The State of the Tiger is Strong

Tiger Woods has spent the last year assuring us his game was “this close” to the dominant level he demands of himself. Having already doubled his 2004 win total, the outlook for Team Tiger is bright for the rest of 2005.

Tiger WoodsStaring down his biggest rival in a final-round showdown, setting a scoring record, hitting shots no one else can hit, regaining his Number 1 ranking: all in a day’s work for Tiger Woods. Has the greatest player in the game today shaken off the slumpiness of his 2004 season? Is the artist formerly known as Eldrick ready to go on another epic run? Or is he just teasing us while complaining about the length of the PGA Tour season?

Let’s take a quick look at all the Woodsian news that Tiger has dropped on us this week.

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Bite Golf Shoes

Bite invented the golf sandal, but that’s not all they’ve got to offer. We check out a few of their shoes and highly recommend at least one of them.

Bite ShoesFootJoy. Adidas. Ecco. Even Nike and Dexter. These are the names you think of when you think “golf shoes.” Bite? “Oh, they make those sandals, right?”

Not quite true. Though Bite is often credited as having invented the golf sandal, they’ve grown a bit since then. Bite now makes quite a few golf shoes. I recently had the opportunity to test two pairs on a golf trip to North Carolina. Here are my thoughts.

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Monster Mash: Tiger Topples Mickelson, Doral

Woods versus Mickelson lived up to the hype, as each took their shots over a grueling 18 holes on Sunday. In the end, Tiger Woods landed the final punch.

Tiger Woods @ FordWOW!

Tiger Woods made a statement Sunday, outdueling Phil Mickelson and slaying the Blue Monster in the process. Tiger Woods has won the 2005 Ford Championship at Doral and, in doing so, re-claimed his spot on top of the World Golf Rankings.

Woods, who began the day two shots back of Mickelson, first took the lead when he eagled the 603-yard par-5 12th after knocking a 3-wood 295 yards to the back of the green. We’d later learn that he hit it a bit thin. Sheesh!

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Annika Rules at 2005 Mastercard Tournament

Sorenstam emerges victorious to claim her 57th LPGA trophy today at the 2005 Mastercard Tournament.

Mastercard TournamentAnnika Sorenstam fired a four-under 68 today to take the lead from Cristie Kerr and proclaim victory at the 2005 Mastercard Tournament from Mexico City. Karrie Webb, twice player of the year and with 32 career wins, finished in second place. “I’ve probably worked harder over the last couple of years than I have ever worked on the Tour” remarked Webb in a recent interview.

Lorena Ochoa rallied to fifth place after coming back from a 27th place tie on Friday. Ochoa, the 23-year-old darling of Mexican golf and two-time LPGA tour winner, is the first Mexican-born champion on the LPGA Tour. At the end of 2004, Ochoa made a pledge that in 2005 she would improve her position and topple number one seed Annika Sorenstam. “I think I need to remain consistent with where I am and try to shorten the distance that Annika has over me. I want to get closer and closer to give her more of a fight,” Ochoa states in a recent LPGA.com interview.

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Els Eagles the Last to Win in Dubai

Ernie Els eagled the 18th to win by one while Jimenez three-jacked from 70 feet to lose.

Ernie Els Dubai TrophyErnie Els has won the Dubai Desert Classic, holing an 18-foot eagle putt on the 547-yard final hole and watching second- and third-round leader Miguel Angel Jimenez three-putt the same green to lose by one.

Els came to the 18th in third place, behind Jimenez and Stephen Dodd. The Spaniard Jimenez reached the par-5 finishing hole in two and was the clear favorite, but three-jacked from 70 feet after failing to read enough break. His six-footer for a playoff missed the cup. Meanwhile, Els – who had crushed his drive and was left with only 178 yards to a pin tucked just over water – hit a towering 6-iron and read his putt perfectly.

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Doral Showdown: Woods v. Mickelson

Phil Mickelson managed “only” a 66, but Tiger charged to a tournament-low 63 to get within two and separate himself from the field. Welcome to a Sunday showdown at Doral!

Tiger Woods Phil Mickelson“Phil Mickelson vs. The Blue Monster” ended in a TKO, with Phil Mickelson firing 64, 66, 66. But Sunday’s matchup is even better.

Tiger Woods fired a blistering 63, with a back-nine 30, and put the pressure on Mickelson, who managed to retain a two-stroke advantage going into the final round at the Ford Championship at Doral. Mickelson is at -20, Tiger’s at -18, and nobody else is closer than -14.

Miami ain’t exactly the Ol’ West, but there’s a showdown scheduled for 1:45pm EST today, and it’s World #2 vs. World #4. Tiger is spotting Mickelson – who has lead or shared the lead in each of his last ten stroke-play rounds – one stroke a side. Who will win?

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Mickelson: the Real Monster at Doral

With so many players capable of going low, this weekend’s Ford Championship at Doral promises a good finish.

Ford ChampionshipPhil Mickelson is playing like the world’s number one golfer of late and proved it again today. He fired a 6-under 66 to claim exclusive rights to first place and sits at -14. His six birdies put him two strokes ahead of Billy Andrade. Phil – not the course – is the true monster this week.

On a course that historically has been one of the PGA’s most dramatic, we are seeing some low scores. Just to give you an idea of what these guys are up against, the Blue Monster is a par 72 7,255-yard course. There are 117 sand bunkers and water comes into play on 12 of its 18 holes. The 18th hole was the most difficult hole on the PGA Tour last year. It is a course that attracts the world’s best golfers and has provided some memorable moments since the tournament’s inception in 1962.

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Jimenez Surges ahead of Els in Dubai

The Mechanic fired a second round speed-limit 65 to take the lead over Els in the Dubai Desert Classic.

JimenezThe Mechanic, Miguel Angel Jimenez, tinkered his way to a 65 in Friday’s Dubai Desert Classic to take a two-stroke lead over first-round leader Ernie Els. Colin Montgomerie, looking to get into the top 50 in the world for an invitation to the Masters, is tied for fourth, five strokes back.

Els has played bogey-free golf all week, but added only four birdies to his first-round 66 (-6) and currently rests at -10, staring up at Jimenez, who rolled in eight birdie putts on Friday before bogeying the final hole. Said Jimenez, “I am like the good wines, you know. With the age, getting better.”

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Big Guns Mix It Up In Round One At Doral

The Ford Championship at Doral has golf’s very best strutting their stuff for a $5.5 million purse, and golf’s best is at the top of the leaderboard.

Phil Mickelson When the dust settled after the first round at Doral four players were tied for the lead at 64: José Maria Olazabal, Phil Mickelson, Brian Davis, and Marco Dawson. Tiger Woods was tied for fifth, one shot back with Harrison Frazar at 65.

The big guns showed up to play, and play they did. Eleven of the top twelve players in the world are at Doral. The missing man is Ernie Els, and he was busy racing into the lead at the Dubai Desert Classic half a world away.

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