2012 Memorial Tournament Presented by Nationwide Insurance Discussion Thread

[brocks]

[quote] Originally Posted by brocks Correct. By playing a round before he withdrew, he kept somebody else from playing.

I'm pretty certain that as an invitational that's not true. 71 players made the cut. 44 were cut. 5 withdrew. That's only 110 players. [/quote] I think all that means is that the guy who didn't get to play was much better than the usual alternate.

[brocks]

The Masters was +5

Thanks for that, but the Masters is a special case. It has a restricted field, and it has the ten shot rule. I was looking for a stat that confirmed that this was an unusually tough week, and I got it this morning. If I heard them right on the pre-game show, they said that the 36-hole leading score of -6 this week was the highest in the last 20 years or so.

[brocks]

Take a look at Villegas' 18th hole "massacre": [URL=http://www.pgatour.com/shottracker/?navid=nav:live_scoring_shot_tracker#/current/r023/3/player/27770/]http://www.pgatour.com/shottracker/?navid=nav:live_scoring_shot_tracker#/current/r023/3/player/27770/[/URL]

Hey, he one-putted it.

[iacas]

Originally Posted by brocks

I think all that means is that the guy who didn't get to play was much better than the usual alternate.

I don't think that's right. I think the field is set, like The Masters, and that's who gets to play.

Please multi-quote rather than make three separate posts.

[Zwick]

Levin with 3 or 4 chip-ins and countless long bombs, hard not to win like that. But I really don't know if he can keep it up under sunday pressure.

Woods doesn't look healthy right now, I guess he really feels his flu.

Very nice performance by Fowler, the guy is on a hot streak.

[Zwick]

Woods and Fowler probably paired together in the second to last group, this will atract a few fans...

Levin really struggling right now, doesn't bode good for tomorrow.

That's really the highest Woods could have shot today. No really bad shots, but no putts dropping...

[colin007]

Yeah, Tiger could not have scored worse...

[turtleback]

Originally Posted by iacas

Unfortunately, none of us can know whether he'd have stuck around if he shot 72. I tend to give people benefit of doubt, and that would suggest his 79 or whatever was a result of the fatigue, not the other way around. He's missed cuts before and not withdrawn.

I agree with this.  I'm not Phil fan, but the reality is that in a pretty long career this is the 3rd time he has withdrawn from an event.  Coincidentally 2 of the 3 were the Memorial.  But I don't think that means anything.

[jamo]

I agree with this.  I'm not Phil fan, but the reality is that in a pretty long career this is the 3rd time he has withdrawn from an event.  Coincidentally 2 of the 3 were the Memorial.  But I don't think that means anything.

The first time he withdrew from the Memorial was in 2007 because of a wrist injury that he says he got while practicing for the U.S. Open at Oakmont (he missed the cut at the Open). So yeah, I agree. Probably no deeper meaning.

[bplewis24]

Originally Posted by iacas

So you've never taken a day off work? You attended every day of classes? You've never gone to bed early, gotten a headache, etc.?

Non sequiturs don't strengthen a bad argument.

Anyway, Ricky Fowler wore one of the ugliest golf shirts I've seen in a long time today.

Also, I think Jack's "I'm staying out of this" comment was telling of his position.  When asked directly by Faldo, I figured he'd either endorse/defend Phil, or say nothing.  Nothing either means he has no strong feelings on the matter, or has strong feelings on the matter and doesn't want to go public with them.  I'm guessing it's the latter.  I'm glad at least those guys realize how ridiculous it is to try and defend this pathetic maneuver.

Brandon

[Rudyprimo]

I hate to drag this on, but I'd like to make a few comments on Mickelson withdrawing. Golf, far more than any other sport, depends on mental acuity more than anything else. Mental fatigue is a valid reason for withdrawing. There's no reason to go out there for one more round if you're mentally exhausted. It serves no purpose to Phil, and as most golfers know, it can make things worse by ingraining bad parts of the swing. I don't see why a fan would want to see Phil playing another bad round like the first one anyway and think that's entertaining. And that's what golf and sports are for, entertainment for the fans. Mickelson has been through some life altering occurrences the past couple of years, from his wife and Mother fighting cancer to being inducted into the Hall of Fame. Sometimes things have a way of catching up to you all of a sudden. They were celebrating Amy's birthday, a milestone birthday where realize your life is generally half over, and also, I bet the cancer coming back is always somewhere in the back of their minds too and may have affected their vacation. Phil is also at that age where a lot of men suffer burnout in their careers, whether a superstar athlete or a regular Joe. Jack Nicklaus suffered burnout for quite a while when he was 39-40 years old, where he said he had no motivation to play and if playing, no motivation to win. Look how Barry Sanders retired in his prime, Michael Jordan quitting the NBA for nearly two years or Robert Duran and his "No mas" fight against Sugar Ray Leonard, after Duran had fought nearly 80 times in his career. There are a lot more examples of athletes suffering different degrees of burnout or "mental fatigue". With Phil, I guess you can say it's "minor burnout". And I bet celebrating Amy's 40th birthday drained a lot of emotion out in both of them. I think Phil handled it with class. He finished the round and honestly admitted why he was withdrawing instead of some bs injury excuse. And yes, Phil does deserve the benefit of the doubt on this one because of the way he has handled himself in public and private throughout his career. I think any sport would be even more enjoyable to the fans if more athletes conducted themselves like Phil has, especially the way he's always smiling to the fans ready to chat a little and sign autographs. I think the fans taking Phil to task for this are being unfair and selfish. It's like they feel Phil has a duty to perform for them no matter what may be going through his mind right now.

