The Tiger Woods Thread

AdamD

Niles Crane wrote: »

The biggest problem Woods has to overcome is his competitors.

There is an incredibly strong era for professional golf and even if he gets back close to his best he can't count on someone else not being able to get the better of him which has happened in the last 2 majors.

Also the players are not afraid of him anymore, 15 years ago a charge like he had in the last 2 majors on the final day might have been enough to spook some players and for him to get the win however Molinari and Koepka weren't really affected by him at all.

This is surely proven to be a myth though, he never actually won a major from behind. The old Tiger charges didn't really lead to much other than excitement. I do agree the players in general are better though.

Rikand

Tiger now 26th in the world
20th on the Fedex cup rankings
11th in the standings for Ryder Cup Qualification.

That's the pick absolutely 100% secured now

lawred2

Rikand wrote: »

Tiger now 26th in the world
20th on the Fedex cup rankings
11th in the standings for Ryder Cup Qualification.

That's the pick absolutely 100% secured now

world number 1 by next summer

The_Kew_Tour

No real respect for guy for his off course antics.

I didn't think I say this but it's great to have him back. Still short of old Tiger but didn't think he get so close again.

He really has been the superstar of the Sport and I guess. He made Golf Cool to play it was one of reasons I played.

Golf is better when he is around and another major or 2 is not beyond him.

HighLine

Still baffled at how Tiger can be so bad off the tee but yet his approach play into greens, from 3 wood right down to wedge, is phenomenal. I know it's always been the case where he wasn't great off the tee but even some of his iron tee shots were horrid.

The first fairway he found was the 10th hole. Interesting also he said after his round that his warm up was terrible. He was left right with every club in his bag.

AdamD

HighLine wrote: »

Still baffled at how Tiger can be so bad off the tee but yet his approach play into greens, from 3 wood right down to wedge, is phenomenal. I know it's always been the case where he wasn't great off the tee but even some of his iron tee shots were horrid.

The first fairway he found was the 10th hole. Interesting also he said after his round that his warm up was terrible. He was left right with every club in his bag.

Definitely in his head. His 4 Iron to the par 3 16th was phenomenal yet his irons from the tee on par 4s were poor.

CalamariFritti

So far it's been a hell of a comeback. Never thought I'd see him like this again.

He had a mini crisis at the start of the back nine in The Open which he compounded by attempting a glory rescue pitch that didn't come off earning him a double. Made bogey on the next probably still steaming. He would have been very close to forcing a playoff only for that.
He went for it yesterday and 17 cost him although he made par. Also two putts skimmed out or hung over the hole respectively. Again very close to forcing a play off - although I must say Brooks Koepka looks the real deal and made birdies just at the right time und generally speaking looked invincible yesterday.
But Tiger... he didn't hit a fairway until the 10th and yet he was 3 under for the front nine. Brooks held him off but only just, Tiger shot a 64 yesterday. Thats the stuff people pay money to watch.

Bottom line is he was as close to winning the last 2 majors as anyone could be without actually winning. Thats an incredible achievement considering we thought he will never play top level golf again at the start of the year. He made it from 1150 in the world to 26th in what, 8 or 9 months? Anyone else doing that and people would be on about this new superstar coming.

Love him or hate him but in golf he's the man.

The good news is he's well up in the FedEx and has committed to the Dell and to Boston.

GreeBo

HighLine wrote: »

Still baffled at how Tiger can be so bad off the tee but yet his approach play into greens, from 3 wood right down to wedge, is phenomenal. I know it's always been the case where he wasn't great off the tee but even some of his iron tee shots were horrid.

The first fairway he found was the 10th hole. Interesting also he said after his round that his warm up was terrible. He was left right with every club in his bag.

In competition he just tries to hit it too damn hard and his timing is off, gets stuck behind and then gets handsy, same as any of us.

Whats frustrating is that the typically warms up on the range with a lovely swing and creams the driver.

CalamariFritti

GreeBo wrote: »

In competition he just tries to hit it too damn hard and his timing is off, gets stuck behind and then gets handsy, same as any of us.

Whats frustrating is that the typically warms up on the range with a lovely swing and creams the driver.

Its frustrating to watch, isn't it, but we all can relate to it as we are incapable of doing it ourselves. 'I tried to kill it'. They have better words like 'getting stuck' and slow motion for it on telly but the bottom line is the drive on 17 was exactly that.

