from now, the Masters begins... with Woods in top form, and Oglivy and many others looking to challenge it should be an interesing week.
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Sunday, March 16, 2008
Tiger Makes Bart Go D'oh!
I'm not sure when or if Tiger Woods is ever going to lose another golf tournament. Just when you think he is hopelessly out, he somehow manages to show the intestinal fortitude that makes him Tiger and does something that amazes even me. As Saturday's third round started in the Arnold Palmer Invitational, Tiger started the day seven strokes behind a pretty good player in his own right, Vijay Singh. Singh stumbled badly to begin his third round, going four over par the first three holes to let a bunch of players (including Tiger) back into the tournament. When the dust had settled and the third round was completed, Tiger had fired a four-under-par 66 and was tied for the lead with Singh and three others including last week's winner, Sean O'Hair, who tossed up a 7-under par 63 to make up 10 strokes!
So what happened on Sunday? Well, Tiger did his usual Sunday thing, putting himself two strokes ahead of the rest of the field after three birdies on the first nine holes. Tiger looked to make the advantage three strokes on the next hole, but Bart Bryant a group ahead of him birdied it to take the margin back to a stroke. Tiger minutes later uncharacteristically three-putted the same hole for a bogey and suddenly the two were tied for the lead at 8-under par. Bryant bogeyed 11 and birdied 12 to remain even with Tiger. About 20 minutes later, Tiger rolled in a birdie putt on 13 to take another one stroke lead. Bryant matched that with a birdie of his own on 15.
As the holes dwindled, neither player relented, though both did probably play it safe on 18. With two strokes on the rest of the field (Singh, O'Hair and Cliff Kreske), there was no sense in either of them trying to take the ball over the water and at the pin. Bryant's shot landed safely nearly 40 feet from the pin. He got his first putt within 8 inches and made his tap-in par to get into the clubhouse at 9-under par. 15 minutes later, Tiger hit his approach shot to about 22 feet. During the tournaments first 71 holes, the longest putt Tiger had made all week was a little short of 19 feet. He was 0-for-21 on putts of 20 feet or more as he approached his possible tournament winning putt. The moment he hit the putt, it looked like it had a chance it curled and turned right and turned more as it slowed and just about as it's stopping it found it's way into the center of the cup for a dramatic birdie to win the tournament. Tiger was as pumped as I've ever seen him, taking his cap off and slamming it to the ground while doing his usual celebratory fist-pump...
There are many times with Tiger's victories seem routine and boring - this certainly wasn't one of them. With the 64th win of his career, Tiger tied Ben Hogan for third in the all-time list for PGA Tour wins, and it marks the fifth time he's won Arnie's tournament.
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So what happened on Sunday? Well, Tiger did his usual Sunday thing, putting himself two strokes ahead of the rest of the field after three birdies on the first nine holes. Tiger looked to make the advantage three strokes on the next hole, but Bart Bryant a group ahead of him birdied it to take the margin back to a stroke. Tiger minutes later uncharacteristically three-putted the same hole for a bogey and suddenly the two were tied for the lead at 8-under par. Bryant bogeyed 11 and birdied 12 to remain even with Tiger. About 20 minutes later, Tiger rolled in a birdie putt on 13 to take another one stroke lead. Bryant matched that with a birdie of his own on 15.
As the holes dwindled, neither player relented, though both did probably play it safe on 18. With two strokes on the rest of the field (Singh, O'Hair and Cliff Kreske), there was no sense in either of them trying to take the ball over the water and at the pin. Bryant's shot landed safely nearly 40 feet from the pin. He got his first putt within 8 inches and made his tap-in par to get into the clubhouse at 9-under par. 15 minutes later, Tiger hit his approach shot to about 22 feet. During the tournaments first 71 holes, the longest putt Tiger had made all week was a little short of 19 feet. He was 0-for-21 on putts of 20 feet or more as he approached his possible tournament winning putt. The moment he hit the putt, it looked like it had a chance it curled and turned right and turned more as it slowed and just about as it's stopping it found it's way into the center of the cup for a dramatic birdie to win the tournament. Tiger was as pumped as I've ever seen him, taking his cap off and slamming it to the ground while doing his usual celebratory fist-pump...
There are many times with Tiger's victories seem routine and boring - this certainly wasn't one of them. With the 64th win of his career, Tiger tied Ben Hogan for third in the all-time list for PGA Tour wins, and it marks the fifth time he's won Arnie's tournament.
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Sunday, February 24, 2008
Tiger Sinks Cink for #64!
PGA tour player J.B. Holmes was thisclose to earning himself the nickname "Dragonslayer" in a short span of 18 days. On February 3rd, he birdied the 18th hole and the first playoff hole to down the world's #2 player, Phil Mickelson in the FBR Open. In Wednesday's first round of the Accenture Match Play Championship, Holmes had the world's #1 player, Tiger Woods on the ropes. The 64th ranked player in the field was up on Tiger by three holes with five to play. Somehow, the Tiger wriggled free with a birdie-birdie-birdie-eagle sequence to turn the tables and move forward. So close, yet so far away... Holmes has to continue to settle for the name "Philslayer,"... somehow that just doesn't have the same ring to it as "Dragonslayer."
Tiger made it through that trial and a couple of other close calls to get into today's 36 hole final match against his good friend, Stuart Cink. Not surprisingly, Tiger displayed his typical Sunday closer form, blitzing Cink with birdies early and often. Both players birdied the first hole... and that was as close as the match would be. Tiger birdied five of the next 10 holes to take a commanding 5-up lead through 11. Cink did manage to briefly make it a match again, trimming the Tiger lead to 3-up as he birdied 12 and 16, while Tiger was in the midst of making five straight pars. Birdies by Tiger on the 17th and 20th holes quickly extended the lead back to a 5-up advantage. After both players bogeyed the par-5 fifth (23rd) hole, Tiger effectively closed out with birdies on the 24th, 25th and 26th holes. Cink did manage to have a lone highlight, curling in a long 40-foot eagle putt on the 28th hole, doing a mock "Tiger pump" in celebration. Tiger had a putt of the same length and nearly holed it as well. The match ended on the next hole as Tiger stuck his approach shot to within two feet of the pin (the birdie putt was conceded), while Cink missed his birdie putt from about 12 feet.
