Did Tiger mail it in at Torrey Pines?

[72strokes]

Did Tiger mail it in at Torrey Pines?

 

http://72strokes.com/2011/02/did-tiger-mail-it-in-at-torrey-pines/

 

 

In another example of the fact that players on tour aren't particularly intimidated by Tiger anymore, PGA Tour rookie and Nationwide Tour grad Brendan Steele told SI that he thought Tiger didn't give a 100% effort in the final round at Torrey Pines:

 

I don't think he gave it ­everything today. Once it started going in the wrong direction, I don't think it had his full attention.

 

Steele shot a 2-under 70 en-route to a T17 finish. Tiger shot a 3-over 75 on his way to a 44th place finish.

 

He may have a point. Tiger's problems seem as much mental as anything else and after things went south early on, he may have just lost interest. It's not like Tiger needs top 10 finishes to keep his tour card. And a 44th place finish probably means as much to him as a 5th place finish. It's either win or go home.

 

But more interesting to me is the fact that he was willing to say anything arguably negative about Tiger at all. I can't imagine anybody just a couple of years ago being willing to provide a quote about Tiger not giving a full effort on the course. Everybody was intimidated and nobody wanted to say anything that could stoke Tiger's competitive fire.

 

I think we're going to see a lot more of this until Tiger comes out and demolishes a field. It doesn't have to be a circa-2000 US or British Open style win, but he needs to make a statement. Right now nobody is intimidated and they view him as just another golfer.

 

[image Flickr/Chase McAlpine]

[Moecat]

Joe Posnanski has an interesting take on it ... http://joeposnanski.si.com/2011/01/31/turning-back-time/

 

Does Tiger Woods still want to win? I have little doubt. Does Tiger Woods want to win in the same way he did four, five, six years ago, when he was young, when he felt healthy, when he was idolized, when his golf swing felt as natural to him as breathing? He came to the 18th hole on Sunday, and he needed to make a putt to shoot a 74, which is a lousy score for Tiger Woods and utterly irrelevant for scoreboard purposes. But it is better than a 75. That has always been the driving force for Tiger Woods. One shot better.

 

No one but Tiger Woods can know what he was thinking at that moment. All we can know is that he missed the putt, tipped his cap to the crowd, and went to sign his scorecard. “I have some work to do,” he told reporters. ”There's no doubt about that.”

[TWShoot67]

Joe Posnanski has an interesting take on it ... http://joeposnanski.si.com/2011/01/31/turning-back-time/

 

Read the article some good points and some real stretches. To try and compare sports with golf and to generalize and call all golfers non athletes is just absurd. I mean seriously. Half of the so called sports he brings up, I guess he forgets about one of the best baseball players of all time who smoke ,drank gambled and cheated all the way to championship titles and the hall of fame. But to write off Tiger after one tourney in 2011 is just crazy. To say he can't and never will dominate again I believe we will all just have to wait and time will give us the true answer. I mean there was another great golfer who almost lost his life was told he would never walk again let alone play. I believe Ben Hogans injuries were much worse then Tigers knee surgeries and look what Mr. Hogan accomplished after the crash! This is obviously my opinion but I still believe when all is said and done Tiger will break Jack's record. It sure doesn't take a rocket scientists to figure out it's going to be much harder for Tiger to accomplish this task, but I believe it still will be done. Let's just wait and see what happens after a few more tourneys and a little more time with his new swing coach. Tiger has won majors and plenty of tourneys after all of his swing changes and coaching switches. Also he has gone through a couple winless droughts in the past, but I believe it's just a matter of time before Tiger wins again. Also I feel once the first win comes the gates will open and his confidence will be restored. I feel right now he's got doubt just like any human will have after a long layoff. None of us know whats going on behind the scenes with Tiger and how much actual time he has been able to spend with Sean Foley. The biggest problem I feel that he's having with his swing is the dip of his head. I believe once he can eliminate or make it a lot less his swing will be fine again. I've had this talk with a good friend of mine and we both wish he'd go back to his old Butch Harmon swing but I believe that maybe something with the left knee has something to do about that? I guess only time will tell.

[Justin66]

I think Tiger's dropped into a top 20 golfer, not the best. He's had multiple surgeries on his knees, one on his Achilles, another on his wrist (left one, if memory serves), had those stress fractures from the last time his knee went gimpy and a couple surgeries on his eyes. That's a lot of wear, tear and repair for a relatively short span of time.

 

Couple that with the influx of young talent that finally seems to be the real "next big thing" and Tiger's run at Jack's record is in trouble, in my eyes. I think he'll get to 16... eventually, but 18 or more? I don't think it's likely.

 

This is why there's times I'm surprised golf doesn't get the ratings I think it should. There seems to be a storyline for so many, regardless of what side of the Tiger fence a person is on. Even those nowhere near the fence has so many reasons to watch. I love golf season!

