Moecat Posted May 22, 2012 Share Posted May 22, 2012 http://www.golf.com/ap-news/tiger-woods-insists-hes-close-regularly-contending?sct=hp_t2_a7&eref=sihp BETHESDA, Md. (AP) -- Tiger Woods insists he is close to contending on a weekly basis, even if recent results suggest otherwise. "I think I'm headed in the right direction," Woods said at Congressional Country Club, where he was promoting the AT&T National which takes place June 28 to July 1. "I'm going to try and continue to improve in incremental steps in every facet of my game and try to make every facet of my game more efficient." Woods has one PGA Tour victory this year, but his game has hit a slump recently with a missed cut in Charlotte as well as 40th-place finishes at The Masters and Players Championship. "I've just played three events - I won a tournament (four) tournaments ago," Woods said. "If I get more efficient at what I'm doing, then I'm going to win golf tournaments." Woods won at Congressional in 2009 before the event moved to suburban Philadelphia to make way for last year's U.S. Open. Injury prevented Woods from participating in Rory McIlroy's big win. "Unfortunately, I was in a position where I couldn't play and it was tough because I missed out on a golf course I know, that I've won on and that I love," Woods said. "Those factors made it difficult to sit back and watch. What Rory did was extraordinary. He played some beautiful golf." McIlroy dominated Congressional, finishing at 16 under. He is not among the early commitments for the AT&T National, but in addition to Woods, past tournament champions Nick Watney, Justin Rose and K.J. Choi will play in the $6.5 million event. Par on Congressional's Blue Course will be 71 and at 7,535 yards. Woods has finishes of tied for 16th (1997 U.S. Open), tied for sixth (2008 AT&T National) and the win three years ago. "The difficulty is that it's a big ballpark," Woods said. "If you get to where there's a little moisture in the fairways and (tee shots) aren't running and aren't chasing, this course gets really long. ... It's a fantastic tee-to-green golf course. You have to drive the ball well and once you get onto the greens, there's a lot of pitch and movement, usually back to front. "Playing here this year, I would like to see it difficult, there's no doubt." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
revkev Posted May 22, 2012 Share Posted May 22, 2012 I'm hoping to get some comments on this comment. More and more I see Tiger as the latest in stars, hall of fame, top shelf guys, who lost their putting stroke and couldn't recover - Snead, Palmer and Watson come quickly to mind. All three remained factors in regular events but could not win a major after they hit ther early to mid-30's because there would be that key missed putt. I realize that there are tons of other factors surrounding Tiger but prior to the Thanksgiving night escapade he was winning despite being an horrific ball striker the last three years - since then the putter has deserted him. I actually think he's a better ball striker than he was 3-5 years ago - The question is will he end up like Palmer/Watson - done as a major contender or will he regain that stroke? Taylor Made Stealth 2 10.5 Diamana S plus 60 Aldila R flex - 42.25 inches SMT 4 wood bassara R flex, four wood head, 3 wood shaft Ping G410 7, 9 wood Alta 65 R flex Srixon ZX5 MK II 5-GW - UST recoil Dart 65 R flex India 52,56 (60 pending) UST recoil 75's R flex Evon roll ER 5 32 inches It's our offseason so auditioning candidates - looking for that right mix of low spin long, more spin around the greens - TBD Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flv02 Posted May 22, 2012 Share Posted May 22, 2012 Tiger is as clueless @ the podium as he is on the state of his game...Think back to last fall & he played well leading into the President's Cup, then he played great all week & it culminated in his convincing win in his single's match...He then had a nice fall/winter culminating with his winning his tournament(Chevron) in December... According to Tiger, he was close...Starts the year off in good form, then he wins his first tournament in a few years & he's the favorite goin into The Master's...Blows a gasget @ Augusta, and all of a sudden he's "lost" and tryin to get a "consistent feel" for his swing... Huh?....So for the past month he's been lost & trying to improve in "incremental steps"...C'mon...He's clueless...We're talking TWO YEARS, not two months..."incremental steps" is what you're looking for early on, not two years down the road.... And how did he go from the imrovement he showed last fall into this year with his victory, only to implode & now it seems as though he's taken two steps forward & six back...It's mental...The mechanical side of his swing is fine...It's the same swing he had @ the President's Cup...Same as the one the he had when he won his Chevron in December...Same one that he had when he went head-to-head with Phil in the final round, though his putting was what did him in that day...Same one that he had when he won six weeks ago.... No, Tiger is screwed up upstairs...His mental video system is broken...His mind's not comfortable telling his body what to do...And every day, month & tournament that goes by it get's further away & more difficult to bring back...And his putting has hurt him badly...He has lost, and IMHO, & will not get back the stroke that he had a few years ago, much less the stroke that he had in 2000-02...Putting saved him & won him many tournaments, not to mention a major or two, & he's no longer automatic from 6-8'...That's critical!... And Sean