I quoted that a couple of times already on this thread but in his own words his two weaknesses are 'death grip' and inability to swing easy, 'red-lining all the time' he calls it.
It's kinda humbling that the best player of our lifetime is not immune to the same weaknesses we experience ourselves. Stupid game really.

slave1

Seve OB

There was only one winner the fans wanted yesterday

SharpshooterTom

lawred2 wrote: »

Not really - his first year back after many years of being incapacitated and has already been in the mix on the Sunday of two majors.

All the parts of the game are coming together again.

And what's never left him is that bloody minded determination to win.

If he can stay without injury - I'd be surprised to not see him a few majors.

Well prepared to be surprised then, a few majors (3+) is really tall order for someone who turns 43 later this year. Even Phil Mickelson who's game was better built for longevity has fallen away over the past couple of years since crossing the 46/47 age mark.

We had this before in 2013 with Woods, 5 pga tour wins, number 1 in the world, and he still couldn't bag a major.

What makes you think not having won a major in 11 years by next year, he's just going to whop out 3 or 4 of them in a short space of time?

There's too much optimism coming from Woods fans and there just setting themselves up for a fall when he fails for his predicted two major wins next year.

CalamariFritti

He may or may not win more majors. It doesn't matter. The worst scenario was that his career was cut short by injury and we never get to see Tiger again. That isn't going to happen by the looks of it and we will get plenty of excitement over the next years if the last few weeks are anything to go by.

If it was anyone else doing what he did this year people would be saying it was only a matter of time until they won a major. People in their forties aren't what they used to be either. Langer is past 60 now and could still win an Open with a bit of luck. And this is Tiger Woods we are talking about. There is plenty to be optimistic about.

Looking forward to Portrush now. I've never actually seen him in the flesh.

SharpshooterTom

CalamariFritti wrote: »

He may or may not win more majors. It doesn't matter. The worst scenario was that his career was cut short by injury and we never get to see Tiger again. That isn't going to happen by the looks of it and we will get plenty of excitement over the next years if the last few weeks are anything to go by.

If it was anyone else doing what he did this year people would be saying it was only a matter of time until they won a major. People in their forties aren't what they used to be either. Langer is past 60 now and could still win an Open with a bit of luck. And this is Tiger Woods we are talking about. There is plenty to be optimistic about.

Looking forward to Portrush now. I've never actually seen him in the flesh.

Except major winners aged 45 or over are still till this day as rare as a hen's teeth, precisely just 5 of them in the entire history of the sport, Hale Irwin in 1990 being the very last one.

Yeah Jack Nicklaus came 6th in 1998 masters (finishing higher than defending champion Woods that year) at the age of 58, Tom Watson nearly won the open at 59, but they still didn't win them though did they? Its not easy.

The problem with golfers trying to compete at the highest level beyond the age of 45+ is they struggle to produce a string of 4 consistently good rounds, you might get one or two great rounds, but rarely do you get 4 in a row, and that's often their downfall. Consistency is a big problem for players over 45 as their recovery time is longer.

Infact that's what Woods's problem was here, he made a mess of the 1st round, think he was floundering around +3 for most of the day until he managed to scramble himself back to even par whilst everyone else was shooting birdies, he followed up with 3 very good rounds thereafter, but his poor/mediocre first round cost him.

SharpshooterTom

I don't dispute that Woods can win another major, or even surpassing Sam Snead's record, but winning 3/4 majors and bossing the PGA tour like he used to, nah. If he plays intensive competitive golf for as long as 3-5 years I'd be surprised also if he doesn't have another major injury setback, if he was having them in his 20s/30s, he's very unlikely to avoid them in his 40s, although obviously I hope he does stay fit.

A lot of people are comparing it to Mens Tennis right now with Federer, Nadal, and Djokovic all still bossing the ATP tour well into their 30s. The difference being there is that the quality of young tennis players is lacking prolonging those players careers, whereas is its definitely not lacking on the PGA tour right now, McIlroy, Spieth, Koepka, Thomas, Fowler, Rahm etc.

GreeBo

ThomasFlynn wrote: »

Except major winners aged 45 or over are still till this day as rare as a hen's teeth, precisely just 5 of them in the entire history of the sport, Hale Irwin in 1990 being the very last one.

Yeah Jack Nicklaus came 6th in 1998 masters (finishing higher than defending champion Woods that year) at the age of 58, Tom Watson nearly won the open at 59, but they still didn't win them though did they? Its not easy.