The win was the 64th of Tiger's career putting him in sole possession of the fourth spot on the all-time list. He's as beatable as ever, isn't he Rory? Doesn't it seem like since the infamous Sabbatini comment that Tiger has become more UNBEATABLE than ever? Tiger certainly didn't need anyone to rile him up, but it appears that's exactly what has happened and this had just made things even worse for the rest of the touring players.
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Tiger made it through that trial and a couple of other close calls to get into today's 36 hole final match against his good friend, Stuart Cink. Not surprisingly, Tiger displayed his typical Sunday closer form, blitzing Cink with birdies early and often. Both players birdied the first hole... and that was as close as the match would be. Tiger birdied five of the next 10 holes to take a commanding 5-up lead through 11. Cink did manage to briefly make it a match again, trimming the Tiger lead to 3-up as he birdied 12 and 16, while Tiger was in the midst of making five straight pars. Birdies by Tiger on the 17th and 20th holes quickly extended the lead back to a 5-up advantage. After both players bogeyed the par-5 fifth (23rd) hole, Tiger effectively closed out with birdies on the 24th, 25th and 26th holes. Cink did manage to have a lone highlight, curling in a long 40-foot eagle putt on the 28th hole, doing a mock "Tiger pump" in celebration. Tiger had a putt of the same length and nearly holed it as well. The match ended on the next hole as Tiger stuck his approach shot to within two feet of the pin (the birdie putt was conceded), while Cink missed his birdie putt from about 12 feet.
The win was the 64th of Tiger's career putting him in sole possession of the fourth spot on the all-time list. He's as beatable as ever, isn't he Rory? Doesn't it seem like since the infamous Sabbatini comment that Tiger has become more UNBEATABLE than ever? Tiger certainly didn't need anyone to rile him up, but it appears that's exactly what has happened and this had just made things even worse for the rest of the touring players.
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Friday, February 22, 2008
Tiger, Vijay Gut Out Wins
Arron Baddeley played perhaps the round of his life today in the Accenture Match Play Championships against Tiger Woods, and still it wasn't good enough. 10 birdies and a bogey in 20 holes. Baddeley had chances to end the match on both the 18th and 19th holes, but both times he missed. With Baddeley playing so well, Woods had to bring his "A Game" today, and he most certainly did. Woods had 11 birdies and a bogey in his first 19 holes and then rolled in a 13-foot birdie putt on the 20th hole to finally end the match. Woods will take on K.J. Choi tomorrow in the round of 8.
20 holes though was nothing in terms of overtime play today. After beating "the Tiger slayer" Niklas Fasth yesterday, Vijay Singh had to go SEVEN extra holes to win his match today against Rod Pampling. In contrast to the Tiger-Baddeley match though, this one was a virtual snooze-fest. Singh only made three birdies all day to go with his two bogeys, but it was good enough as Pampling could only manage four birdies of his own. Bogeys were his undoing as he had four of them on the day including a fatal one on the par-5 25th hole.
Live coverage of the quarterfinals (elite-8) can be seen starting Saturday morning at 10:00 AM ET/7:00 AM PT on the Golf Channel. NBC takes over coverage with the semi-finals starting at 2:00 PM ET/11:00 AM PT.
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20 holes though was nothing in terms of overtime play today. After beating "the Tiger slayer" Niklas Fasth yesterday, Vijay Singh had to go SEVEN extra holes to win his match today against Rod Pampling. In contrast to the Tiger-Baddeley match though, this one was a virtual snooze-fest. Singh only made three birdies all day to go with his two bogeys, but it was good enough as Pampling could only manage four birdies of his own. Bogeys were his undoing as he had four of them on the day including a fatal one on the par-5 25th hole.
Live coverage of the quarterfinals (elite-8) can be seen starting Saturday morning at 10:00 AM ET/7:00 AM PT on the Golf Channel. NBC takes over coverage with the semi-finals starting at 2:00 PM ET/11:00 AM PT.
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Thursday, February 21, 2008
Appleby Ends Lefty's Week
The fans at this week's Accenture Match Play Championship were hoping that against all odds, Phil Mickelson and Tiger Woods would wind up facing off against each other in Sunday's 36 hole finale. The hopes for a battle between the world's two tip ranked players was thwarted though. "Lefty" played very well today against Stuart Appleby in his second round match, but unfortunately it wasn't good enough as the Aussie was even better. Mickelson lost 2-and-1 to Appleby despite making six birdies and an eagle. Appleby made nine birdies in his 17 holes of play, including one on the final hole to end the match. As for Woods, he had a relatively easy time against Arron Oberholser getting to 4-up after 11 holes, and then cruising to a 3-and-2 win with a par on 16.
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Monday, January 28, 2008
Tiger Tames Torrey Pines
For a three hole stretch on Sunday, Tiger Woods actually did look "beatable" as Rory Sabbatini would like to say. After getting to 21-under par and flirting with the tournament record, Tiger uncharacteristically bogeyed three consecutive holes (14 thru 16). But alas, the lead was still seven strokes after his rare misstep. A birdie on 18 sealed the amazing week for Tiger. His 19-under par total of 269 was eight strokes better than Ryudi Imada who closed with a 5-under par 67 to tie for the low round of the day. Sabbatini matched Imada's score to tie for third with Stewart Cink at 9-under par. Phil Mickelson battled a respiratory infection all weekend to finish at 6-under par and tied for sixth. 48-year-old Fred Couples closed with an even par 72 to finish at 5-under and tied for 8th. For "Boom Boom" this week marked a remarkable comeback. Back injuries plaged him all year as he only played three events in 2007. It was his first top 10 finish since the 2006 Masters where he finished third to Mickelson.
