RichF

Come on man...h e struggles with long clubs, the driver and at times the 3-fairway, and he struggles with 8i up. His putting, especially down the stretch in majors, has been, by any standard let alone the bar he set for himself, poor. Zero sub-par rounds on the weekend in majors? That's middle-leaderboard golf and if anyone really believes that he is just not of the mindset to turn on the sluice of talent he has on reserve...then what is he waiting for? I just do not understand how anyone can objectively believe there is no possibility that he has lost 'something' he once had. Closing majors is an issue for Tiger, fearing the driver is an issue for Tiger, Putting under pressure in majors is an issue for Tiger, Hitting 9i-SW inside 70-100 yards is an issue for Tiger. However, I digress onto the subject of 'Can We All Finally Agree Tiger Is Done'? In all seriousness, when asked, "Will Woods do 'X' in his career " I can honestly say: "I don't know ." My personal opinion has always been that it's reasonable for anyone to have a view of Tiger The Golfer and Tiger The Person: he is among the best, if not the best, of all time at the former, and a rather bad example of the latter. As for Tiger The Golfer these days there are plenty of reasons to to think he will fall short of 18, 19 or even 15. However, looking at things positively: 1 - This is the first full, healthy season of play he has had since November 2009 2 - It has taken him about two full seasons for his previous major swing overhauls to gel, such that he could simply play and not have to think about the changes 3 - The flaws in his current game have always been the last aspects of his game to finally come under control as a result of the changes A lot have advocated Tiger returning to Butch Harmon to work out a swing that both protects his health and seeks to bring back his power and his exquisite shot making ability. Because that is what is missing with Foley's swing: he is no longer a shot maker in my opinion and that's what's stopping him from hitting #15. His record and winnings in non-Majors is all great but not relevant to this topic of discussion....which is Tiger Done/Not done and the former means 'winning Majors'. We all know that is all that matters to both Tiger and history. Plus, it's really what this thread is about because if you ask Tiger about his standard for success in Majors he will tell you that " second place sucks ". That is what he believes, it was once what his fans believed and now that he is 4 years dry then winning the AP Invitational...The Memorial...AT&T; National...and being #2 in the OGWR ( which, incidentally, wasn't 'all that' last year when Messrs Kaymer, Donald and Westwood were there ) is the standard to go by for success because for Tiger and the faithfull.... it fits the "#15 any time now" narrative.

People go on and on about Woods having the yips, with both his driver and putter, his training but it's really all mental. He led the PGA and then choked away the lead over the weekend - has some problems up top. He didn't post a single round under par this year in a major on Saturday or Sunday. No matter what the conditions, no matter how his driver, putter, or anything else was behaving. If one was going good, another thing would malfunction. Tiger isn't giving himself a lot of birdie opportunities off the tee. When you're laying up and hitting 5 and 6 into greens, you're looking at a 2-putt. Unless he can regain the confidence to use the driver more and sharpen his wedge play like Rors, then he's just fighting an uphill battle in my mind. Haney hit on this in his great book 'The Big Miss' ( if anyone here hasn't read it yet...do your self a favor - read it .): his fear of the driver really showed up at Augusta, where you have to shape off the tee. Can't hit 2 iron stingers there. Many have pointed at Tiger's total driving stat this year, yawwwnnn, but that has been padded by many fairways hit with 2 irons. When he is asked to rely on the driver on big courses, he can't get it done. The Open Championship highlighted his weakness in the final round. Hitting a 2 into the the wind on a 460 yard par 4 and leaving himself with 230-240 spoke volumes about his lack of confidence in the driver. He has won this year on set ups where he could get around with the 2 (Congressional's hard fairways, and Bay Hill) or where the fairways are wide and you don't have to shape the driver (Muirfield Village). He has done poorly where the driver is a requirement (TPC, Augusta, Olympic, Lytham, Firestone, Kiawah). The guy has come to realize that he is no longer viewed as some kind of golf 'bad-ass' who wants to "kick your butt " everytime he tees it up. The guy is almost 40, hasn't won a Major in over 4 years, and is losing ground on the field daily. That ain't going to change...no matter how often people use the 'Jack-won-his-last-Major-at-46-so-that-gives-Tiger-plenty-of-time' analogy. That doesn't hold any water when you realise Jack's 18th was a rarity - his last great season came when he was 40. 'The Rors Era', (ridiculous as it sounds - media and general public alike will call it that) is now, regardless of what he's achieved at this time of his career compared to Woods (i.e. massive difference)

I don't really pay too much attention until a 'red light' appears! After eight professional rounds he’s shot: 62, 65, 66, 66, 67, 67, 69 and 70 I've now read he might get sponsor's exemptions to play on some PGA Tour events this year.

