Tiger's a Dad

[Silvertree]

ESPN is reporting Tiger's wife gave birth with-in 24 hours of the US Open's completion. I thought he seemed a little distracted or maybe had a lack of fire while playing Sunday at some points. I know we will never know for sure, but it would be interesting to know if they thought it was a possibility on Sunday.

[iacas]

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?p...KR8&refer;=home

Sam Alexis Woods

Also updates on tigerwoods.com .

Guess he'll probably play in the British Open. And no, this birth had NOTHING to do with his second-place finish or play on Sunday at the U.S. Open.

[Cleveland Gunmetal]

Yeah, please nobody else even consider this is the reason he lost on Sunday. He just didn't get the job done, period.

Isn't the birth a bit early? I don't know but I do recall reading something where Tiger was expecting the baby around the British Open, not US Open.

[golfchief]

No on tiger distraction. Cabrera played good all week, took a couple of chances on Sunday and putted great that was [U]why he won.[U]

[wengerlaw]

Obviously, none of us know for sure whether Tiger knew his wife may be going in to labor soon or whether it had any bearing on his play Sunday. I will just say that Tiger looked much calmer and stoic on Sunday than I have ever seen him in a Major. This could have been focus - or distraction.

[iacas]

Obviously, none of us know for sure whether Tiger knew his wife may be going in to labor soon or whether it had any bearing on his play Sunday. I will just say that Tiger looked much calmer and stoic on Sunday than I have ever seen him in a Major. This could have been focus - or distraction.

That's not true. There are a great many people who "know for sure" along with a great many more people who can be 99% confident they know.

Tiger's child did not affect his play on Sunday.

[Bo the Golfer]

I would disagree that it had no bearing on his play-I'm a dad of a beautiful four year old girl and if I knew her the her birth was within a day or two even the US Open would lose importance in the overall life picture-I usually love your comments Iacas but to be so difinitive in what Tiger was or was not thinking on Sunday is a stretch. .

[JKilgore44]

It seems as though the birth of your first born child would out-weigh any major championship you were participating in. And I'm sure he had to have known about it, he got out there in a hurry after he was finished. I'm sure that it's not completely the reason he failed win, but it probably had an affect on his focus.

[Cleveland Gunmetal]

why are people always looking to make excuses for him not winning? He's so great it's like we can't believe when he doesn't win. At the Masters it was him not having his 4 iron or whatever club he broke and now this. Yeah, Tiger really looked calm on 18 after missing that putt... and was just full of smiles when he was walking into the tent to sign his card (that's sarcasm if you didn't notice). And yeah, he looked like a kid in a candy store on the back nine when he was grinding away on every hole.

[Cleveland Gunmetal]

I'm sure that it's not completely the reason he failed win, but it probably had an affect on his focus.

You really think it affected his focus? C'mon man... if it did I bet he wouldn't have been able to grind away par save after par save.

[illmadden]

I would disagree that it had no bearing on his play-I'm a dad of a beautiful four year old girl and if I knew her the her birth was within a day or two even the US Open would lose importance in the overall life picture-I usually love your comments Iacas but to be so difinitive in what Tiger was or was not thinking on Sunday is a stretch. .

I have to agree with Iacas. I don't think he's saying that the birth of his daughter didn't play a role on his mental state, but we shouldn't look at it as an excuse as to why he lost. So what would the reactions be if he would've won? That he played harder FOR his daughter? We could have easily used his father's death as an excuse to poor playing. Instead we say it gave him more of a reason why he won the British less than two months after. The point is, everyone has situations going on within their life. Why is the birth of Tiger's daughter be the reason he lost? Why don't we find out what significant event played the role to push Cabrera to win his first Open?

[wengerlaw]

That's not true. There are a great many people who "know for sure" along with a great many more people who can be 99% confident they know.

I meant that no one in the forum knows for sure. How can you be so confident this didn't affect his play? From your past postings, I know you rely heavily on facts and statistics. Your statement hear seems to assume you know the inner workings of Tiger's brain.