There were several highlights to Tiger's final round. A remarkable pitch from behind the green to save a par on the 9th hole - where mere mortals would have been happy to get it to within 15 feet, he stuck it to within a foot and a half. On 11, Tiger was about 65 feet away from the hole with a long curling putt for birdie. From that distance, all you're trying to do is get it close. Well, Tiger read the putt perfectly and as you can probably guess, the ball somehow found the middle of the cup after rolling for nearly 10 seconds. Check out the shot of the day, if you haven't seen it yet. For Tiger it was his fourth straight win of the Buick and his 62nd career win to tie the great Arnold Palmer for fourth on the PGA's all-time list.
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There were several highlights to Tiger's final round. A remarkable pitch from behind the green to save a par on the 9th hole - where mere mortals would have been happy to get it to within 15 feet, he stuck it to within a foot and a half. On 11, Tiger was about 65 feet away from the hole with a long curling putt for birdie. From that distance, all you're trying to do is get it close. Well, Tiger read the putt perfectly and as you can probably guess, the ball somehow found the middle of the cup after rolling for nearly 10 seconds. Check out the shot of the day, if you haven't seen it yet. For Tiger it was his fourth straight win of the Buick and his 62nd career win to tie the great Arnold Palmer for fourth on the PGA's all-time list.
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Sunday, January 27, 2008
Tiger on Cruise Control at Buick
For a brief moment of yesterday's Buick Invitational, Phil Mickelson made a charge to get within five strokes of Tiger Woods. "Lefty" shot a 6-under par 30 on the back nine at Torrey Pines to get to 7-under par for the tournament. He struggled on his final nine though, shooting a 2-over 38 for a 4-under par 68 total. At five under par, Phil now finds himself 13 strokes back of Tiger. The world's #1 player shot a bogey-free 6-under par 66 to get to 18-under par, and an amazing eight strokes ahead of Stewart Cink and the rest of the field. Tiger's 62nd career win (to tie Arnold Palmer for 4th on the all-time list) is almost a foregone conclusion, the only question is the weather. There's a 90% chance of rain for the San Diego area today. So, round four may or may not be finishing today. A rare Monday finish may be in the cards. Weather permitting, live coverage of the final round starts on your local CBS affiliate at 3PM ET/12 noon PT.
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Friday, January 25, 2008
New Year, Same Ol' Tiger...
The year may now read 2008, but for Tiger Woods, that number hardly seems to matter as he continued this year right where he left off from in 2007 - in command of a tournament at the midway point. Tiger shot a 7-under par 65 to move to 12-under par and four strokes ahead of Kevin Streelman, a third alternate who wasn't even expecting to tee it up this weekend at Torrey Pines. Stewart Cink lies another stroke back at 7-under. Boo Weekley tied for the second best round of the day with a 6-under par 66, and is amongst a group six strokes behind Tiger. Fred Couples turned in a surprising 3-under 69, and is tied for 9th at 4-under par. Amongst the other notables, Vijay Singh and Jim Furyk both sit at 3-under par, while Phil Mickelson is at 1-under par after a 73. Last week's winner, K.J. Choi was amongst those to miss the even par cut line, finishing at 5-over par after a 77 today.
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Getting My Phil of Tiger
Thankfully, neither Phil Mickelson nor Tiger Woods played either of the past two weeks when I was not watching the Golf Channel. This week marks what most would call the official start of the season as both Phil and Tiger are playing at this weekend's Buick Invitational at Torrey Pines in La Jolla, CA (not far from San Diego). Woods got off to a good start, shooting a 5-under par score of 67 to finish the day tied for third, two strokes behind first round leader Troy Matteson. Mickelson wasn't too bad himself, shooting a 2-under par 70 to finish the day tied for 21st. Not bad for a guy fighting a respiratory infection. You can watch three hours of live coverage of the remainder of the second round starting at 3PM ET/12 PM PT today on the Golf Channel, and over the weekend on CBS.
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Thursday, January 10, 2008
PGA Players Siding With Tilghman...
... as the saga continues... I'm hoping the Golf Channel will do the right thing and reinstate Kelly Tilghman IMMEDIATELY to her position as co-anchor on their telecasts. Here are some comments from some of the PGA Tour's players:
"There was no ill intent at all. I think it was just a slip, and they said that Tiger has already forgiven her. I think when you're in the TV tower for that many hours, you're going to wish you didn't say some things probably, and that was one thing that slipped out. I think you've got to give them a little grace.
"Her integrity, how Kelly is respected out here, is pretty good. I think Tiger really likes Kelly, so that helped squash it. Because Tiger could have run off with that if he took it the wrong way. But he didn't, so that was good." - Fred Funk
"I'm sure Kelly wishes she never said that. I haven't spoken with Tiger, but I've been told that they've had their talk and they've discussed it. Anything I say is kind of just like pouring salt in the wound at this point. Obviously, she would love to not have said that and for it not to be news. I'm glad that her and Tiger spoke." - Jim Furyk
... more to come on this one, and more player's comments as I find them. What would be really nice would be for Tiger himself to make a statement.
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"There was no ill intent at all. I think it was just a slip, and they said that Tiger has already forgiven her. I think when you're in the TV tower for that many hours, you're going to wish you didn't say some things probably, and that was one thing that slipped out. I think you've got to give them a little grace.
