2016 Hero World Challenge Discussion Thread

[colin007]

Did I hear that correctly? Tiger has more birdies than anyone else this week? Huh....

[Rainmaker]

1 hour ago, newtogolf said:

Tiger still struggling on Sundays, has to be mental fatigue from not playing at this level of intensity four days in a row.

 

22 minutes ago, iacas said:

I don't buy that one.

Me, neither.  It was great to see Tiger playing well - especially at certain points . .but the strong Sunday finish, to me, was the *essence* of TW in his prime.  That was that intangible thing he had.  Wherever he was on Sunday, you knew he was going to move up a few spots by the end of the tournament.  I'm sure, statistically, it wasn't always the case but it sure seemed like it.  As of now, he's moved down 2 spots today.  To me, that's the critical thing that he needs to "get back"...that ability to always stay focused, always be in it, always play to win whether he's leading by 10 or trailing by 20.  

 

edit:

oof . .just watched him tap in that dbl bogey on 18 for a 76 - worst round of the 4 days.  Nobody wants to see Tiger dominate again more than me - but this is really a big issue and I think will be the hardest one for him to address.  I think before his off-course issues he saw himself as infallible, unbeatable, etc.  His experiences over the last bunch of years has probably shaken up his worldview a little bit . .how does one get that back?  Let's hope Tiger can.  

Edited December 4, 2016 by Rainmaker

[MacDutch]

Tiger played 4 days and showed also really nice golf. I don't care he also shot the most doubles of the field. He is back and I hope to see a lot more of him.

[sonnydamico pdx]

Hats off to Matsuyama...brilliant stuff!!!

43 minutes ago, MacDutch said:

Tiger played 4 days and showed also really nice golf. I don't care he also shot the most doubles of the field. He is back and I hope to see a lot more of him.

Amen!!!!....and....he also had more birdies than anyone, according to the talking heads

[David in FL]

Didn't miss the cut and finished top 15 in a PGA Tour event.  

Genuinely good to see him in the field again though!  

[nevets88]

From 900 to about 650ish in the OWGR. Hope he can stay healthy for the Masters. No snowboarding for you, Woods! 

[David in FL]

2 hours ago, nevets88 said:

From 900 to about 650ish in the OWGR. Hope he can stay healthy for the Masters. No snowboarding for you, Woods! 

I wonder, just out of curiosity, if he had finished DFL, would he have still moved up in the OWGR?

[iacas]

4 minutes ago, David in FL said:

I wonder, just out of curiosity, if he had finished DFL, would he have still moved up in the OWGR?

Yes.

[David in FL]

17 minutes ago, iacas said:

Yes.

Thanks. I thought he might, but I really don't understand the intricacies of the calculation....

[turtleback]

8 hours ago, Rainmaker said:

 

Me, neither.  It was great to see Tiger playing well - especially at certain points . .but the strong Sunday finish, to me, was the *essence* of TW in his prime.  That was that intangible thing he had.  Wherever he was on Sunday, you knew he was going to move up a few spots by the end of the tournament.  I'm sure, statistically, it wasn't always the case but it sure seemed like it.  As of now, he's moved down 2 spots today.  To me, that's the critical thing that he needs to "get back"...that ability to always stay focused, always be in it, always play to win whether he's leading by 10 or trailing by 20.  

 

edit:

oof . .just watched him tap in that dbl bogey on 18 for a 76 - worst round of the 4 days.  Nobody wants to see Tiger dominate again more than me - but this is really a big issue and I think will be the hardest one for him to address.  I think before his off-course issues he saw himself as infallible, unbeatable, etc.  His experiences over the last bunch of years has probably shaken up his worldview a little bit . .how does one get that back?  Let's hope Tiger can.  

Rush to judgment much?  It is his first event in over a year and you are critiquing and drawing conclusions from his finish?  And bringing in psychological issues from 7 years ago?  

