I'm not sure what's going on in Tigers head. I didn't watch every shot but two that stood out to me were these; I don't remember the hole but pretty sure it was either Friday or Sat, he has about 160 in and the pin is tucked off to the side. No real hazards that I saw but it was a tight pin. He puts it an area code away in the middle of the green. THEN he has almost the same shot on a different hole but this time the pin is guarded by one of those pot hole bunkers and he goes after it and lands it in the damn bunker. Pretty sure he saved par on both but he challenged the wrong pin as far as I could tell. He just all in all still seems way off. Most of these guys can hit a club to within a yard or two. Seems like Tiger is is 10 plus on a guess. His putting is atrocious compared to most of the field. @TerryP what's your analysis?
@shane0911 I'm in a month long project of remodeling my kitchen so I didn't get to see a lot of it either--I did listen to a good bit. I'm seeing an attitude that's "I'm happy to be out here." He's talking about perspective--understandable in its context--and wanting to make his kids proud. I'm not seeing the "Sunday red" approach to the game. Rory put it best when saying he's still here, but it's different. “Not Tiger that, you know, Phil (Mickelson) and Ernie (Els) and all those guys had to deal with,” Rory McIlroy said. “It’s a different version. But he’s right there.” I think it was Dari I saw getting hell yesterday because he'd said Tiger won't win another major. A lot were on his bandwagon yesterday, prematurely. I'm still with Dari thinking he won't win another major. Why? It's a different guy, different mentality. It is as if that 9i carved out a piece of his competitive spirit.
I suppose it’s a matter of opinion. Sure, it was exciting to see him birdie to “win”, but at that point there were still contenders coming in. Had those guys done more, the drama would have even been greater - thinking about Cabrera a few years ago at the Masters coming in to 18th in the rain. The majority of the day, there were about 5-8 big names with a legitimate shot at winning. Given that, the last 2 holes were relatively anti-climactic. Good to see the first ever Italian winner, however, would have preferred seeing an American win, and at least have a shot at winning on the 18th. Regarding Tiger, I get what others are saying he doesn’t seem to have that same “edge” that he’s had in the past. However, he was in contention for a major for the first time in a long time, that’s definitely a positive. More than one way to win. He may still win another major and do it with a different, more consistent, smoother style, rather than the aggressive, pull shots out of your butt Tiger style we’ve become accustomed to. Time will tell.
he's definitely playing better... he's not nearly as consistent with his putter as he used to be and he was still in contention... he's also not as clutch as he used to be... on 18, he was standing over a 3 footer and i said the old tiger would make this put... he pulled it... he was in the lead after 10 holes on a sunday... then he went double bogey, bogey on 11 and 12... after this weekend, he's now top 50 in the world... i think he's closer to winning another major than not winning... imo...
He's close and he's finally put his ego aside and keeps the driver in the bag which I like. But his putting used to save him and it hasn't been. Hes a lot closer than I ever thought he'd be again. There's no reason he can't win again but the longer he goes the harder it becomes.
Oldest player to win a major was Julius Boros in 1968 in the PGA. Jack Nichlaus was 46 when he won the Masters in in 1986. If Tiger is going to do i he had better do it soon.
Tiger's 42. I don't care how much talent you HAD, Father Time is going to catch up with you. With all of his physical (back) issues he' s had it's a miracle he is able to play competitive golf at the Tour level. I'm interested to see if the new putter results in any improvement in his putting game. I think the Open was only his second tournament with it.
There isn't but he he still has some things to iron out. I don't know how much he trust Joe. Hell I don't know how much he should trust Joe. His putting is definitely an issue. Molinari had to stare down 2 tricky 8 footers around the turn, maybe 8 and 9 something like that to save par and he drilled both of them. The only thing you can count on with Tiger and the flat stick is that he will lag a 40+ footer up to about 3" and he will make 90% of anything inside of 2 feet, anything else is a crap shoot. That isn't going to get it done. I'd like to think that Rory has finally poked the bear enough that it wakes him up. That was a pretty pointed statement from him and with an ego like Tiger's that has to sting. I can't wait to see how he responds.
It's great to see him among the leaders, a big step up for Tiger,.. to the casual fan anyhow, he still makes the game go round