"Her integrity, how Kelly is respected out here, is pretty good. I think Tiger really likes Kelly, so that helped squash it. Because Tiger could have run off with that if he took it the wrong way. But he didn't, so that was good." - Fred Funk
"I'm sure Kelly wishes she never said that. I haven't spoken with Tiger, but I've been told that they've had their talk and they've discussed it. Anything I say is kind of just like pouring salt in the wound at this point. Obviously, she would love to not have said that and for it not to be news. I'm glad that her and Tiger spoke." - Jim Furyk
... more to come on this one, and more player's comments as I find them. What would be really nice would be for Tiger himself to make a statement.
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Wednesday, January 9, 2008
Kelly Tilghman & Tiger Woods are STILL friends...
... just in case you missed it or were told otherwise. And Fuzzy Zoeller is still a good friend of Tiger's as well.
Another day, another instance of the sports media being overly sensitive and not doing their research before going off on someone. This past weekend, the PGA Tour held it's first event of the season (the Mercedes-Benz Championship) in Hawaii. During the third round coverage of the tournament the Golf Channel's Kelly Tilghman and Nick Faldo were talking about Tiger Woods (who was not present at the event) and the chances of someone beating him. I was watching coverage of the tournament and listening to the bantor when Kelly jokingly said that the only way to test him would be to "lynch him in a back alley." Clearly, no harm was intended, but someone went off and ran a story on the non-story, causing a media uproar.
The media circus around the non-story grew to such a level that Tiger's agent Mark Steinberg had to issue a statement today. Steinberg stated "this story is a non-issue. Tiger and Kelly are friends and Tiger has a great deal of respect for Kelly. Regardless of the choice of words used we know unequivocally that there was no ill-intent in her comments. This story is a non-issue in our eyes. Case closed."
It's interesting that a golfer like Rory Sabbatini can berate a fan with an expletive-filled tirade and not even get a fine out of it (he actually got the fan ejected), yet a non-story like this can garner headlines. One can only hope that the people covering the golf world in the future would be more focused on those who are actually doing wrong (and continuing to set a bad example) like Sabbatini and doing something about it, and less focused on the politcal correctness of an innocent comment by one of the tour's most-liked and qualified commentators.
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Another day, another instance of the sports media being overly sensitive and not doing their research before going off on someone. This past weekend, the PGA Tour held it's first event of the season (the Mercedes-Benz Championship) in Hawaii. During the third round coverage of the tournament the Golf Channel's Kelly Tilghman and Nick Faldo were talking about Tiger Woods (who was not present at the event) and the chances of someone beating him. I was watching coverage of the tournament and listening to the bantor when Kelly jokingly said that the only way to test him would be to "lynch him in a back alley." Clearly, no harm was intended, but someone went off and ran a story on the non-story, causing a media uproar.
The media circus around the non-story grew to such a level that Tiger's agent Mark Steinberg had to issue a statement today. Steinberg stated "this story is a non-issue. Tiger and Kelly are friends and Tiger has a great deal of respect for Kelly. Regardless of the choice of words used we know unequivocally that there was no ill-intent in her comments. This story is a non-issue in our eyes. Case closed."
It's interesting that a golfer like Rory Sabbatini can berate a fan with an expletive-filled tirade and not even get a fine out of it (he actually got the fan ejected), yet a non-story like this can garner headlines. One can only hope that the people covering the golf world in the future would be more focused on those who are actually doing wrong (and continuing to set a bad example) like Sabbatini and doing something about it, and less focused on the politcal correctness of an innocent comment by one of the tour's most-liked and qualified commentators.
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Sunday, December 16, 2007
Tiger Roars, Rory Bails...
For Tiger Woods, Sunday was just another walk in the park so to speak, as he weathered a brief Jim Furyk challenge on the front nine and went on to dominate the tournament and finish with a record-tying score of 22 under par and a seven stroke win over 2007 Master's champion Zach Johnson at the Target World Challenge held at Sherwood Country Club here in Thousand Oaks. The turning point of the round came on the 10th hole as Furyk hit his approach to within about 4 1/2 feet. Furyk had pulled within two shots of Tiger with four birdies on the front nine and with Tiger about 10 feet away for his birdie putt, it looked like Furyk may trim the margin to one. That wasn't in the cards though as Tiger rolled in his birdie and Furyk inexplicably three putted for a bogey. The margin was back to four strokes. Tiger added an exclamation point to his day by draining a 25 foot eagle putt on the 16th hole.
Perhaps the bigger story though was the sudden departure of Rory Sabbatini before the round started. Sabbatini was 10 over par and 28 strokes behind Tiger after three rounds of play. He then informed tour officials that he was withdrawing for "personal reasons." This withdrawel left Brett Wetterlich to play his final 18 holes all by himself, and left the other 14 players perplexed. Fred Couples went as far to say that "Tiger deserves better than that," while others thought that he owed it to Tiger to finish the tournament. Another player probably echoed the sentiments of most in attendance stating, "the fans didn't miss him anyways, they were probably happy he was gone." Never in the nine year history of the tournament had anyone ever withdrawen. Don't look for Sabbatini to be invited back by Tiger anytime soon. After the fiasco he created with his now infamous "he looks beatable" comment, this weekend was a great opportunity for Sabbatini to mend some fences with Tiger and create some positive experiences for those in attendance. It's not really in my nature to root against any particular player, but Rory Sabbatini was a lone exception coming into this weekend due to his brashness... he had an oppotunity this weekend to pick up some "brownie points" in my eyes, but as with everyone else, he miserably failed.