IMO anyone who was hoping for more than 4 decent rounds with no physical setbacks was being a little delusional.  The fact that he had that splendid stretch along the way was gravy, not a basis for over-inflating expectations and making unfavorable comparisons to his prime.

Edited December 5, 2016 by turtleback
spelling and clarify

[tdiii]

Really liked his move with driver a lot.  Looks to me at least like less head dip and smoother transition. 

Irons were pretty good.  Putter was pretty good too, evidenced by all the birdies.

Shortgame is still a problem.  Looks a bit twitchy or mechanical to these eyes.  Two chunks that I saw, a thinned bunker shot, and several times he could have chipped/pitched, but putted instead.  Tiger of old wouldn't have putted most of those.  I hope I'm wrong, but those demons don't seem to be that far under the surface. 

[mvmac]

Overall a very good week for Tiger IMO. I'm actually fairly surprised how well he played. Someone on Facebook messaged me on Wednesday night saying "Tiger is done with that swing". I responded by saying give it time and give the guy a chance. It's his first tournament back after 15 months, he's going to throw some shots away and it's going to take a few events to where he can "figure out" how to put four good rounds together.

My takeaways from watching Tiger this week:
- Made big improvements with his driver
- He's swinging with good speed with a less restrictive backswing and his followthrough looks less painful
- His game looked good enough to where he's going to give himself chances to be competitive again
- No signs of back pain
 

[boogielicious]

19 hours ago, newtogolf said:

Matsuyama is playing great but I don't care for his swing, I don't mean this as a stereotypical statement but it reminds me of a samurai swordsmen, from the pause at the top to the very deliberate and cutting type swing motion.  

 

18 hours ago, Golfingdad said:

His swing has inspired an improvement in mine ever since he won at Scottsdale last year.  When I try and pause like him at the top everything seems to stay in sequence and when I don't, my upper body gets ahead and that's when the hooks and pull hooks seem to start showing up.

Otherwise, though, I will agree it's not as fluid and "pretty" as many other swings.

Inbee Park does the same thing, so maybe there is something to it. I tend to rush the backswing and that causes issues. It is kind of my fault in a lot of things, rushing. 

[Ernest Jones]

9 hours ago, turtleback said:

Rush to judgment much?  It is his first event in over a year and you are critiquing and drawing conclusions from his finish?  And bringing in psychological issues from 7 years ago?  

IMO anyone who was hoping for more than 4 decent rounds with no physical setbacks was being a little delusional.  The fact that he had that splendid stretch along the way was gravy, not a basis for over-inflating expectations and making unfavorable comparisons to his prime.

Rush to chastise much?

[CarlSpackler]

12 hours ago, David in FL said:

Thanks. I thought he might, but I really don't understand the intricacies of the calculation....

It's based on common core math. Basically, nobody understands it. 

[David in FL]

On November 28, 2016 at 10:22 AM, MacDutch said:

 

Ok, bet is on @David in FL

 

On November 28, 2016 at 11:14 AM, David in FL said:

You're on!  

 

$20 won't go far, but please put it towards a nice bottle of wine to share with your wife.  

Prosit mijn vriend!  

[Groucho Valentine]

Thats not rust we saw. Tigers game still looks like its barley held together with band-aids, IMO. Its broken and wildly inconsistent. Theres alot work to be done for him if he wants to be a top 20 player again. 

But I think in general people are going to read too much into it his performance here, though. It could just be rust, after all. A friend of mine (for whatever reason) is personally invested in seeing tiger fail- to the point where he gets offended when positive things are even mentioned about him. He was texting me a mile a minute after the first and 4th rounds but was suspiciously quiet after the second and third. I don't understand this polarization that surrounds him, i think most rational people should have other things to stress about. 

[Missouri Swede]

1 minute ago, Groucho Valentine said:

 i think most rational people should have other things to stress about. 

You're right, we do. For some of us, stressing out over this (or football, or whatever) allows us to temporarily ignore other more serious stresses in our lives.