2013 Tour Championship Discussion Thread

[JCRuzanski]

Safe to say Stenson wins going away... guy is playing tremendous golf... does he lap the field?

[460CompMark]

plenty of golf left.  just asked Tiger who thinks he is still in contention...

[joekelly]

It's all about AGE. The body, the mind and the spirit begin to slow down and no amount of PED, ginseng or coffee can help. The tips of the cellular DNA are slowly eroded over time, through normal cell division, and once those tips start to fail...downhill we go. Right now, Tiger needs a nap.

[Mr. Desmond]

Another VIEWER call in:

Glad he didn't hit the 4 wood - DQ

UPDATE: Callaway scrambling to get Stenson new 4-wood before Saturday tee time

ATLANTA -- Friday's armchair rules official need not have worried.

Henrik Stenson knew better than to play with that 4-wood. Not after the face had caved in as he was hitting it on the practice range early Friday afternoon.

"I was warming up, and my 4-wood started to sound a little funny on the range there," explained Stenson, who was seen on TV showing the club to Steve Stricker. "I looked at the face on the two shots, and there was a funny sound, and the face had caved in on the top groove."

So Stenson banished the club to his locker. And as it turned out, the Swede found that 13 clubs were more than enough to fashion a sterling 66 that left him with a four-stroke lead at the midway point of the TOUR Championship by Coca-Cola.

When he went into the scoring trailer after his round, though, Stenson was questioned by a member of the PGA TOUR rules staff after another viewer call-in. Had he left the offending club in the bag, it would have been a two-stroke penalty. Had he hit the 4-wood in competition, Stenson would have been disqualified.

"You asked me how well I knew the rules the other day," Stenson said in his post-round interview. "I gave myself 7 out of 10, didn't I? I guess this was in the other 30 percent, then.

"I wouldn't have said I was 100 percent sure that I would have gotten a two-shot penalty if I would have carried the club, just had it in my bag and not used it. But that was obviously the case. Good thing that we put it in the locker before we teed off."

Stenson said he hit the 4-wood twice on the back nine Thursday and missed the fairway each time. The 3-woods he hit on those two holes Friday were much more obedient "So it might have been a good thing that it wasn't in the bag.

[luu5]

When he went into the scoring trailer after his round, though, Stenson was questioned by a member of the PGA TOUR rules staff after another viewer call-in. Had he left the offending club in the bag, it would have been a two-stroke penalty. Had he hit the 4-wood in competition, Stenson would have been disqualified.

These news would be useful if they had the actual ruling and the reasoning behind the used ruling, not just that the club was damaged and can not be used.

[beachbreak]

Some thoughts on the state of Tiger's game:

If he retooled his swing under Foley to eliminate injuries, it's not working. Just watching him swing hurts, especially with the driver.

I never thought I'd see the day when Tiger aspired to become Hunter Mahan or Justin Rose.

[ejimsmith]

Enough with the armchair umpires!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Similar to the proliferation of "ba-ba-booey's" being screamed after everyone's tee shot, the PGA needs to put a stop on taking these calls from the public. Its becoming a damn mess and, imho, is reducing the respect of the PGA by making it seem they can't police themselves. Let's pull some HD video up of the PGA championship from last year and see if we can't catch someone missing replacing their ball on the green by a mere millimeter. Perhaps McIlroy didn't really finish first.

[k-troop]

What was the call-in? "I think Stenson only has 13 clubs. DQ him!!"

[MEfree]

Safe to say Stenson wins going away... guy is playing tremendous golf... does he lap the field?

Lot's of golf left, but with a 7 shot lead ATM, it is starting to look that way.

[k-troop]

Holy cow. Tiger's only 17 back. He just needs to make up two shots per hole and he'll be right back in there.

[Chris E]

What was the call-in? "I think Stenson only has 13 clubs. DQ him!!"

What rule would he have broken? If somebody has a messed up club in their bag it is a penalty? WTF?

[David in FL]

[quote name="k-troop" url="/t/70036/2013-tour-championship-discussion-thread/72#post_900093"]What was the call-in? "I think Stenson only has 13 clubs. DQ him!!"[/quote] Because he broke the club before starting his stipulated round, had he carried it in his bag he would have been deemed to be carrying a non-conforming club. Another BS call in. This guy was just on a fishing expedition without any reason at all to think the club might be in his bag.....

[k-troop]

Because he broke the club before starting his stipulated round, had he carried it in his bag he would have been deemed to be carrying a non-conforming club. Another BS call in. This guy was just on a fishing expedition without any reason at all to think the club might be in his bag.....

But how would some dude watching at home know Stenson imploded his 4-wood on the range while warming up? (Aside from just assuming that no club head can take a Stenson level of pounding for very long!)

[Blitz28179]

Phil would probaly had a holeout for a 2 on a par 4 but instead he pared the hole.

[David in FL]

But how would some dude watching at home know Stenson imploded his 4-wood on the range while warming up? (Aside from just assuming that no club head can take a Stenson level of pounding for very long!)

They had some video of him on the range with commentary about the damage....

[MEfree]

By my calculations, Tiger needs to beat Stricker tomorrow to hold onto the Vardon Trophy (assuming it is based on adjusted scoring average).  If they tie, or Stricker beats Tiger, then it goes to Stricker (assuming he has enough rounds to qualify).

[saturday]

I'm kinda late predicting a winner since the large margin Stenson currently holds but he was my pick in fantasy golf last three weeks. His precision is amazing, it's been enjoyable watching him hit all those greens. I really want DeLaet to score big being my fav golfer but it's not looking too good. Ah well, been a fantastic year for him.

[bobsuruncle]

Stenson has been the form player since the Open Championship, and throughout the FedEx cup play offs. He's a deserving winner. Like Westwood, he's another great example of how a top 10 or 20 player in the world can completely lose his game but come back successfully. Well played, Sir.