The problem with golfers trying to compete at the highest level beyond the age of 45+ is they struggle to produce a string of 4 consistently good rounds, you might get one or two great rounds, but rarely do you get 4 in a row, and that's often their downfall. Consistency is a big problem for players over 45 as their recovery time is longer.

Infact that's what Woods's problem was here, he made a mess of the 1st round, think he was floundering around +3 for most of the day until he managed to scramble himself back to even par whilst everyone else was shooting birdies, he followed up with 3 very good rounds thereafter, but his poor/mediocre first round cost him.

Guys who have more than 10 majors are pretty rare too.
I dont think you can use the stats of other mere mortals when you judge Tiger, when it comes to golf he just aint normal.

SharpshooterTom

GreeBo wrote: »

Guys who have more than 10 majors are pretty rare too.
I dont think you can use the stats of other mere mortals when you judge Tiger, when it comes to golf he just aint normal.

Well he's been pretty much just another normal golfer over the past 10 years, a had a couple of good major performances recently for sure (like he also did in 2012 and 2013), but whatever let Woods diehards and sycophants believe total domination like that of 1997-2008 is round the corner once more. I best not got in the way of you dreaming about your 'mere mortal', when in reality he's near 43 year old with small number of years left where if he's lucky he might nick or major or two at the very most, that's of course he somehow doesn't get injured again.

davo10

ThomasFlynn wrote: »

Well he's been pretty much just another normal golfer over the past 10 years, a had a couple of good major performances recently for sure (like he also did in 2012 and 2013), but whatever let Woods diehards and sycophants believe total domination like that of 1997-2008 is round the corner once more. I best not got in the way of you dreaming about your 'mere mortal', when in reality he's near 43 year old with small number of years left where if he's lucky he might nick or major or two at the very most, that's of course he somehow doesn't get injured again.

Why the insults?

I doubt anyone expects Woods to dominate the game like he used to, even if he never had an injury he probably wouldn't be dominant, today's golfer are too good and sustaining that level of dominance over 20 years is just too difficult. But he has a few things going for him in persuit of further majors, his ability, his work ethic and his mental strength. Only time will tell if he makes it, but considering he only came back a few months ago, he looks impressive.

AdamD

'Nick a major'


Dont even know where to start!

FixdePitchmark

I don't think I can see his body holding out sadly .

He is swinging fairly wild off the tee - and when he was chasing a swing to find a fairway he actually reverted to a more aggressive swing type.

delighted to see him back. But that course was remarkably forgiving to his bad shots off tee.

The heroic golf on front 9 was amazing, but not a great game to rely on in a major. Most times you will clock a 7/8 on the card with how wild tiger was.

If you contrast that with winner . He was banging them as far on fairway and having way easier bird chances .
He was moving away from field without doing anything different.

Hopefully Tiger wins a few . The atmosphere was amazing.

GreeBo

ThomasFlynn wrote: »

Well he's been pretty much just another normal golfer over the past 10 years, a had a couple of good major performances recently for sure (like he also did in 2012 and 2013), but whatever let Woods diehards and sycophants believe total domination like that of 1997-2008 is round the corner once more. I best not got in the way of you dreaming about your 'mere mortal', when in reality he's near 43 year old with small number of years left where if he's lucky he might nick or major or two at the very most, that's of course he somehow doesn't get injured again.

No, he has been an invalid for pretty much the last 10 years.
Who has mentioned domination other than yourself?

The unwarranted hatred for him is oozing from your post.

FixdePitchmark wrote: »

He was moving away from field without doing anything different.

How was he moving away from the field?
He shot -4, not the lowest round of the day and there were many other golfers on -4?

Dont get me wrong, he played really well, but its not like he finished 10 shots ahead of 2nd

tobsey

GreeBo wrote: »

No, he has been an invalid for pretty much the last 10 years.
Who has mentioned domination other than yourself?

The unwarranted hatred for him is oozing from your post.



How was he moving away from the field?
He shot -4, not the lowest round of the day and there were many other golfers on -4?

Dont get me wrong, he played really well, but its not like he finished 10 shots ahead of 2nd

He was moving away from the field because he shot less than the field average, not by shooting the lowest of the day. Hatton and cabrera-bello shot 64 by we’re in the clubhouse hours before koepka, he still pulled away from the field as a whole

GreeBo

tobsey wrote: »

He was moving away from the field because he shot less than the field average, not by shooting the lowest of the day. Hatton and cabrera-bello shot 64 by we’re in the clubhouse hours before koepka, he still pulled away from the field as a whole

So he started the day 2 ahead, finished 2 ahead but "pulled away from the field as a whole"?

slave1

Ah, you know what he means

GreeBo

slave1 wrote: »

Ah, you know what he means

I honestly dont.
To me at least, moving away from the field is starting the day X ahead and finishing the day more than X ahead.

