RichF

Quote: But surely you remember the classic ''Isleworth-is-setup-to-play-like-Augusta' comment?

Let's face facts though: Woods not playing The Open (or any other major) isn't a big a deal now. The only people this affects now are the US television networks - and let's be honest, US success in world golf isn't exactly sky-high now anyways. I went to Royal Birkdale in 2008, the weather was hideous but the tournament itself was great, even though attendances were down by maybe 20,000 over the 4 days and the anticipation factor was nowhere near as great as it is coming into this year's tournament.

Quote: I don't know for sure - but does he look terribly thin these days? I know he grew his hair a lot longer but his face/build always look a lot 'fuller'/stockier than he does now... But yeah, seems a good bloke and has a stellar golf-swing and game to match....maybe he'll pick it up again next year??

Quote: Well, I'm always conflicted in this thinking, and it's usually along the lines of: What's Wrong With Hitting A Straight Ball Anyway? Of course, there are certain positions on a golf-course where you can't do this, but to all intents and purposes, is the ability to draw/fade a ball at will an absolute neccessity when playing golf?

Quote: Can't remember exactly what the reason(s) were for Harrington changing - any ideas? Robert Karlsson did the same thing in 2009 after winning 4 titles in Europe, Order of Merit, Top-10 Major finishes etc...

Being a big supporter of Kaymer, I was aware that he had problems drawing the ball form interviews leading up to The Masters and that he was trying to adapt to that course as such. Of course, wanting to know and learn how to correctly draw a gold ball isn't neccessarily 'tinkering' with a good golf-swing...otherwise, you're going to go through your whole career missing that particular shot. We all want to get better, right? I saw him interviewed about it a few weeks back and he said he was aware of some 'criticism' of what he was doing but didn't seem unduly worried about it or the time it was taking - I think this speak volumes about his patience and demeanour. I don't think he will contend in next week's Open but I'd say a couple more titles before the year is out would be about right.

Quote: No big-deal for me really. Even though the website, all the merchandise, caddies bibs, tee-box markers, pin-flags, etc clearly state 'THE OPEN' (complete with claret-jug logo) - I too think this is a more-recent (last 10-15 years?) and concerted effort by the R&A; to make it a 'unique' a brand-name as ' THE MASTERS' , or ' WIMBLEDON' , etc. I don't get uptight when folks call it 'The British Open'...it's not a new trend - Jack Nicklaus always used to call it by this title. Anyway, I think we all knew Woods wouldnt be playing this year - so it's no big surprise either. And, although he has to say what he said, I wonder if his confidence is giving way to some form of 'denial' now? 35 years old, four knee-surgeries, chronic Achilles issue, etc, etc...I mean no-one wants to see him try to compete and swing like he does with those physical issues cos it's asking for trouble, missed-cuts, pull-outs, etc - you want to see him 'at least' compete, right?

I don;t think its specifically 'After-Tiger'..but I do get the feeling that the era of Woods / Mickelson / Els / Singh / Furyk etc is all but over.

Quote: Yeah, I guess all that thumb-usage when popping corks off $300 bottles of Cristal can have its drawbacks...

Great to see Dustin Johnson playing another European Tour event...

Awww, come on guys, wouldn't you all rather be watching Rors this year?

Very true, but he did get a break on the Friday when the wind blew everyone's game out of contention. I guess all players/teams who have won the tournaments which define the very peak of their sporting profession have done so by a bit of luck.

Quote: So, there's a mere 12 months difference between the two guys winning their 1st Major Woods did his at The Masters with 70-66-65-69, -18 beating the field by 12 shots...McIlroy did his at The US Open with 65-66-68-69, -16 beating the field by 8 shots At that time, April '97, Woods had only won 3 times, McIlroy had 2 victories prior to the US Open A counter-argument can be made whether the field at Augusta '97 was stronger/deeper than that at Congressional '11, and...whether or not that particular course setup- played harder I think the comparison with Woods' 2000 victory at US Open Pebble Beach is disproportinate because he another 2 years on the tour, had amassed a few more titles (inc. 2 further Majors) - and so it's easy to say: "Pebble Beach was more impressive than Congressional because..." The acid-test is whether Rors can keep a similar momentum going between now and say, US Open at Merion in 2013 If he'd only won this US Open by say, 2 shots, I'd say his victory was like any other recently: Schwartzel, Kaymer, McDowell, Oosthuizen, etc...but fact is, he took that course apart like no-one could do.....except Woods.

Quote: True - but the mistake you (and many others) are making is that you're all forgetting that at the time of Woods' Pebble Beach win, he already had 2 Majors in the bag, had 2 more years on tour and was 25 years old. The point I made was that McIlroy, at the time of his 1st win yesterday, is far ahead of Woods at the time of Augusta '97...which, is where the comparison has to be made.