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Perhaps the bigger story though was the sudden departure of Rory Sabbatini before the round started. Sabbatini was 10 over par and 28 strokes behind Tiger after three rounds of play. He then informed tour officials that he was withdrawing for "personal reasons." This withdrawel left Brett Wetterlich to play his final 18 holes all by himself, and left the other 14 players perplexed. Fred Couples went as far to say that "Tiger deserves better than that," while others thought that he owed it to Tiger to finish the tournament. Another player probably echoed the sentiments of most in attendance stating, "the fans didn't miss him anyways, they were probably happy he was gone." Never in the nine year history of the tournament had anyone ever withdrawen. Don't look for Sabbatini to be invited back by Tiger anytime soon. After the fiasco he created with his now infamous "he looks beatable" comment, this weekend was a great opportunity for Sabbatini to mend some fences with Tiger and create some positive experiences for those in attendance. It's not really in my nature to root against any particular player, but Rory Sabbatini was a lone exception coming into this weekend due to his brashness... he had an oppotunity this weekend to pick up some "brownie points" in my eyes, but as with everyone else, he miserably failed.
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Saturday, December 15, 2007
Tracking The Tiger (and Freddie) - Part Deux!
Though the Sherwood Country Club here in Thousand Oaks has been in existance for 18 years now, today was the first time that I actually took in a golf tournament there. I was up brighter and earlier than usual for a Saturday morning - 6 a.m. - so that I would be to the course nice and early and get a chance to see the 16 players hit the practice tee. Brett Wetterlich's caddy was the first person to make his way there, followed by Rory Sabbatini at 9 a.m sharp. The players and their caddies gradually kept trickling in, and then a very loud cheer came up as fan favorite Fred Couples made his way over at 9:25... I've been a big fan on Freddie's for a very long time, so getting to see him close and hitting shot after shot almost effortlessly with his picture-perfect swing was a treat in itself.
About 15 minutes later, Tiger Woods and his playing partner for today, Jim Furyk, came to the tee and lucky for me, Tiger (like Freddie) was directly in front of where I was standing. I guess I picked a good spot. The best part of Tiger's practice time was when he was going through his routine and taking very slow deliberate swings with his driver, striking the ball hard enough to only move it perhaps 20 yards. During the routine, Furyk chimed in "none of us knows what the 'heck' he's doing either!" - obviously making reference to Tiger's dominance and how he makes it look so easy on the course. The crowd, Tiger, and everyone else just busted up laughing... it was definitely an ice-breaker! Speaking of that, an ice-breaker could have been used on the golf course as there was a light dusting of frost literally everywhere even as late as 10 a.m.
As Tiger neared the end of his practice routine, the crowd started to thin out. The first group of the day - Sabbatini and Colin Montgomerie - teed off at 9:50 a.m. Given that I'm a big fan of both Freddie and Tiger, I figured I would try to follow them both as much as possible. Surveying the course, it looked like the 5th green would be an ideal place to catch a lot of play and a glimpse of everyone, so I parked myself there about 10:40 or so and watched the groups trickle in. It turned out to be a GREAT place to watch from as the pin was very close to the back edge of the green... Also, I have to admit the company there was great as well! A very nice couple from Orange County made the 45 minute drive to be there for a second straight year. For the next hour or so, that couple, along with about five or six others and I talked about all kinds of golf-related things and as we watched the players stream in. Seeing a few of the pros hitting balls into the trees and hazards made us all feel a little bit better about our own games! :)
Wetterlich and Niclas Fasth were the first pair we all saw there, followed by Couples and Lee Westwood. Henrik Stenson and Mark Calcavecchia were next and provided the first big highlight of the day as "Calc" drove the par-5 hole in two shots and narrowly missed an eagle putt. Minutes later, Luke Donald and Steve Stricker's group provided another highlight as "Strick" nearly holed out his third shot from the fairway, the ball stopping just inches from the hole as he spun it back from about 10 feet past the pin. About a half hour later, Woods and Furyk both drove the green in two shots. Both would two-putt for birdies, getting Tiger to 15 under par, and Furyk to 12 under for the tournament.
With the final grouping finished with the 5th hole, our little group disbanded and went our separate ways. I was hoping to catch back up to the Couples/Westwood group at the 9th hole, but they were already gone, so I watched Donald and Sticker play the hole before heading to the 10th green where I followed that twosome and three more as we all awaited Tiger. Woods drove the ball only about 320 yards and had a simple wedge shot to the pin, which he stuck to about two feet for a gimme birdie.
One thing that I quickly learned about Sherwood was that it takes a lot of walking to get from one hole to the next. Following a golfer isn't nearly as easy as it was at the AT&T in our nation's capital on my birthday... In another effort to catch up with Couples, I headed to the nearby 16th hole. Freddie had found the trees off the tee and scrambled to hit a great 4th shot to within four feet of the pin. It just wasn't his day today though as he missed the par putt. I followed the Couples/Westwood twosome to the 17th and 18th holes... They arrived to a rousing ovation on 18 - most of the cheers were obviously for Freddie. He settled for a 4 over par round of 76. After a year plagued by back injuries where the Masters was his only full competitive tournament of the year, it was nice just to have the opportunity to see him play.
As the groups arrived at 18, I noticed a very familiar face being interviewed by the Golf Channel - longtime resident and actor Tom Selleck of Magnum P.I. fame! Many of the fans in attendance (not me) actually got his autograph. I did get 2007 Masters Champion Zach Johnson's autograph, and also got to talk so Furyk for a few seconds after the round was over. Johnson gave all of us a thrill on the closing hole as he hit the flag with his approach shot. Unfortunately, the ball finished about 10 feet to the right of the hole, and he wasn't able to make the putt. He finished the day at 11 under par and in solo third place. Furyk missed his birdie chance on 18, but made a par to finish at 12 under and remain in the runner-up chair. What did Tiger do? Well, he hit his approach about eight feet under the hole, curled his putt into the left edge of the cup for his 7th birdie of the day (to go along with two bogeys) for a 5 under-par 67. At 18 under par, Tiger is now six strokes clear of the field and looks set to win his tournament again this year...