Foley?...He might be ok as a swing caoch, however Tiger does'nt need a swing coach...He needs a frickin shrink.... Fairways & Greens 4ever....... I agree with everything. The ability is there. But, most pro golfers will tell you that the game is at least 90% mental, meaning that his chances are VERY limited. I think he needs to try that Pro Mental Coach that WD and Barbajo have been testing Inside My Blue Callaway Warbird X Golf Stand Bag: Driver:Nike SQ 10.5* with Graphite Design Y6+ 3W:Cobra S2 14* 4W: Nike SQ Dymo 17* 3H and 4H: Taylormade Rescue 19* and 22* 5H: Cleveland Mashie 23* 6H: Adams a3os Hollow-Back 7Iron-Sand Wedge:Callaway X-20 Series with Callaway Steel Lob Wedge (60*):Cleveland CG-12 Black Pearl with Cleveland TRaction Steel Wedge Flex Putter: Odyssey Versa #9 Golfball: Callaway Hex Black Tour Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shambles Posted June 4, 2012 Share Posted June 4, 2012 I liked the excitement Tiger showed on 16. That fist pump was a real visit to the old days and you could see him breathing hard after the shot. It gave me hope of seeing more from him in the near future. Shambles Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BK in TEXAS Posted June 4, 2012 Share Posted June 4, 2012 The crowd got LOUD when the flop on 16 went in! MENTOR, L4 COACH & TRAINER FIRST TEE GREATER HOUSTON HDCP: 8.3 (GHIN: 3143312) In my bag, April 2023 TS3 Driver & 4 Wood Hzrdous Smoke Shaft (Stiff Flex) TS2 Hybrids Mitsubishi Tensei Shaft (Stiff Flex) MP-59 5-PW; KBS Tour (Regular Flex) SM8 Wedges EVNROLL ER2 Putter SRIXON Z-STAR DIAMOND BALL Sun Mountain Cart Bag 4.0 Push Cart (I'm walking 9 outta 10 rounds!!) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flv02 Posted June 4, 2012 Share Posted June 4, 2012 I just felt like I was watching the old Tiger today. Mentally, he was great. If he can keep this up, both mentally and with his swing, then Tiger will be in the running next week, making for a very exciting Sunday finish. If not, then I feel like the cycle will continue. We'll say hes not ready and that he'll never win . Then he wins again and, well you get the point. I don't know about all of you, but I am ready for Tiger to be back FOR GOOD. Inside My Blue Callaway Warbird X Golf Stand Bag: Driver:Nike SQ 10.5* with Graphite Design Y6+ 3W:Cobra S2 14* 4W: Nike SQ Dymo 17* 3H and 4H: Taylormade Rescue 19* and 22* 5H: Cleveland Mashie 23* 6H: Adams a3os Hollow-Back 7Iron-Sand Wedge:Callaway X-20 Series with Callaway Steel Lob Wedge (60*):Cleveland CG-12 Black Pearl with Cleveland TRaction Steel Wedge Flex Putter: Odyssey Versa #9 Golfball: Callaway Hex Black Tour Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Saternus Posted June 4, 2012 Share Posted June 4, 2012 Loved today's result, hope to see more of it. Golf without Tiger is just not as exciting. Follow me on Twitter: @MattSaternus Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kanoito Posted June 4, 2012 Share Posted June 4, 2012 I'm sure Tiger winning tournaments is far more important than my Fantasy Golf team What a shot on 16th, what a finish! I loved this tournament and all the excitement that came with! SpeedZone 9* w/ Aldila Rogue Silver 60 S X2 Hot 3 Deep 14.5* w/ Aldila Tour Green 75 S JetSpeed 5W 19* w/ Matrix Velox T 69 S OR Super LS 3H 19* w/ Kuro Kage Black 80 S JPX919 Forged 4-PW w/ Modus3 105 S Vokey SM7 50/08F, 54/14F & 58/08M w/ Modus3 115 Wedge ER1 34" w/ SuperStroke Fatso 2.0 Pro / H2NO Lite Cart Bag / 3.0 / NX7 Pro LRF My reviews: MLA Putter // Titleist SM7 // PING i500 // PuttOUT Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Saternus Posted June 4, 2012 Share Posted June 4, 2012 I'm sure Tiger winning tournaments is far more important than my Fantasy Golf team What a shot on 16th, what a finish! I loved this tournament and all the excitement that came with! Tiger winning was the only thing that kept my fantasy team from being a total catastrophe this week. Both C players MC'd and my A's stunk. Follow me on Twitter: @MattSaternus Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kanoito Posted June 4, 2012 Share Posted June 4, 2012 Tiger winning was the only thing that kept my fantasy team from being a total catastrophe this week. Both C players MC'd and my A's stunk. I started him 5 times already, so I wanted to save him for later when he's good again. If I had known SpeedZone 9* w/ Aldila Rogue Silver 60 S X2 Hot 3 Deep 14.5* w/ Aldila Tour Green 75 S JetSpeed 5W 19* w/ Matrix Velox T 69 S OR Super LS 3H 19* w/ Kuro Kage Black 80 S JPX919 Forged 4-PW w/ Modus3 105 S Vokey SM7 50/08F, 54/14F & 58/08M w/ Modus3 115 Wedge ER1 34" w/ SuperStroke Fatso 2.0 Pro / H2NO Lite Cart Bag / 3.0 / NX7 Pro LRF My reviews: MLA Putter // Titleist SM7 // PING i500 // PuttOUT Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shambles Posted June 7, 2012 Share Posted June 7, 2012 Regardless of how good Tiger looked in the Memorial, and he truly looked good, I doubt it was the old Tiger or anything near what he used to be. I'm probably too much the pessimist and very possibly am overstating how good he was, but all I really saw at the memorial was a very good golfer and not the legend that was Tiger in his hey days. I still don't see the hard focus that typified him. I expect there will be more wins and a very good run at Jack's record. If anything ever drove Tiger to excellence, it was the sight of a record that was just about reachable. I doubt I will ever again see the Tiger of yesterday but am thankful that I saw yesterday. Shambles Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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