(not strictly a 'PGA Tour' story but directly related to it) Ben Kohles , 22, won his 2nd straight tournament in a row on the Web.com Tour - his 2nd win in his first 2 starts! 9-under 62 final round, 17/18 GIR $261,000 thank you very much. Thoughts?

Those guys are bad-ass . They use real bullets and stuff...

"It's a process" Hey, anyone know how many 'reps' Woods needs to actually get back 'in the mix' nowadays?

Geoff Ogilvy. What's with the drain-pipe pants and gigantic shoes? Now he's got that ridiculous moustache going on as well. Tool.

Excellent posts, Chas.

The idea that anyone would prefer this story to come out any other time doesnt really hold any water - they'd rather it not be told at all The reason for this is that initial instinct to blame the media, accuse the people making statements that put Woods in a bad light, and give him a free pass. Because he remains above scrutiny, yeah?

Quote: Well, I can see what your trying to say but there is a difference between what transpired circa 2009 and beyond and is now generally know to be pretty factual (is anyone disputing it?) and the things that HH wrote from personal, first-hand experience. To be honest, the bits that got 'leaked' a few weeks ago are pretty much 'quick-eyebrow-raise-and-move-on-with-the-story' - the actual golf parts of the book Im more interested in. Tiger becoming a popsicle-waving-Poutler-bashing-waitress-nailing-kick-ass-Navy-SEAL is a mere bagatelle!

Quote: People can only judge this book if they've read it. Unfoetunately, you need to debate such matters with people of an 'open mind'. It's very reminiscant of religious Bible Belt followers stating that pornography, sex and violence is blasphemous and that we're all going to hell...when, deep-down, secretly behind their own closed doors...well, you know how it goes.

Quote: Yeah, I agree...but golf-talk ain't going to sell books alone. I don't know what the sales of 'Unplayable' or Chasing Tiger' or 'Follow The Roar' or 'How I Play Golf by Tiger Woods' are (all of which incidentally, I also own), are...but regardless of the fact they aren't written by anone close to the Woods camp, I suspect they wouldnt put a dent in the sales of HH's book. If 'The Big Miss' just talked about how much prep goes into a Major or how Tiger's works on his 9-shot practice routine, or what irons he actually plays, yadda-yadda-yada it wouldnt have sold. Anyone who thinks otherwise is just naive and needs to remove their head from their a$$. People don't just want to read books 'just about golf'. I wouldn't think books 'just about golf' are high on anyone's Christmas List (well, depends on how dull one is) - that's how today's generation is. Hence, why the attendance numbers drop at a golf tournament when Woods isn't playing: people don't just want to watch 'other golfers'. 'Tiger Woods' is a brand name. Tiger Woods is an icon - people want to know about EVERYTHING. Unfortunately, the book isn't solely aimed at hardcore golf-freaks talking on a Forum...if it was, Haney would be a mug for even writing such a book. Books 'just about golf'....well, I don't think they 'move the needle' , do they, Erik?

Quote: I finished it last week and I would love to talk about what's in it...but really, what's the point? Haney could have written the most positive, one-sided, plaudit-riddled book on Tiger ever ...yet because it isn't 'official' or been 'approved' by Tiger or Steiny or whoever, the idiots would still be whining about this mythical 'Teacher/Pupil' code.and 'respect of privacy' bullsh!t that they're conveniently using to bash Haney with now, because now the book has shown to be exactly the opposite to what they originally thought.

Quote: I did. Both times. I chuckled. Anyway...have you read the book yet, sonny?

Quote: Funniest post of the thread and hot-favortite for the 'Over-Senstive-Tiger-Fan-Of-The-Year' award Anyway, read the book.