Buick Invitational . . . who has a chance other than Tiger?

[RX Phoenix]

How is Tiger going to fair in his first start, does anyone have any info about the state of his game and equipment?

It is a weak field IMO with Mickelson and Veejay being the other marque players. No Adam Scott, Luke Donald, Geoff Ogilvy, Sergio, Els, . . . the foreign contingent is not showing up strong here. So who will challenge Woods? Looking at the field there is no one who can challenge him.

It's going to be another win for Tiger unless his game is rusty. Mickelson's psyche will be bruised after hitting 3 in the water in 3 holes last Sunday on the way to a closing 78 (?), Veejay is inconsistent, and looking at all the final round breakdowns so far this year, the young guns, Howell III, Glover, Rose, etc. can't handle the heat that Tiger will put on them.

So far this year no one has shown the kind of game to beat Tiger.

Who do you think might have a chance this week other than Tiger?

I'll be watching Charlie Hoffman last weeks winner because he's from San Diego and he's hot right now.
Also George McNeill, Q-school medalist who has shown so far that he has what it takes, this is a guy that can get hot, he won Q-school by 5 shots, blew the field away.

[ipark1303]

Well... Tiger is the prime choice... let's see... if he is not the one...

I think that Vijay will be a tough competitor.

[Clubswinger21]

Id disagree that the field is weak with sleepers like Chris Dimarco, Sean O'hair, and Charles Howell can all light it up at any time.. 3 of the top 5 players in the world.. you've got your come back stories in Paul Azinger(who is playing well enough to win right now) John Daly and David Duval.. and you cant forget Will Mackenzie.. lots of potential for an exciting week, i could care less about european content, minus Sergio of course. Sadly Ian Poulter will be there in his designer attire.

[Black_Black]

I'd say Vijay is the closest challenger to Tiger then Philly Mick of course, hopefully Sergio will show us something also. The foreign contingent is never really that strong here but Im kinda bummed Luke Donald isn't playing this year Im pretty sure he has played in the Buick the last 4 years.

[RX Phoenix]

Being that Tiger is going for #7 in a row, I would expect everyone to be there to try to be the one to stop him. As a competetor, who wouldn't give their right arm to get in the field and give it their very best.

That's why I say the field is 'weak', in that many of those capable of stopping Tiger aren't there . . . that's a shame.

Who can beat Tiger . . . maybe: Jim Furyk, Luke Donald, Adam Scott, Geoff Ogilvy, Padraig Harrington, Davis Love, Ernie Els, Sergio Garcia . . .all no shows.

Let's face it, golfers are business people first, independent contractors, they don't care about stopping Tigers streak as much as sticking to a schedule that best suits them. But as a fan of the PGATour, it's very sad that everyone isn't there to make this the blockbuster event it should be. If Tiger wins it's the second longest streak in history (i believe).

The only realistic challenger is Mickelson playing at a course he knows best and the last time Woods had 6 in a row Phil stopped him.

[Hogan Fan]

[QUOTE][I'll be watching Charlie Hoffman last weeks winner because he's from San Diego and he's hot right now.
/QUOTE]

I'll bet you ole Charlie either dosen't play or make the cut.
When these guys get their hands on a big wad of cash like that for the first time, they are too busy partying and spending money and always suck in the next event.

[J.P.]

I'm a P-Mick fan and I say Tiger wins number 7. First of all, they say Mick has lost 25 pounds and has added weight training to his regimen. I concur with Arnold Palmer who said on the GC telecast at the Bob Hope, "I don't see that it's missing".

Vijay did win already this year, and will likely contend, but I say not quite enough.

Tiger comes out of his layoffs ready to WIN. I do believe he has won four times in his first starts of the year. He is also quite familiar with Southern California golf.

I will be there on the weekend to see!!!

[RX Phoenix]

I'm a P-Mick fan and I say Tiger wins number 7. First of all, they say Mick has lost 25 pounds and has added weight training to his regimen. I concur with Arnold Palmer who said on the GC telecast at the Bob Hope, "I don't see that it's missing".