By 3 p.m., it was all over, though many of us hung around and hoped to catch one last glimpse of our favorite players - Tiger did come out about 3:45 p.m. or so, but only signed a couple of autographs... He's quite busy now that he's a father... A fun time was had by all in attendance and I look forward to attending again next year!
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About 15 minutes later, Tiger Woods and his playing partner for today, Jim Furyk, came to the tee and lucky for me, Tiger (like Freddie) was directly in front of where I was standing. I guess I picked a good spot. The best part of Tiger's practice time was when he was going through his routine and taking very slow deliberate swings with his driver, striking the ball hard enough to only move it perhaps 20 yards. During the routine, Furyk chimed in "none of us knows what the 'heck' he's doing either!" - obviously making reference to Tiger's dominance and how he makes it look so easy on the course. The crowd, Tiger, and everyone else just busted up laughing... it was definitely an ice-breaker! Speaking of that, an ice-breaker could have been used on the golf course as there was a light dusting of frost literally everywhere even as late as 10 a.m.
As Tiger neared the end of his practice routine, the crowd started to thin out. The first group of the day - Sabbatini and Colin Montgomerie - teed off at 9:50 a.m. Given that I'm a big fan of both Freddie and Tiger, I figured I would try to follow them both as much as possible. Surveying the course, it looked like the 5th green would be an ideal place to catch a lot of play and a glimpse of everyone, so I parked myself there about 10:40 or so and watched the groups trickle in. It turned out to be a GREAT place to watch from as the pin was very close to the back edge of the green... Also, I have to admit the company there was great as well! A very nice couple from Orange County made the 45 minute drive to be there for a second straight year. For the next hour or so, that couple, along with about five or six others and I talked about all kinds of golf-related things and as we watched the players stream in. Seeing a few of the pros hitting balls into the trees and hazards made us all feel a little bit better about our own games! :)
Wetterlich and Niclas Fasth were the first pair we all saw there, followed by Couples and Lee Westwood. Henrik Stenson and Mark Calcavecchia were next and provided the first big highlight of the day as "Calc" drove the par-5 hole in two shots and narrowly missed an eagle putt. Minutes later, Luke Donald and Steve Stricker's group provided another highlight as "Strick" nearly holed out his third shot from the fairway, the ball stopping just inches from the hole as he spun it back from about 10 feet past the pin. About a half hour later, Woods and Furyk both drove the green in two shots. Both would two-putt for birdies, getting Tiger to 15 under par, and Furyk to 12 under for the tournament.
With the final grouping finished with the 5th hole, our little group disbanded and went our separate ways. I was hoping to catch back up to the Couples/Westwood group at the 9th hole, but they were already gone, so I watched Donald and Sticker play the hole before heading to the 10th green where I followed that twosome and three more as we all awaited Tiger. Woods drove the ball only about 320 yards and had a simple wedge shot to the pin, which he stuck to about two feet for a gimme birdie.
One thing that I quickly learned about Sherwood was that it takes a lot of walking to get from one hole to the next. Following a golfer isn't nearly as easy as it was at the AT&T in our nation's capital on my birthday... In another effort to catch up with Couples, I headed to the nearby 16th hole. Freddie had found the trees off the tee and scrambled to hit a great 4th shot to within four feet of the pin. It just wasn't his day today though as he missed the par putt. I followed the Couples/Westwood twosome to the 17th and 18th holes... They arrived to a rousing ovation on 18 - most of the cheers were obviously for Freddie. He settled for a 4 over par round of 76. After a year plagued by back injuries where the Masters was his only full competitive tournament of the year, it was nice just to have the opportunity to see him play.
As the groups arrived at 18, I noticed a very familiar face being interviewed by the Golf Channel - longtime resident and actor Tom Selleck of Magnum P.I. fame! Many of the fans in attendance (not me) actually got his autograph. I did get 2007 Masters Champion Zach Johnson's autograph, and also got to talk so Furyk for a few seconds after the round was over. Johnson gave all of us a thrill on the closing hole as he hit the flag with his approach shot. Unfortunately, the ball finished about 10 feet to the right of the hole, and he wasn't able to make the putt. He finished the day at 11 under par and in solo third place. Furyk missed his birdie chance on 18, but made a par to finish at 12 under and remain in the runner-up chair. What did Tiger do? Well, he hit his approach about eight feet under the hole, curled his putt into the left edge of the cup for his 7th birdie of the day (to go along with two bogeys) for a 5 under-par 67. At 18 under par, Tiger is now six strokes clear of the field and looks set to win his tournament again this year...
By 3 p.m., it was all over, though many of us hung around and hoped to catch one last glimpse of our favorite players - Tiger did come out about 3:45 p.m. or so, but only signed a couple of autographs... He's quite busy now that he's a father... A fun time was had by all in attendance and I look forward to attending again next year!
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Friday, December 14, 2007
Tiger Torches Sherwood With Record 62!
It's the middle of Decemeber, the mornings here in Thousand Oaks, California have been in the lower 30's the past three days, yet one thing was as hot as the July sun today: Tiger Woods. Mr. Player of the year and all-everything else again looked as if he were in midseason form, as he poured in eight birdies and an eagle to set a new Sherwood Country Club course record with a 10-under par 62 at the 2007 Target World Challenge. Tiger's two round total of 13-under par is four strokes better than the world's #3 player, Jim Furyk. As for the other end of the scale, the argumentative and sometimes confrontational Rory Sabbatini shot a 9-over par 81, 19 strokes worse than Tiger. Rory, I think you must have looked a little beatable today. :)
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Wednesday, December 12, 2007
9th Annual Target World Challenge
While most of the Country is right in the midst of winter, those of us lucky enough to live out here in California are thinking about golf this week. Tournament host Tiger Woods leads an elite 16 man field in the ninth annual Target World Challenge presented by Countrywide.World #3 ranked player Jim Furyk, 2007 Masters Champion Zach Johnson, Vijay Singh and fan favorite and 1992 Masters Champion Fred Couples are amongst those who will attempt to take the crown from Tiger. The Pro-Am event which preceeds the tournament begins at 9:30am today. The actual tournament starts tomorrow and runs all four days from 9:30am through 3:00 pm PST. Live, televised coverage of the tournament runs from 12 noon until 3pm on the Golf Channel Thursday and Friday and on your local NBC affiliate on the weekend. I'm planning on being there on Saturday and perhaps also on Sunday... no cameras are allowed though, so no pics! Oh well!