In fact you dont even need to start ahead, but you sure need to finish more ahead otherwise you didnt go anywhere, its just no one could catch you.



But anyway, this is the TW thread, so enough about Koepka!

SharpshooterTom

GreeBo wrote: »

The unwarranted hatred for him is oozing from your post.

I don't hate Woods, I respect his amazing career achievements and what he has given to the game, in fact although I'm not a Woods fan, I've already suggested he could win a major and/or possibly Break Sam Sneads record, plenty of Woods haters don't think he'll even do that or continue to write him off.

What does get on my nerves, isn't necessarily Woods, far from it, but section of Woods's fans, who treat the game of golf that it should revolve around him only and have a knack of being disrespectful to other golfers, like the top rated comments in the Guardian, BBC etc "Woods is the story, Koepka is just the result" "All the golfers are just extra's when Tiger's in town" and constant wall to wall coverage even when he's nowhere near the top of the leaderboard.

"Woods = Golf!" "If Woods isn't playing Golf isn't worth watching for me".

I actually enjoyed watching Woods on Sunday, how couldn't you? Some of his iron shots were delicious. But some of his fans (and I'm certainly not saying anyone on here) can be pretty obnoxious, and they're not really Golf fans, and they can be quite rude and abusive to anyone who disrespects their messiah.

Love Woods's Golf - but the circus that surrounds him sometimes for neutral golf fans who like other golf fans can be incredibly annoying.

FixdePitchmark

GreeBo wrote: »

I honestly dont.
To me at least, moving away from the field is starting the day X ahead and finishing the day more than X ahead.

In fact you dont even need to start ahead, but you sure need to finish more ahead otherwise you didnt go anywhere, its just no one could catch you.



But anyway, this is the TW thread, so enough about Koepka!

I better clarify it.

Yes mathematically he didn't in the end - "pull away".

But he was playing so within himself and protecting his lead - he was playing last few holes knowing what he needed to do and did it with ease.

Tiger was hitting 200 yard hook balls with side spin and holing the putt.

Yes Tiger wasn't far off with a freak round. But would be an error to think that there are not more pros at top including Koepka who have more in the bag.

Tiger can't just turn up and put the pressure on on a Sunday and they all fall apart.

A major win by Tiger - will be all the more remarkable because of that.
I'll even put my neck out and say we may have seen the best of the Tiger comeback. I'm not sure he will ever get as close again. You can quote me on that when he wins

These guys are savage - and birdie machines coming down the close when needed.

We have had an enjoyable few months of Tiger - but I can't see this being a prolonged comeback.

SeeMoreBut

You don't have to be a hater to say he isn't going to win another major or break the record.

Woods of 2000 and Woods of today is the field don't fear him like they did back then.

I don't like the man after what he did. I think it I was disgusting but each to their own.

I'm sure some commentators don't like him either but TV companies love him as he drives ratings which drives revenue so would bit their lip.

You just have to look at the USA leaderboards when he is playing. No matter what score he is on he is the first name on that score. No logic to it bar it is him and gets plenty of coverage no matter what position he is in.


The PR Woods is just a phoney to me. He is only been nice cause his management team are telling him to. Just like Phil with this stupid ad. Try and distract people from what he did at the US Open. Sorry Phil we won't forget that you deliberately cheater and admitted it. Players are always cheating. Pushing grass down behind the ball https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NKsioAyR9Fs

I know I can turn the channel

mickmackey1

GreeBo wrote: »

The unwarranted hatred for him is oozing from your post.

The immature fanboyism is oozing from your post.

jj72

SeeMoreBut wrote: »

You just have to look at the USA leaderboards when he is playing. No matter what score he is on he is the first name on that score. No logic to it bar it is him and gets plenty of coverage no matter what position he is in

I have seen this mentioned over and over again. The leaderboard has logic. If two people are say -7, then the last person to get to that score is higher up than the previous player. Maybe you just think Tiger is always on top, but the reality is that he probably just made birdie so his name gets bumped to the top of the -7's.
Also the first player in the clubhouse on a score will remain the highest on the leaderboard and so on. That's how they determine the order of play the following day so they must have logic and not just pick and choose who goes where on the leaderboard.

Note... I could be talking complete garbage but i'm almost kinda fairly half certain that's how it works