- Posted by sproell on February 26, 2009
I watched Tiger's triumphant return last night on my DVR. Haven't DVR's made golf watching bearable? That's a topic for another day. Thought 1: I was kind of amazed to hear Brandon Jones say that he was pretty happy with a 3 and 2 defeat to Tiger. I'm not going to be that guy who says an athlete should want to crush Tiger like a bug and that he should have been more intense about his loss. But the way Jones said it made me feel like he was just happy to have a front row seat watching Tiger. I mean if the guy would have played well at all he probably would have won the match. After the second hole, Tiger didn't do much. To me, Jones was taking the place of someone that would have really competed with Tiger. Thought 2: I was disappointed in a way to hear Tiger say that it was "business as usual" when he teed off. My first thought was that he was not nervous and it was like he never left. This could be interpreted in a good way, and I think Tiger meant it this way, but I read into it that Tiger wasn't that excited to be back. Maybe it was the tournament or his opponent, but I felt a small twinge of "this is it?" coming from Tiger.
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- Posted by sproell on February 20, 2009
Because we all don't have any better things to do, let's predict where Tiger will finish at the Accenture Match Play next week. The obvious storybook finish is that Tiger comes back after 10 months off and wins. I hate that pick, because it's non-sensical. He hasn't competed for 10 months! We don't even know if the knee will hold up! How could he possibly make the big putts you need to make to win this tournament? No, predicting Tiger to win is too simple. It diminishes how difficult it is to win a tour event.
Ok, then, will Tiger make it past the first round? I think yes. It's a big stage and Tiger lives for the big stage (duh). After the first round, who knows? I just don't think the putter will be battle-tested in his first few tournaments. And the rest of his game won't be sharp which will require Tiger to scramble to make pars.
So, my prediction is that Tiger loses in the second round.
- Posted by sproell on February 19, 2009
Tiger announced today that he will be returning to competition at the Accenture Match Play event in Arizona. I think it's a perfect event at which to rejoin the tour. Tiger may be rusty and a big number on a hole doesn't mean as much in this format. Plus, my recollection is that this course is wide open. It will be good to see if Tiger's driving has improved.
- Posted by sproell on October 22, 2008
In this article, Tiger discusses his schedule for next year. He feels he will be ready to play the 2009 Masters in April. Can you imagine the hype around that event? Tiger is basically going to go at least six months without swinging a club. And I assume he will not have a full practice schedule leading up to The Masters. This is a guy who practices for hours and hours. To think he can have this long of a layoff and still compete at a high level is crazy! But so is winning a US Open with a broken leg. I can't wait to see how he does when he returns. I'm just hoping that the leg is healed and we won't be without Tiger for another several months.
- Posted by sproell on October 19, 2008
Rocco Mediate had a funny line when asked about Tiger's performance in the 2008 US Open. He said that he was "low mortal." Reading this made me think of how great that tournament was. I might even buy the 2008 US Open DVD.
- Posted by sproell on October 18, 2008
Tiger's new course, Punta Brava in Mexico, sounds like it will rival Whistling Straits and Bandon Dunes for scenery. Woods describes the course as having ocean views from all 18 holes. Hopefully, he will keep the three-million-dollar homes away from the course, but I'm sure the investors will have something to say about that.
Is it me or is Tiger churning out these courses pretty quickly? He's always said he wanted to design quality courses and that he wouldn't be as prolific as Jack Nicklaus or Arnold Palmer. But now that he has three courses in progress, it's hard to see him not ending up with 25 courses in the next 10 years. Also, two of the three are private and the other is in Dubai. It would be great to see Tiger do some public access courses in the US.
- Posted by sproell on October 14, 2008
The PGA's Grand Slam of Golf started yesterday. Only Tiger could make this tournament interesting, therefore I am not too interested this year. But when I read this article, I learned that the tournament presents the winner with a pink jacket. A pink jacket? They wouldn't even do this on the LPGA tour. A pink jacket? Maybe they can start giving away manbags and spa packages.
- Posted by sproell on October 13, 2008
Is Steve Williams getting to be too public? In this article, he says that Greg Norman was as good as Tiger physically, but just couldn't deal with setbacks on the course. That is probably the most amazing thing about Tiger - he is never out of it. How many 30-foot par putts has he made through the years? He just never gives up. I guess I would agree with Williams. Others on tour today can hit all the shots, but they just can't match Tiger's mental toughness. I just hope Stevie isn't talking too much...
- Posted by sproell on October 10, 2008
Greg Norman echoed conventional media wisdom that Tiger's absence from the Ryder Cup was "good for the game of golf." I'm a big Tiger fan, but I'm constantly dumbfounded at how media types and other commentators attribute every outcome to something Tiger did or didn't do. The most popular athlete in the world is absent from a high profile tournament and that is good? The US won because their team played better than the Euros. I also give Paul Azinger some credit for taking a unique approach to leadership. But to say things were better without Tiger is asinine. I'd love to hear your comments...
- Posted by sproell on October 8, 2008
Golfweek reports that golf's biggest names could be lured to the European Tour starting in 2009. Dubai-backed Leisurecorp is providing the financial incentive: a $10 million payout in the season ending Race to Dubai tournament. The catch? There is no crazy FedEx Cup points system. You know the exciting playoff format that produces the thrilling moment of having your champion accept his prize 4 hours before the tournament ends? Every player in the 60-man field will have a shot at the $10 million. Now that's exciting.
As for globalization, you're already seeing its impact on the NBA with players opting to play in Europe for guaranteed salaries. I believe that the big names will follow other the big names and you'll see increased play around the world. Except for Kenny Perry. He'll be content to be the seven-time champion of the Milwaukee Classic (no offense to Milwaukee - that's where I grew up).
What do you think? Is globalization good for the US tour and for golf in general?