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Sunday, September 16, 2007
Tiger Roars At TOUR Championship
As the sun rose yesterday morning at East Lake Golf Club in Atlanta, Georgia it was very clear that Tiger Woods was going to win the first ever Fed Ex Cup. The only question was would he be able to maintain his three stroke lead over Mark Calcavecchia and the rest of the 30 man field and win for the second straight week. After a shaky start, where he had a bogey and four pars on the first five holes, Tiger put on a breathtaking display of accurate driving and pin-seeking iron shots, birding six of the next 11 holes. A bogey on 17 would drop him to "only" 23 under par, and his nine stroke lead over "Calc" and 2007 Masters champion Zach Johnson was pared to eight - pars on 18 by Tiger and "Calc" would make that the final margin of victory.
Yes, it was that kind of week for Tiger and that kind of year. His 257 total matched the third lowest aggregate score in PGA Tour history and gave him his seventh win of the year and 61st of his career, one behind Arnold Palmer for fourth on the all-time list. Tiger took home a check for $1,260,000 in winning the tournament and also took home a $10,000,000 annuity for winning the FedEx Cup. Two weeks ago, it appeared Phil Mickelson might be ready to make another run at Tiger after beating him head to head at the Deutsch Bank, but after with wins over the elite of the elite each of the past two weeks, there is no question that Tiger will still be the man to beat going into 2008.
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Yes, it was that kind of week for Tiger and that kind of year. His 257 total matched the third lowest aggregate score in PGA Tour history and gave him his seventh win of the year and 61st of his career, one behind Arnold Palmer for fourth on the all-time list. Tiger took home a check for $1,260,000 in winning the tournament and also took home a $10,000,000 annuity for winning the FedEx Cup. Two weeks ago, it appeared Phil Mickelson might be ready to make another run at Tiger after beating him head to head at the Deutsch Bank, but after with wins over the elite of the elite each of the past two weeks, there is no question that Tiger will still be the man to beat going into 2008.
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Wednesday, September 5, 2007
Garret Anderson EN FUEGO!
Another day, another Garret Anderson home run, another Los Angeles/Anaheim Angels win! It's beginning to sound like a broken record, but this is good news if you happen to be an Angels fan or where fortunate enough to grab "G.A." in your fantasy league when he first started getting hot. With a 4-3 win last night, the Angels have now won seven of their past nine games and opened up a 7 1/2 game lead in the American League West race. Over that nine game stretch, G.A.'s been nothing short of amazing - 6 home runs, 17 RBI's, 10 runs scored, and even a stolen base to go along with a .438 batting average!!! If you go back to cover his past 14 games, he has 8 home runs and 27 RBI's!!! Actually, G.A.'s been an absolute RBI machine for about the past month and a half - in his 45 games beginning July 19th, he has hit .293 with 11 home runs and 52 RBI's to go along with 27 runs scored. For those of you other numbers fiends out there, that's a 187 RBI pace!!! - Incredibly, that RBI pace is still short of the 191 that Hack Wilson put up in 1930 in only 154 games! Just shows you how truly great that 1930 season of Wilson's was.
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After a very difficult stretch where they lost 11 of 12 games, the Los Angeles Dodgers have suddenly seen their fortunes change. Brad Penny bobbed and weaved through seven innings at Wrigley Field in Chicago, allowing only one earned run despite giving up seven hits and three walks. Penny was clearly not at his best as he only struck out two batters, but he made good pitches when it counted, inducing the Cubs to ground into three double plays. Matt Kemp continued his hot hitting, going 4-for-5 to raise his batting average to .344. Jonathan Broxton and Takeshi Saito contined to pitch masterfully in the closing innings, each pitching a scoreless frame to secure Penny's 16th win on the year. Broxton now has a 2.13 ERA on the year, while Saito's ERA is a microscopic 1.31. Saito has a reasonable chance of breaking Eric Gagne's Dodger record ERA for a closer of 1.20 which was set in 2003. With their 13th win in their past 19 games, the Dodgers are now within just three games of the Arizona Dimaondbacks and San Diego Padres for the National League West division lead and Wild Card spot. The Dodgers looked hopelessly out of things just three weeks ago... Now, they look like they just might indeed be the playoff team we saw during the early part of the season.
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Meanwhile, back on the other coast, the Washington Nationals continue to demonstrate the resilency which has marked their first season under manager, Manny Acta. After a horrific second half of August, which saw them lose 12 of 15 games, including the final seven, the Nats came into yesterday's game against the Florida Marlins in the midst of a three game winning streak. Shawn Hill pitched an effective 6 1/3 innings for the Nats, allowing three runs and eleven hits, walking none and striking out six. Unfortunately for Hill, he left the game without a chance to win as Dontrelle Willis kept the Nats in check for seven innings, only allowing single runs in the first and third innings. Willis got into trouble in the bottom of the seventh as with one out, Nook Logan doubled and Felipe Lopez singled. Lee Gardner was then summoned from the Marlins pen and promptly got Ryan Zimmerman to hit a line drive right at the second baseman Alfredo Amezega, who doubled Lopez off of first...