[rossvanwyk]

^^ Pretty much this. Agree with Rudy 100%.

[utztech]

Originally Posted by bplewis24

It's all in the hash tag.  Basically he's implying what another poster suggested earlier: that Phil took great exception with the way the tournament is being handled by allowing unruly fans with cell phones to go wild.

I actually did see him back off a shot on the tee at a par 3 (either hole #7 or #8) and Bones asked somebody to "cool it with the cell phones."

Brandon

I have seen this mentioned a couple of places too.  But is there a source where Phil actually mentioned the phones?  As far as I can tell, it was Bubba complaining about the phones and putting words in Phil's mouth.  Bubba said Phil probably was put off his game because of all the phones.  Then Bubba said its not fun to play anymore with this cell phone policy.  Then Bubba said, "Wah I want a bottle to go along with my green jacket that I had no fun winning!"

Anyway, it seems in the past Phil will speak up when he has a problem with something.  He has not been the 'silent protest' type in the past.

And just to voice my opinion on the phones, the fans need to silence those things and abide by the rules or get asked to leave.  But a professional golfer should be able to back-off reset and not let some clicking take him out of his game and "ruin all the fun, waaaahhhh."

[iacas]

Read more: http://www.golf.com/tour-and-news/tiger-woods-not-man-beat-memorial

Quote:

In the previous world order, this Memorial Tournament would’ve been over as soon as Tiger Woods tied for the lead after draining a long birdie putt on the opening hole Saturday afternoon at Muirfield Village. He then took the solo lead minutes later when second-round leader Rory Sabbatini made bogey.

In that world, you knew it and Tiger knew it, the Memorial Tournament would’ve been gift-wrapped and neatly tied with a bow for Tiger’s trophy room. He would’ve piled on a few birdies and eagles and pulled away, while the other players on the board, intimidated by his presence, would have melted like April snow.

It would’ve been win No. 73, moving him into a tie with tournament host Jack Nicklaus on the all-time victory list. It would’ve been a given because, we all knew, Tiger never missed a chance for another milestone.

In the new post-Tiger world, featuring the fourth iteration of Tiger, the Memorial was not over. It isn’t still with 18 holes to play.

Woods keeps saying he’s close. He is, and getting closer to playing better than at any time since returning from The Scandal. He played solid but wasn’t able to convert much on the greens. Woods sank a 20-footer for birdie on that first hole. The next longest putt he holed all day? Four-and-a-half feet. Woods finished with a one-over 73.

He's 58th in Putts Gained, too. Which seems like it's just about right to me given his performance.

[xxsoultonesxx]

Well we've all seen how Spencer Levin handles himself on Sundays. So I'm gonna go ahead and write him off... ;)

I would have to say that Sabbatini, Woods, or Fowler all have equal opportunities to win at this point. Tiger, especially knows how to go low on a Sunday.

[newtogolf]

The only knock I have with Phil this week is if he was tired he should have just withdrew from the start.  I'd guess he tried to play through it for Jack and his sponsors but realized he wasn't going to be able to.  Phil has some immune system issues so I give him the benefit of the doubt when he's starting to feel weak and run down.

[newtogolf]

I agree with you on Levin, and can't see Sabbatini winning with both Fowler and Woods playing right in front of him today.  Stage is set for Rickie or Tiger.

Originally Posted by xxsoultonesxx

Well we've all seen how Spencer Levin handles himself on Sundays. So I'm gonna go ahead and write him off... ;)

I would have to say that Sabbatini, Woods, or Fowler all have equal opportunities to win at this point. Tiger, especially knows how to go low on a Sunday.

[iacas]

Originally Posted by xxsoultonesxx

I would have to say that Sabbatini, Woods, or Fowler all have equal opportunities to win at this point. Tiger, especially knows how to go low on a Sunday.

Does he? His 62 at Honda was his lowest by a few wasn't it? I'm not sure he can truly go low given his putting this week. I wonder if he spent time last night or this morning working on his putting.