Baddely win or Furyk choke?

[Wood]

I'm gonna go with a Furyk collapse.

[Thrash13]

I disagree.

On a course where the round of the day was a 66, I definitely wouldn't call a final-round 71 a collapse. It was obvious Furyk didn't have his best stuff yesterday, but it wasn't a collapse.

When I think of collapse, I think of Goosen in last year's U.S. Open or Greg Norman at the 1996 Masters. I just don't consider an even par final round a collapse.

Aaron Baddeley held up under the pressure very well, making a lot of putts in the five-foot range. Like I said, Furyk didn't have his best, but he hit the ball pretty well all day. He just couldn't get the putts to fall.

Congrats to Baddeley by the way. Maybe he will go to the next level with this win. He certainly has the tools.

[Wood]

I disagree.

I understand your disagreement, that's why I wanted this discussion, because I'm somewhat riding the fence. Maybe I just expect a US Open winner, and the #7 player IN THE WORLD to be able to carry a 2 shot lead through the last 7 holes. I( as did the ESPN Radio analysts yesterday) expected Baddely, having less experience, to fold like a lawn chair. I also expect that 10 time winner on the PGA, and one of the better putters on tour to make some of those putts coming down the stretch

I do commend Baddely on his victory, and expect good things out of him. If this had of been Tiger or Phil, would it have been considered a choke? Absolutely, regardless of couse conditions- they all played the same one.

[muskegman]

I'm not going to call Furyk's performance a choke, but it was a mild gag. He struck the ball well but didn't make those key 8-12 footers to put the nail in the coffin.

Baddely was the guy playing like the veteran, making key putts down the stretch, while Furyk struggled a bit. Baddely's advantage this week is that he was fairly accurate and way longer than Furyk. I give Baddely credit for getting the job done... he stole the show.

[NCGolfer]

If this had of been Tiger or Phil, would it have been considered a choke? Absolutely, regardless of couse conditions- they all played the same one.

Maybe, but it wasn't Tiger or Phil, was it? I'd classify yesterday as a big disappointment for Furyk. If he would have finished 75 or 76, sure it would be a choke...but he had a putt on the last hole to go to a playoff. If you choke, you shouldn't even be in the neighborhood of the winner.

[Thrash13]

If you choke, you shouldn't even be in the neighborhood of the winner.

Yeah, a collapse or choke is when a golfer is near the lead and ends up WAY out of contention. It might have been a mild gag like Jeff said.

All that aside, I'm sure Jim Furyk was highly pissed at himself for not winning. I'm sure he expected to pick up the win. If anyone had a mild collapse, it was Ernie Els. He can't seem to finish anything off on the weekend. He is a Friday/Saturday golfer these days.

[Wood]

If you choke, you shouldn't even be in the neighborhood of the winner.

So, when Olazabel missed a 3 footer on 18 of the Bellsouth last year to win outright before the playoff (which he lost to Phil), that wasn't a choke? He was certainly in the neighborhood.....

I understand your point, and don't wholely disagree with it not being a choke per say. I guess the better way to ask the question is did Furyk lose the tourney more than Baddely won it? To this, I say yes. Furyk did not get it done when he should have . But hey, that's golf. I don't want to split hairs over the definition of a choke- Can it happen over an entire round, or is it on one shot only, or how close can you be to the winner to have choked? That is not what I meant for this thread, and collapse was the wrong word in my origional post.

[iacas]

I think it was a minor gag. It's not like Baddeley has never won anything before, either, so he stayed with it.

Furyk could have put the match away, but there you have it. He hit a great shot and just didn't hit some great putts coming in. Maybe if his putting routine wasn't four minutes long...

[BruceH]

The good thing about "Dresses" winning was that that stupid jacket didn't clash too badly with his outfit.

4th Aussie winner on Tour this year. If you have any kids who are budding pros then emmigration down under should be considered.

[sungho_kr]

I see a similarity with tiger's game and furyk's. Putts did not roll but thats too bad. I think Baddely is a good player, not as good as Furyk but he still is a pro, isn't he. Also Baddely has some talent and distance which Furyk dosen't have. So you can say Baddely won but....
Isn't Furyk's best stat basically putting? He sure isn't known for his distance off the tee. So it can be a gag.

Final - Baddely wins,
Reason: Furyk can't always be an exceptional putter, unless he is not human.

[tartanjack]

I'm a Furyk fan (I have the same driver head and am a crazy Steeler fan like him) so maybe my opinion is prejudiced a bit. I didn't see any gag, mild or total. He just didn't make the putts. Now anybody who's competed knows that sometimes you just don't make them even if you're not choking. It happens. Choking is one way to miss them, but so is a bad read, a temporarily shakey stroke and just bad luck. It happens. Actually I think the only one who really knows is Jim himself. Based on his post-round interviews, I don't think he believes he choked.