Chris Schroeder pitched a scoreless ninth for the Nats, and the Marlins would then bring on their closer Kevin Gregg. Gregg has been a pleasant surprise for the Marlins this year, closing 28 games in 30 opportunities. Given his 93% success rate, the Nats chances at winning seemed slim at best. Gregg immediately got into trouble though as he walked leadoff man Dmitri Young. Ryan Langerhans (yes, he cleared waivers) then pinch ran for Da' Meathook... After an Austin Kearns strikeout, Wily Mo Pena singled to put Nats at first and third. Ronnie Belliard then fouled out weakly to first, and that set the stage for Jesus Flores. Earlier in the game, Flores dropped not one, but two foul pop-ups. While they didn't have any impact in the game, they did force a few extra pitches to be thrown. Flores then lined a ball deep to left field chasing home both Langerhans and the slow footed Pena to give the Nats an improbable come-from-behind 4-3 win!
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In other sports news, Phil Mickelson announced he will not play in this week's FedEx Cup event - Tiger Woods and Ernie Els had missed prior events. Perhaps tour commissioner Tim Finchem needs to listen to the tour's players a little more - it's a huge revenue and ratings loss when one of the big names isn't there. Maybe next year he will cut back on the pro-am tournaments that are part of the series and also spread out the tournaments so that the players can have a little more time with their families as their children begin the school year.
At the U.S. Open tennis championships in New York, there will be no "battle of the sisters" as Serena Williams was ousted by #1 seed Justin Henin by a 7-6, 6-1 score... #3 seed Jelena Jankovic takes on the 12th seeded Venus tonight, the winner will get to take on Henin... On the men's side, #2 Rafael Nadal was upset by #15 seed David Ferrer in four sets by a 6-7, 6-4, 7-6, 6-2 score. Tonight, the much awaited feature match pits #1 seed Roger Federer against #5 Andy Roddick. We all hope A-Rod can win, but he's been unable to do much against Tiger's buddy Federer the past several years...
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After a very difficult stretch where they lost 11 of 12 games, the Los Angeles Dodgers have suddenly seen their fortunes change. Brad Penny bobbed and weaved through seven innings at Wrigley Field in Chicago, allowing only one earned run despite giving up seven hits and three walks. Penny was clearly not at his best as he only struck out two batters, but he made good pitches when it counted, inducing the Cubs to ground into three double plays. Matt Kemp continued his hot hitting, going 4-for-5 to raise his batting average to .344. Jonathan Broxton and Takeshi Saito contined to pitch masterfully in the closing innings, each pitching a scoreless frame to secure Penny's 16th win on the year. Broxton now has a 2.13 ERA on the year, while Saito's ERA is a microscopic 1.31. Saito has a reasonable chance of breaking Eric Gagne's Dodger record ERA for a closer of 1.20 which was set in 2003. With their 13th win in their past 19 games, the Dodgers are now within just three games of the Arizona Dimaondbacks and San Diego Padres for the National League West division lead and Wild Card spot. The Dodgers looked hopelessly out of things just three weeks ago... Now, they look like they just might indeed be the playoff team we saw during the early part of the season.
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Meanwhile, back on the other coast, the Washington Nationals continue to demonstrate the resilency which has marked their first season under manager, Manny Acta. After a horrific second half of August, which saw them lose 12 of 15 games, including the final seven, the Nats came into yesterday's game against the Florida Marlins in the midst of a three game winning streak. Shawn Hill pitched an effective 6 1/3 innings for the Nats, allowing three runs and eleven hits, walking none and striking out six. Unfortunately for Hill, he left the game without a chance to win as Dontrelle Willis kept the Nats in check for seven innings, only allowing single runs in the first and third innings. Willis got into trouble in the bottom of the seventh as with one out, Nook Logan doubled and Felipe Lopez singled. Lee Gardner was then summoned from the Marlins pen and promptly got Ryan Zimmerman to hit a line drive right at the second baseman Alfredo Amezega, who doubled Lopez off of first...
Chris Schroeder pitched a scoreless ninth for the Nats, and the Marlins would then bring on their closer Kevin Gregg. Gregg has been a pleasant surprise for the Marlins this year, closing 28 games in 30 opportunities. Given his 93% success rate, the Nats chances at winning seemed slim at best. Gregg immediately got into trouble though as he walked leadoff man Dmitri Young. Ryan Langerhans (yes, he cleared waivers) then pinch ran for Da' Meathook... After an Austin Kearns strikeout, Wily Mo Pena singled to put Nats at first and third. Ronnie Belliard then fouled out weakly to first, and that set the stage for Jesus Flores. Earlier in the game, Flores dropped not one, but two foul pop-ups. While they didn't have any impact in the game, they did force a few extra pitches to be thrown. Flores then lined a ball deep to left field chasing home both Langerhans and the slow footed Pena to give the Nats an improbable come-from-behind 4-3 win!
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In other sports news, Phil Mickelson announced he will not play in this week's FedEx Cup event - Tiger Woods and Ernie Els had missed prior events. Perhaps tour commissioner Tim Finchem needs to listen to the tour's players a little more - it's a huge revenue and ratings loss when one of the big names isn't there. Maybe next year he will cut back on the pro-am tournaments that are part of the series and also spread out the tournaments so that the players can have a little more time with their families as their children begin the school year.
At the U.S. Open tennis championships in New York, there will be no "battle of the sisters" as Serena Williams was ousted by #1 seed Justin Henin by a 7-6, 6-1 score... #3 seed Jelena Jankovic takes on the 12th seeded Venus tonight, the winner will get to take on Henin... On the men's side, #2 Rafael Nadal was upset by #15 seed David Ferrer in four sets by a 6-7, 6-4, 7-6, 6-2 score. Tonight, the much awaited feature match pits #1 seed Roger Federer against #5 Andy Roddick. We all hope A-Rod can win, but he's been unable to do much against Tiger's buddy Federer the past several years...
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