[Moecat]

To try and compare sports with golf and to generalize and call all golfers non athletes is just absurd. I mean seriously.

Did we even read the same article?

 

Where does Posnanski say that golfers are non-athletes? Where is it even implied?

 

Posnanski actually writes: "But there is still something about Tiger Woods that seems to bend our perception of time. I can't remember another athlete quite like him in this way ..."

 

 

But to write off Tiger after one tourney in 2011 is just crazy. To say he can't and never will dominate again I believe we will all just have to wait and time will give us the true answer.

Did he really write off Tiger after one tournament, or did you simply mis-read Posnanski's words?

 

To wit:

"This makes what Tiger Woods has done — from 1999 to 2008, 10 years, he won 13 of the 38 majors he entered, and 58 of the 173 PGA tournaments he entered — beyond legendary. But people cannot possibly expect Tiger Woods — at his age, after surgery, after his slog through the tabloids and, mostly, after his golf swing confusion — to become that player again.

 

But many people do. There's something about him that makes us think that. Nobody thinks that Roger Federer is going to become the dominant force in tennis again. But people do think that Tiger can (or will). Even I think that. As I write these words, a part of me is shouting “Come on, you're not REALLY writing off Tiger Woods.” And I'm not. I think he is too mentally strong, too competitive, too knowledgeable to just disappear from the landscape. I don't see him going dry like Arnold Palmer (who won his last major at 34) or Tom Watson (who won his last major at 33) or Nick Faldo (who won one major after he turned 35). I think he will have great moments yet."

[TheHacker]

I have a few random thoughts to share:

 

First golf is not all about Tiger. Although I think it was Tiger who transformed golf from a rich old men game, to what us considered quite a cool pursuit nowadays.

 

Second, the poor rookie was trying too hard to say the right thing, I'm sure if I were in his position I would have screwed up in much bigger ways than him.

 

Finally Tiger's game is in transition, it's always a work in progress, isn't it the same with most of us? It'll be interesting if he gets it all together again, even if he don't, there are lots of other interesting drama on the course if you look hard enough.

[GolfSpy Tim]

I started paying a lot more attention to golf in general when Tiger hit the scene. Like TheHacker said, he made golf sorta cool all of a sudden. So I'm always interested in something about Tiger, but yeah, I think he's still getting too much attention.

 

I think the level at which he plays/trains and is sponsored, he'll get back closer to the top if not the very top, but again time will tell.

 

Funny that people had been so afraid of saying something negative about Tiger, I wonder if long-term anyone is seeing that they can say something now and it might allow them to get in his head, even if only ever so slightly.

[BIG STU]

I will say to clear the air that I am not a big Tiger fan. Remember he is a human being like all of us and I have seen some great players climb to the top of the mountain and fall back down hard 3 names come to mind Johnny Miller, David Duvall and Padraig Harrington. True none of the 3 before mentioned players climbed as high as Tiger but it goes to show the fallibility of a human being. I think the public and press expect too much from him at times and along with his self created personal woes I believe it puts a heck of a lot of mental strain on him. He is also getting older and I have noticed that the young golfers coming along today are getting better and better. I had opportunity to play last summer on2 seperate occasions with two 16 year old players and both of these kids were from different parts of the country. Both of those kids were better players than I was at that age and I was not a slouch at that age. To sum it all up I think Tiger is getting older and these new young guns are getting better and better. My personal opinion is the jury is still out on whether Tiger will tie or break Nicklaus records. Just my 2 cents worth

[TheHacker]

I am somewhat of a Tiger fan in that I love to see him hit golf balls, but I'm not a fan of his on and off course antics.

 

I think Tiger has done his invaluable part in making golf more accessible to people. It is now time for the new young talents to emerge. Presently I'm watching Charl Schwartzel, he's got the most beautiful swing, and tones of game to do well in PGA Tour. And there are many more just as good as him in tour.

 

My point is, if you look beyond Tiger, there's lots to see in golf.

[Shambles]

I've been a golfer far longer than I've been a golf spectator. Back before Tiger players sort of passed the winners hat around, not back and forth but around. It could almost be said that everybody gets a turn at the glory, which didn't seem much. It wasn't all that long ago. I felt like I had missed the golden age, not having watched Arnie form his army, nor Jack fight his way out of obscurity. Golf wasn't for TV until Arnie and Jack fought it out.

 

Tiger comes along and the first thing he does as a pro is win six times at the end of the season, just so he can qualify for the Masters. Golf has been a lot more interesting for spectating purposes since. Tiger followed up that opening scene with a flock of new records and wins so frequent they threatened to become boring. The question more often became by how many strokes would Tiger win this time.

 

Today I see Tiger in the same place that Muhammad Ali was when he needed to go against Foreman for his crown. However, Tiger's problem isn't as fearsome as his only real opponent here is himself and the question I'm asking is, can he get his mind back ?

 

 

Shambles