Last week was a pretty good one in golf. With the Players Championship for the PGA Tour and the Michelob Ultra Open at Kingsmill taking place concurrently, there was a lot of good golf to watch. And even if you can’t follow it on TV, the college golf season is building to a climax.
In a way, it was the perfect lead-in to the summer. There are a lot of questions waiting to be answered. Last week may have raised more than it answered and that means some interesting months ahead.
Here are just a few of the topics that came to light last week.
Number Five: Slump? What Slump?
Tiger Woods has played six events this year, made six cuts, won once, and finished in the top ten every other time. His scoring average is 69.70, he’s won over $2 million this year, and he’s in ninth place in the FedExCup race.
I know what you’re thinking… this guy sucks.
Sure, he’s averaging just 56.79% in driving accuracy, and he’s failed to make a charge on Sunday when he’s been in striking range the last three tournaments. And yes, at TPC Sawgrass, he looked bad… really bad for Tiger… and he shot 73 on a very difficult course where the field averaged 72.69.
It just goes to show how dominating Woods has been. We expect so much. Frankly, I find watching Tiger notch top tens with some pretty poor all-around play to be pretty interesting golf viewing. I wish I could learn to get that much out of my rounds, but I’m far better versed in snatching bogey from the jaws of par than vice versa.
People are making a big deal about Woods not coming from behind to win tournaments on Sunday. True, he’s only done it a few times. But even if he only ever wins as a frontrunner, 66 wins and 14 majors make him one heck of a frontrunner.
We’ve heard that Tiger’s swing was seriously flawed before. Each time he comes back stronger than ever. I suspect the near future will hold more sightings of the Tiger we’ve become accustomed to seeing. As Mark Twain might describe Tiger’s game, reports of its death are greatly exaggerated.
Number Four: Oh, That’s a Slump
After entering 2009 with back-to-back majors to his credit, Padraig Harrington’s year has been pretty quiet. He’s missed three cuts in ten events, with a best finish of T11. With just $400K in winnings so far, it might be a good thing that Harrington doesn’t have to worry about Q-School. He’s exempt for the next couple years for winning a major (not to mention two).
This week Harrington explained that his less-than-stellar play this year can be chalked up to the swing changes he’s been working on in an attempt to be a better player than he was last year. Oh, so swing changes can cause poor play. Hmmm… that reminds me of someone. Oh, what’s his name? It’s on the tip of my tongue…
Number Three: Will Wie Never Learn?
Michelle Wie once again asserted that one of her goals is to play against the men and to eventually play in the Masters. I’m all for setting the bar high, but here’s a thought: win an LPGA event first and then we’ll talk.
Number Two: Henrik Stenson: More than an Underwear Model
If you didn’t know who Henrik Stenson was before last weekend shame on you. And if you only knew about Stenson because he stripped to his jockey shorts to hit a ball out of the mud at the CA Championship earlier this year, that’s just sad.
Stenson’s final-round 66 at the TPC Sawgrass was particularly impressive when you look at the rounds of others who started the day in contention. Aaron Baddeley, the first guy to tee off on Sunday, tied for the day’s low round and finished the Players Championship at T9 -4. The Aussie shot a 66 in a shade over three hours. Let’s hear it for quick play!
Of course, if he’d been paired with Kevin Na or Ben Crane, he might still be on the course.
Stenson has been one of the promising “Next Big Things” coming out of Europe for the past few years. He turned up on several pundits’ major contenders lists last year, and finished T3 in the Open Championship and T4 in the PGA Championship. The 33-year-old Swede should be expected to turn up on leaderboards with some regularity now. He’s just reached number five in the world rankings with his win at the Players. His next test is staying there.
Number One: JD Means “Just Dandy”
John Daly finished T2 at last week’s BMW Italian Open. Daly, who’s serving a six-month suspension from the PGA Tour for his off-course shenanigans, is playing better golf again. Here’s hoping that better play and better behavior go hand in hand, and that we’ll be seeing him on the PGA Tour again soon.
Photo Credits: © The Sand Trap.com, © AP, and © AP Photo/David J. Phillip.
John is only playing better because the competition sucks and the courses arn’t as tough.
Re: Tiger. If his all-round game is poor, how is he landing in the top ten? Somehow, he’s scoring. He’s following an errant shot with a beauty. That is what you’re supposed to do in golf.
Our problem–I mean we, the audience–are addicted to the story. We want the plot to unfold and climax with a long putt on Sunday, like the plot formula of our favorite TV show. Once a player is a hero in a story like Tiger’s, there is no turning back.
But we have to remember that as much as we love to be an entertained audience, we are also golfers. Golf isn’t perfect or consistent for any of us. It’s the wonderful variable in sports.
And Duvall is creeping up (and down) leaderboards. Talk about a story!
I (and probably the rest of America) 2nd the Michelle Wie comment. Jesus Christ, how bout you actually perform above average in a tournament you’re supposed to dominate and then start thinking about the next level. This is basically the equivalent of a 20 year old kid who dominates the local Go-Kart track shooting to reach the Daytona 500 in the not-to-distant future. I, like you, respect people who set the bar high. But in this case, where Wie is basically underachieving, it’s just annoying.
As “annoying” as you may find it, I don’t think that playing in a men’s event as a goal is all that bad. I don’t support her playing in men’s events currently (though if she plays in the Sony in her home state, given Sony’s sponsorship, that can be excused somewhat) because I think it’s bad for her game.
BTW, before talking about how she should “play average” on the LPGA Tour, you should at least check Michelle’s record this year. Six events, three top 10s (including second at SBS Open and a T3 today at the Sybase), and $290,649 in earnings (which puts her at 15th on the money list despite only six starts).
1. I’m really glad Stenson won The Players, or as rightly pointed out, he’ll forever be remembered for his underwear stunt.
2. Don’t understand why Padraig would make wholesale changes to what isn’t broke? If his game is good enough for 3 majors in 6 tries, that tells me there’s not too much wrong with his game – at all. Perhaps he should take a leaf from Angel Cabrera’s play book. Play your own game and the Majors will still roll in. TW had to make wholesale changes to his swing to accommodate his bad knee. Anyway, here’s wishing him luck with his major tweakings.
Noone seems to mention Henrik Stensons win at the Nedbank Golf Challenge at Sun City, South Africa in December. He totally dominated the field and won by +- 10 strokes. I think he will really be a guy to look out for to sit firmly in the top 4 players over the next few years