Ahhhh . . . some!!! J.P. that's great you'll be there! I'd love to make it down too but can't this year. Give us a run down of what it was like. Hope it is a great tournament to watch, should be very exciting with Tiger going for #7.

I concur with the V.J. comment, he likes the Plantation course in Hawaii and won, but unless his putter is on fire he won't win at the Buick. Hogan Fan, You may be right about Charlie, it's going to be interesting, he is in the field but he won't win. Seems like most of the pundits say it's going to be Tiger, but no one knows what he did in the off season to get ready, it's like a big secret still. Is he going to be razor sharp or a bit rusty, that's the BIG question that will be answered starting tomorrow!!!

[BASHERBAKER69]

Hi

come on guys, no one has really mentioned David Duval here!!..he says that he is playing well and looks revitalised this year-im gonna say at least another top 40 finish again at the Buick

bb69

[RX Phoenix]

Hi

OK, DD birdies the first 4 holes, sign of things to come???

But can he go 4 rounds, that's the question. He has had some good rounds and stretches of holes but for a full tournament he hasn't put it all together, hope this is the one and stops Tigers streak, how sweet would that be for DD?

[EatDrinkSleepGolf]

If Tiger has a decent 1st round in any tournament (like at The Buick yesterday), he chance of winning probably increases to 50%.

[Jeepthrills]

Great first day. There was potential for history in the making. When I checked the scores and saw this kid was -10 through 10 I was stunned. Even better Tiger and Duval are in contention at -6 and Vijay +3 and Phil +2 are struggling. Granted they both played the tougher South Course, but with any luck their scores will be high today as well.

[BASHERBAKER69]

Jeepthrills

don't you like Phil then??!!

bb69

[Jeepthrills]

I'd like him to go away. As a personal trainer, I'm offended by the fact that they made a big deal about how he had spent his off season lifting and running. What was he lifting Pizza? It looks like the only running he did was to 7-11 for more Taquitos. He is such a great talent. He is just an phoney ass.

[ezmoney5150]

Uh Oh! Tiger is 7 strokes off the lead. He better have a birdie and eagle fest today or he might look mortal and not win.

[RX Phoenix]

Tiger is lurking . . . as always, in prime condition to blow everyone's doors off on Sunday. The PGA is in danger of having the rest of its players becoming irrrelevant, just a supporting cast for Tiger and I believe people are losing interest, who wants to watch a foregone conclusion?

So this year I'm paying attention to the other guys to stay interested. And there are some great storylines:

Leading the Buick . . .
Andrew Buckle: Rookie off the Nationwide Tour from Australia
Brandt Snedeker: Rookie off Nationwide

Tied for 4th:
Troy Matteson: Second year pro
Bill Hass: Second year pro, son of Jay Hass, Champions Tour Cup winner last year.

Tied for 8th:
Charlie Wi: got his card back at Q-school, from S. Korea
Jeff Quinney: Rookie out of Nationwide Tour
Nick Watney: second year on tour
Ryuji Imada: rookie off of Nationwide Tour from Japan

Tied for 15th
Rick Barcelo: rookie out of Q-school
Johnson Wagner: rookie out of Nationwide Tour
Kevin Stadler: returns to second year on tour from Nationwide (son of Craig Stadler)

We are starting to see that there are young guys that can play, I believe that so much attention is paid to Tiger that we are not paying attention to what is happening below him.

Andrew Buckle is definitely a guy to watch, another great Australian player and loves Torrey Pines:
• Fellow rookie and co-leader Andrew Buckle may be new to the PGA TOUR, but he's no stranger to the Torrey Pines South Course. Buckle, a 24-year-old from Brisbane, Australia, won back-to-back Junior World Golf Championships here in 1999 and 2000. Buckle won the 15-17 Boys title in 1999, shooting scores of 71-75-71-68--285 to win by two shots, and followed up with a four-shot win in the same division in 2000.

[ezmoney5150]

Tiger comes back from a seven stroke deficit on Friday to win. Does this guy ever loose focus??? Amazing how many tough bunkers he got up and down out of.

[RyanR]

Apparently nobody has a chance but Tiger! Once they get to the longer course he's head and shoulders above the rest of the field, no question about it.

Ryan