Nope - it's just that you and many others of the ilk will say anything to discredit such an achievement by a: 22-year old guy just crushed the US Open in his 11h Major appearance. (and 8 weeks after a Masters meltdown - how's that for 'bouncebackability') Bitter Pill to take isn't it, the total Euro-domination of golf?

1 - You're a smart guy - so don't be pedantic - aside from the obvious Pebble Beach '00. 2 - No, you're just trying to be a little bit too clever than you usually are...

No, jamo - I meant if you look at their respective ages, years on tour and number of Majors played...the number is very similar when they both won their first Major (only Rors didn't have any error=filled 40 1st-Round.) Woods had another 2 years and 5 Majors on Rors before winning at Pebble Beach...

Well, has anyone else done this to a Major field? -17 with 7 holes to go? I don't think he'll win by 12 strokes, but this is as close as you'll get to Woods' Pebble Beach masterpiece...

This comparison is all wrong. As someone pointed out, it has to be Tiger 1997 vs Rory 2011. Firstly, they were of a similar age (Tiger 21, Rory 22), both had similar years on tour (Tiger turned pro in 1996, Rory in 2008), Woods had three wins to his name, McIlroy, two. The the results in Majors: TIGER WOODS 1996 The Masters - CUT US Open - T82 The Open - T22 PGA Championship - DNP 1997 The Masters - Won US Open - T19 The Open - T24 PGA Championship - T29 RORY MCILROY 2009 The Masters - T20 US Open - T20 The Open - T477 PGA Championship - T3 2010 The Masters - CUT US Open - CUT The Open - T3 PGA Championship - T3 2011 The Masters - T15 US Open - Won Here we have McIlroy's slight advantage of having an extra two attempts at a Major, but you also have to look at other areas he's superior to Woods in at his point: ball-striking, course-management, maturity, bounce-back-ability, playing within a deeper class of player. The level of where Woods was in June 2000, McIlroy is about to enter now .

1 - Old injury...new injury...old injury...new injury..it's the same knackered 37-year-old man...stop splitting hairs. 2 - 'Occam's Razor'? Yep, I'll take it...the easiest explanation is the correct one. See the rest of my 42nd post for explanation. 3 - Career over as in 'Not-Winning-Anything-Else' Lets see what happens in the next 12 months...

I honestly think...IMG know/knew what the real deal is/was (of course, we don't ) and dropped his ass and then Steiny decided to walk. Check it out: http://espn.go.com/g...nberg-img-split http://www.golfchann...or-img-to-keep/ It's probably more about name recognition and a well negotiated contract. When you have ' the #1 ' name in golf, you'll take a hit in money in order to have that name in a business portfolio, especially when that name was generating business. What they potentially lost from his contract, they more than made up for in the business he generated from new and re-signed clients. Let's do some 'Mathematical-Guesswork': he's signed mainly with Steiny, who acts more or less like an independent contractor to IMG. IMG probably gives him some stationary and business cards and says go sign athletes. Tiger made 75M or so, Steiny gets what 5-10% of that, then IMG gets 15-20% of what Steiny gets. That's my guess - total guesswork, but when you clear the forest of trees, etc, etc,

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Quote: Matthew Goggin? Other than there's another 'Bubba' there playing golf, I havent heard of any of them. At all.

Quote: True - but even at the height of 'Tiger-Mania' in 1999-2005, I only paid half-attention to golf...

Woods' played an extremely limited schedule over the last 2 years already. Football players that recover are back on the field and healthy in less than a year. That a golfer hasn't recovered after 2 years is very telling, Folks are going round saying "But he won the US Open on a shredded-leg in 2008"!! It does make you wonder how injured the knee and heel really are today . Woods' method of handling info in the media makes it hard to understand at best. Perhaps he knows that he really is done for the year, yet will make the announcement a tournament at a time to keep the public interest in his comeback strong. If he were to come forth and say that he is done for the year, which indeed may be the case, he would move to the back page and perhaps that is what he (or his ego) can't handle ... Furthermore, whole 'Steiny/IMG' business...IMG split with him when they could have millions of dollars left in the game? I don't think so - Woods made US$1mill for IMG last year and Steiny wanted to renew the contract for US$3mill. Last I checked I don't think a successful business like IMG would just abruptly make the decision without some serious objective decision making behind it. The only thing I can conclude is there's a lot of stuff being kept behind the curtain in his camp. Worst-case scenario: Woods is done. The shows over and IMG know it. He had a great career, his achievements are undeniable. That being said, anyone who thinks that Woods who has 4-5 injuries to his knee, a bad neck, bad eyes, is mentally shot, whose putter is ice-cold, whose swing is a mess, and who is 3 years off 40 is a great athlete for them to keep is insane. IMG is wise enough to pick up on what several others have already accepted. It's not that his injury is secretly much worse, it's just that his career is over and it's time to move on