Is Ernie a choke artist?

[hawkeye]

... from which you get a free drop, yes. Players in certain situations aim for grandstands, you know...

Sure i've seen it happen before but at the 18th at Dubai - the only place worse than the water is over the back because you are facing the water. Louis Ouisthuzen and Tiger both did it - did you see the way they played the shots back towards the water? trecherous...

[iacas]

Sure i've seen it happen before but at the 18th at Dubai - the only place worse than the water is over the back because you are facing the water. Louis Ouisthuzen and Tiger both did it - did you see the way they played the shots back towards the water? trecherous...

Still beats dunking it in the drink.

[DBake]

I got to believe that Erine is the only guy that can play Tiger head to head consistently.

[themasteroncbs]

I got to believe that Erine is the only guy that can play Tiger head to head consistently.

I couldn't disagree more with that statement. I'll take Phil, Vijay, and Adam Scott before I would even start to consider Ernie. Tiger seems to have the big man's number.

[DBake]

I couldn't disagree more with that statement. I'll take Phil, Vijay, and Adam Scott before I would even start to consider Ernie. Tiger seems to have the big man's number.

Ernie is the highest ranked player at #4 to currently make Tiger play more than two playoff holes. My research/information comes from

Golf.com and PGATour.com .

[themasteroncbs]

Ernie is the highest ranked player at #4 to currently make Tiger play more than two playoff holes. My research/information comes from

I don't recall him actually winning those playoffs though. Phil and Vijay both have beaten Tiger head to head on a Sunday.

[neudi]

I don't think hes a choke artist, he just had a bad day, we all do, kinda weird why he went for the green in 2 on his last hole when he could get up and down for birdie from 60 yards out which he is very good at.

[mikelz]

I don't think hes a choke artist, he just had a bad day, we all do, kinda weird why he went for the green in 2 on his last hole when he could get up and down for birdie from 60 yards out which he is very good at.

You are right again. I saw that shot on 18. He wasn't gagging. He was still trying to win.

[Wisco-Kid]

I have to say that he is turning into The Shark aka Greg Norman aka Chokemaster. I wouldn't say that if he had just blown one tourney this year, but the season is just beginning and he had 2 tournaments in his grasp and let them slip away. Sure Tiger played unbelivable down the stretch but Ernie had a 4 shot cusion going into Sunday that surely he should have held on to if not added to. I love The Big Easy don't get me wrong but his shot at taking over Tiger and the number 1 spot is all but gone. My guess is we won't be seeing as much of Ernie on the PGA I think he will play even more on the European tour.....

[Eore]

I couldn't disagree more with that statement. I'll take Phil, Vijay, and Adam Scott before I would even start to consider Ernie. Tiger seems to have the big man's number.

i forget what tourement, but a while ago ernie and tiger went into a playoff, and ernie was hitting great drives and drain putts and hitting good irons, and tiger was hitting great drives and draining 40 foot putts. tiger won. ernie had a look that said "i'm playing incredible, and can't beat him." i won't call ernie a choke artist, but he has had it in his head since then that he will never be able to beat tiger.

[SubPar]

i forget what tourement, but a while ago ernie and tiger went into a playoff, and ernie was hitting great drives and drain putts and hitting good irons, and tiger was hitting great drives and draining 40 foot putts. tiger won. ernie had a look that said "i'm playing incredible, and can't beat him." i won't call ernie a choke artist, but he has had it in his head since then that he will never be able to beat tiger.

Erine is one of the great players of our time, but it is clear he suffers from the same thing all of us do when we've had a dry spell. Once you've missed a four foot putt it becomes harder to make any four foot putts till you get your confidence back. Ernie has blown two leads on Sunday recently while trying to come off a dry spell. You know doubt creeps into his mind and causes his confidence to dip.

Closing the deal in golf is more about confidence and determination than physical skill and the edge Tiger has is that he virtually never gives in to self-doubt. This goes back to his junior and amateur days where he won tournaments in the closing holes because he never gave up. I see weakness in Ernie and Phil when they make a mistake or miss a critical opportunity. You may never see that "let down" in Tiger's eyes. Watch players body language and you'll see when their shoulders slump, their eyes glaze over, a little head shake and the energy seems to drain away a little after they make an error. Let me know when you see this in Tiger. With Tiger you may see frustration, but never that self-doubt or defeatist thinking. Virtually all other players are subject to this negativity that creeps up on them. making it worse is that they know Tiger is like an Old Testament curse... he just keeps coming. He does not give up till the last putt drops. SubPar

[Wisco-Kid]

I may have been a bit too harsh on ol' Ernie in my initial post. I don't think he is really a choke artist. I think that SubPar's comments ring very true! It must be unbearable to be a pro (top ten pro) and know that you are always playing for second. Where does Tiger get his MOJO?

[seattlemudder]

I don't think so, he had a great 3rd round and didn't have as good final round - that doesn't make him a choke artist. I think in golf you're mostly competing against yourself and he just didn't play as well on Sunday as he did on Saturday - that's all.

[g-funk13]

Maybe we should keep in mind how far Tiger is ahead of the field, and how unbelievably close the no's 2-10 are. I only make this point because ANY player in a tournament where Tiger is playing well. . . its just not like they are competing for first place. If Els wants 1st places he should avoid Tiger like the plague.

[HackinSB]

I was watching his first round "high" lights from India. It's time to see a Sports Psychologist for sure. He was behind a screen of some sort an asked for it to be removed. Didn't happen and he let it bother him for the next 10 minutes. He should be thinking of the shot he has, not the one he didn't get.

He also made my FT-i driver look pretty bad as he blew a shot right a mile.

[thegrayteam]

No

Is he struggling with his confidence - for sure.

He has a huge amount of talent, a very natural game and despite 6 months out has stayed in the Top 5. He also plays tournaments where they are fewer ranking points on offer.

The simple fact that people think he has suffered so much because of the dominance of Woods is evidence enough of what he has brought to the game. Whether he will get the piece of luck in a Major to break through the mental block that seems to weigh of his shoulders is another thing.

Great man, great golfer and still lots of personality.

[Elsfan]

Ernie wins a major this year book it.

[g-funk13]

Ernie is a going through a rough patch. He decided "late" to play the Accenture Match Play the week according to Golf Central.

He lost 6 & 5, which tied R. Green and Taniguchi for the WORST lost matches of the day. Els only won 1 hole.

While this doesn't qualify as a "choke" he has looked a lot better. . . I hope that he gets his game together before the Masters.