Love him, hate him, he's SOOO good for Golf.
Augusta is not an easy Sunday walk.( the coarse is very hilly ) With the stress of the tournament , etc.
I was not convinced he could hit irons into those hole positions, and putt like he did for 4 days , as he once did.
He did, and it was amazing to watch. ( driver,, it matters , yes,, but lets me real, you and I might find our ball too if our roughs looked like Augusta roughs lol. )
The leader board these last two days had so many guys who aren't intimidated by a 2005 version of Tiger. They can hold their own and have.
Many have said this year Tiger could get two majors.. I poo poo'd them lol.. Now with Pebble Beach next. Who knows. He knows that coarse almost as well as Augusta.
Pebble Beach US OPEN ( Tiger won US Open there )
Portrush Northern Ireland THE OPEN
Bethpage Black THE PGA ( Tiger won US Open there )
yeah, I wouldn't be surprised if he won another.
i'm not a golfer, of all the games, it seemed to miss me going by...i've got tons of family and friends that are in it. I never watched it much, even when Tiger was Tiger, it was just something that didn't interest me.
I watched every minute today and i was galvanized....epic, generational, iconic...and when he hugged his boy in jubilation, that was amazing.
this was as compelling a sports event as has ever been...
"One POSSIBLE future. From your point of view... I don't know tech stuff.".... Kyle Reese
The Masters was almost biblical -- the seas parted and Tiger walked to victory. Did you see the reliable Molinari plunk two shots in the water with a two-shot lead? Then playing partner Finau (Jabari's cousin) plunked one.
Is this good for golf? You betcha! It used to be that, when Tiger played, TV audiences were twice the size as when he sat out. It will have at least that effect now.
Sage Grouse
---------------------------------------
'When I got on the bus for my first road game at Duke, I saw that every player was carrying textbooks or laptops. I coached in the SEC for 25 years, and I had never seen that before, not even once.' - David Cutcliffe to Duke alumni in Washington, DC, June 2013
Man, if your Mom made you wear that color when you were a baby, and you're still wearing it, it's time to grow up!
Going back and reading this thread from the beginning was interesting. It was like a time capsule filled with absolute certain prophecies that only the gift of hindsight could prove wrong. It just goes to show you why you're supposed to never say never.
I'd love for someone to put together a montage of the experts on ESPN and other outlets that barked the loudest that Tiger was done. To be fair, Tiger thought he was done too, but I just love it when the "embrace debate" clowns are so wrong about something they're paid to know about.
Tiger really did need some help to win though. Who would've thought that FM would blow a lead like that the way he'd been playing. And Tiger looked to be the most inconsistent of the top 3-4 players that had a chance to win. Really surprising victory.
A lot of crow to eat around here.
ask, and ye shall receive !!
"One POSSIBLE future. From your point of view... I don't know tech stuff.".... Kyle Reese
He could easily have won both the Open Championship and the PGA just last year. Man, people have short memories.
After those two tournaments, it wasn't actually that much of a stretch to imagine that he might win at Augusta.
Having said all that, just because the next two majors are at Bethpage Black and Pebble Beach doesn't mean that Tiger will win three majors this year. I think people are swinging the pendulum too far the other way. He will likely be competitive in both majors, and could well win one of them. But winning consecutive majors in a single season is a rare event, even for golfers in their prime. Tiger is 43. If he does win more than one major this year, I'm not entirely sure but I think it would be the first time ever that someone his age did so.
So many things can happen in a tournament, let alone in a season. Remember the US Open in which Phil was leading with three holes to play, and then hit one iron too much on the 16th hole? And then Rose made an amazing birdie at the 18th and Phil lost? Those kinds of things happen all the time.
Could Tiger win another major this year? Certainly. Will he? Maybe. Will he win more than one other major this year? HIGHLY unlikely.
FWIW, I think his chances at Pebble Beach are a lot better than his chances at Bethpage Black.
"We are not provided with wisdom, we must discover it for ourselves, after a journey through the wilderness which no one else can take for us, an effort which no one can spare us, for our wisdom is the point of view from which we come at last to regard the world." --M. Proust
Sage Grouse
---------------------------------------
'When I got on the bus for my first road game at Duke, I saw that every player was carrying textbooks or laptops. I coached in the SEC for 25 years, and I had never seen that before, not even once.' - David Cutcliffe to Duke alumni in Washington, DC, June 2013
Speaking of distance, I saw this earlier today comparing his approach shots in the final round this year vs 1997.
tigers-clubs-4.jpg
https://www.golfdigest.com/story/mas...he-hit-in-2019
What stands out to me most is 1997. Good gracious. On 11 of the 18 holes he hit either PW or SW, and that includes the par 5 15th. He used 8/9 iron 5 times (including on 2 par 5s, 2 and 13), had one 6 iron into #4 and a 2 iron on the par 5 eighth. Fluff carried 6 extra clubs for nothing that day! The course was much shorter then (~6900 yards vs ~7500 today) but this was with a steel shafted driver and wound balata ball. No wonder he intimidated and obliterated the field. Safe to say we will never see this Tiger again. If I had to bet I would bet against him getting to 18 - he has to have a hall of fame career after the age of 43 to catch Jack - but I wouldn't be surprised at all if he did.
The added distance is a huge factor here, as did the Sunday weather. Nine of the 18 holes play 35 or more yards (2-3 clubs) longer now than in 1997. Two holes play 60+ yards longer (one is 90 yards longer!). Add in that he plays less driver and more 3 wood now than in 1997 and voila.
But yes, Woods is no longer outdriving the field. He isn’t at all likely to dominate the tour as he did when younger. But he can still compete with the big hitters in distance, and his iron play is still fantastic. The margin for error is smaller now, as he is “just” one of the top 5-10 players in the world instead of the absolute, no-doubt best. Will he stay healthy long enough to keep playing with the big boys? If so, he has a puncher’s chance. He can probably compete at the Open for another 10-15 years if healthy. The Master’s? Probably another 10. Probably a smaller window at the US and PGA. Maybe like 5 years. His best chance to catch Jack is to win another 2 in the next year or two, then hope for good fortune here or there for 2 more. If he isn’t able to win another couple in the near future, it will be exceedingly difficult as he heads toward 50. He probably needs to be within one before he turns 46 to have a chance.
Medicine, nutrition, and weight training mean his window won’t completely close as early as in the old days, but he is clearly fighting time at this point.
I would not be surprised to see Tiger pull off a surprise Open in the twilight of his career, as Watson came so close to doing.
If his body holds up, of course. But I totally agree that while he’s got a shot, it is going to take both excellent performances from Tiger and a lot of luck. I still cannot get over how many big time players made late runs on Sunday.
30+ extra yards per hole is just the course staying even with technology - average driving distances in 1997 were 267 compared to 295 currently. And players generally are at least one iron longer in 2019 as well due to ball and club technology.
In any event, the 97 vs 2019 comparison was only of moderate interest - I was mostly amazed that, other than an uphill par 5, Tiger got around Augusta without hitting anything longer than an 8, and mostly going driver wedge in 97.