[JKilgore44]

We could have easily used his father's death as an excuse to poor playing. Instead we say it gave him more of a reason why he won the British less than two months after. The point is, everyone has situations going on within their life. Why is the birth of Tiger's daughter be the reason he lost?

If I remember correctly, Tiger didn't make the cut in the U.S. Open last year, the first tournament he competed in since his fathers death. I'm not here to say that Tiger didn't win because of his daughters impending birth, hell he hit 17/18 greens the day before it. What I am saying is that Sunday, when found out the Elin was about to pop, his focus probably swayed. He bladed that pitch shot on number #3 then left his next chip 15' short. I can't remember the last time I saw Tiger blade a shot around the green. He was obviously focused on his last 3 holes, nailing the big par saves and hitting a beautiful shot from a tough lie on 18 to leave himself a chance, but there were moments in his day that the classic "Tiger" focus was not evident.

[Silvertree]

I didn't say it was an excuse for why he lost. He lost cause he didn't play well enough down the stretch. I am not making excuses for anyone. Even though I consider myself a fan, it had no impact on my life. He lost. Plain and simple.

However if you think it didn't affect his concentration at some point through out the day, I think you are wrong. I can't imagine how it couldn't unless he didn't know.

[iacas]

However if you think it didn't affect his concentration at some point through out the day, I think you are wrong. I can't imagine how it couldn't unless he didn't know.

He didn't know. That's what I'm saying. The kid came three weeks early.

[wengerlaw]

He didn't know. That's what I'm saying. The kid came three weeks early.

Come on iacas, how can you say for sure that Tiger didn't know his wife was about to deliver? Did you speak with him about this topic or see a report from someone who did? Birth doesn't always happen quickly. Elin could have been feeling contractions up to 36 hours before the actual delivery. There could have been a problem with the pregnancy that required the doctors to induce or schedule a C-Section. Both of these procedures are scheduled days or weeks in advance except in the case of an emergency.

My wife and I had a baby 6 months ago through an induced pregnancy. I knew the exact date the baby was going to be born a week in advance. I was at work the day before the delivery, but I can tell you the birth was on my mind the whole day and was somewhat of a distraction. I'm not saying that Tiger did or did not know that the baby was coming. If he did know, I obviously can't say whether it affected his performance on Sunday. It would have definitely affected my performance, but a competitor like Tiger has a brain that is wired a bit differently than the rest of us. All I said was that his demeanor on Sunday was different from what I have seen in past Majors.

[illmadden]

If I remember correctly, Tiger didn't make the cut in the U.S. Open last year, the first tournament he competed in since his fathers death. I'm not here to say that Tiger didn't win because of his daughters impending birth, hell he hit 17/18 greens the day before it. What I am saying is that Sunday, when found out the Elin was about to pop, his focus probably swayed. He bladed that pitch shot on number #3 then left his next chip 15' short. I can't remember the last time I saw Tiger blade a shot around the green. He was obviously focused on his last 3 holes, nailing the big par saves and hitting a beautiful shot from a tough lie on 18 to leave himself a chance, but there were moments in his day that the classic "Tiger" focus was not evident.

Yes, I know he didn't make the cut his first tourny back...but are you telling me that 2 months is enough to mourn the loss of his father? And they never had an exact time when Sam would be born, so what was the reason for his exceptional play on Saturday? If he would've dropped many of those close putts, he would've easily shot a low 60. Did he hit 17 fairways and GIR's because he decided "NOW, is not the time to worry about Elin and Sam?" My point is, why not congratulate Cabrera for a great win instead of conjuring up reasons why Tiger lost?

[Cleveland Gunmetal]

All I said was that his demeanor on Sunday was different from what I have seen in past Majors.

Actually, to me his demeanor looked an awful lot like it was on Sunday at Augusta. Was he expecting a child then? He was in total focus, in grind mode. Perhaps his demeanor wasn't the fist pumping style like some past majors because things weren't going his way.