Opinion & Analysis
Why Chris Como was a great choice for Tiger Woods
Well here we go again… Tiger Woods’ new swing coach has been announced and the speculation is in full force. Will Chris Como help Tiger? Will he help Tiger break Jack’s record? How will he compare to his other teachers? Blah blah blah.
First of all, I want to say how much I appreciate what Butch Harmon, Hank Haney and Sean Foley did for Tiger’s swing and knowledge of the game because it was fun to watch. Each teacher was presented with an interesting set of variables to contend with and a media circus unlike anything previous teachers have faced to date. Butch took Tiger to heights only Bobby Jones and Nicklaus had known. Hank refined an age-old issue of “getting stuck” that Tiger consistently complained of during Butch’s tenure and Sean helped Tiger to understand more about the swing than ever before. So who was right? They all were!
You have to remember that Tiger has always been inquisitive and wanted to learn more and more, so each teacher had different tasks in order to appease Tiger. Sean will be forever bashed for making Tiger too technical, but was that really the case? Maybe it was Tiger who was too interested in the mechanics and the “new” ball-flight laws and if Sean did not give him the information he wanted then Tiger would have found it elsewhere. As we in the teaching world all know, the player is the boss!
Now that Tiger has moved on to Chris Como, there are a few questions that everyone is asking. Will Como’s age, 37, and lack of experience – at least compared to Butch, Hank and Sean — affect his ability to coach Tiger? Is Como too technical for Woods?
I know Chris, his background and his personality, so I think I can offer a pretty good guess as to what will happen in the future. So here are my reasons why Chris and Tiger will be successful.
- Chris is smart and has studied under some of the best teachers in the business.
Chris’ tutelage under legendary instructors Hank Haney, Mac O’Grady and Mike Adams — three people I have also learned and studied under – will serve him well with Tiger. They are some of the brightest minds in the golf instruction world and have made it their job to learn as much as they can about what it is that they do. Of course they have their detractors, but who doesn’t? He is armed with a ton of practical information in order to handle any mechanical issue Tiger may have.
- Chris’ understanding of biomechanics and his study under Sasho MacKenzie.
In the golf teaching world, Sasho MacKenzie is the man. He is the Head of Human Kinetics at St. Francis Xavier University, and his research in kinetics and ground reaction forces has been revolutionary to our understanding of how the body works during the golf swing. His research has helped us to learn more about how we twist and turn and move weight during the golf swing. We now know more about lateral, rotary and vertical motion in the lower body through his work with ground reaction forces. I think this is one of Tiger’s issues and always has been in my opinion. His lower body motion causes a ton of issues with how his upper torso and arms move on the downswing. It will be interesting to see how his balance and lower body action changes during his time with Chris preaching Sasho’s work.
- Chris’ friends.
Chris has a great coterie of friends in the golf instructional and educational world, more so than most Tour teachers to date. This is because at a young age he spent time with the best teachers and learned from them. He has never been egocentric or a jerk to be around and for this reason I feel that if he ever needs help or an extra opinion on Tiger, he WON’T be afraid to ask his friends. At times, we as teachers all need another set of eyes — a sounding board, if you will. Chris will take advantage of his contacts within the industry.
- Tiger is the best player in the world.
Let’s face it: Tiger has more talent than any golfer to date and if he can just make a few changes he will be right back on track. It’s easy to kick him while he’s been injured etc., but a refocused Tiger is a scary one if he sees some quick success! I have no doubts it will come sooner than everyone believes.
The last thing I will say is good luck Chris, enjoy the ride — don’t let the media get you down. If things don’t go well at first, remember that you are one of the best in the world at what you do. I’ll be watching!
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19th Hole
Vincenzi’s 2024 Valspar Championship betting preview: Elite ballstrikers to thrive at Copperhead
The PGA TOUR will stay in Florida this week for the 2024 Valspar Championship.
The Copperhead Course at Innisbrook Resort is a par 71 measuring 7,340 yards and features Bermudagrass greens overseeded with POA. Infamous for its difficulty, the track will be a tough test for golfers as trouble lurks all over the place. Holes 16, 17 and 18 — also known as the “Snake Pit” — make up one of the toughest three-hole stretches in golf and should lead to a captivating finish on Sunday.
The field is comprised of 156 golfers teeing it up. The field this week is solid and is a major improvement over last year’s field that felt the impact of players skipping due to a handful of “signature events” in a short span of time.
Past Winners at Valspar Championship
- 2023: Taylor Moore (-10)
- 2022: Sam Burns (-17)
- 2021: Sam Burns (-17)
- 2019: Paul Casey (-8)
- 2018: Paul Casey (-10)
- 2017: Adam Hadwin (-14)
- 2016: Charl Schwartzel (-7)
- 2015: Jordan Spieth (-10)
In this article and going forward, I’ll be using the Rabbit Hole by Betsperts Golf data engine to develop my custom model. If you want to build your own model or check out all of the detailed stats, you can sign up using promo code: MATTVIN for 25% off any subscription package (yearly is best value).
Key Stats For Copperhead
1. Strokes Gained: Approach
Strokes Gained: Approach grades out as the most important statistic once again this week. Copperhead really can’t be overpowered and is a second-shot golf course.
Total SG: Approach Over Past 24 Rounds (per round)
- Tony Finau (+.90)
- Nick Taylor (+.81)
- Justin Thomas (+.77)
- Greyson Sigg (+.69)
- Christiaan Bezuidenhout (+.67)
2. Good Drive %
The long hitters can be a bit limited here due to the tree-lined fairways and penal rough. Playing from the fairways will be important, but laying back too far will cause some difficult approaches with firm greens that may not hold shots from long irons.
Golfers who have a good balance of distance and accuracy have the best chance this week.
Good Drive % Over Past 24 Rounds
- Brice Garnett (+91.3%)
- Zach Johnson (+91.1%)
- Sam Ryder (+90.5%)
- Ryan Moore (+90.4%)
- Aaron Rai (+89.7%)
3. Strokes Gained: Ball Striking
Adding ball-striking puts even more of a premium on tee-to-green prowess in the statistical model this week. Golfers who rank highly in ball-striking are in total control of the golf ball which is exceedingly important at Copperhead.
SG: Ball Striking Over Past 24 Rounds:
- Xander Schauffele (+1.32)
- Keith Mitchell (+1.29)
- Tony Finau (+1.24)
- Cameron Young (+1.17)
- Doug Ghim (+.95)
4. Bogey Avoidance
With the conditions likely to be difficult, avoiding bogeys will be crucial this week. In a challenging event like the Valspar, oftentimes the golfer who is best at avoiding mistakes ends up on top.
Gritty golfers who can grind out difficult pars have a much better chance in an event like this than a low-scoring birdie-fest.
Bogey Avoidance Over Past 24 Rounds
- Brice Garnett (+9.0)
- Xander Schauffele (+9.3)
- Austin Cook (+9.7)
- Chesson Hadley (+10.0)
- Greyson Sigg (+10.2)
5. Strokes Gained: Total in Difficult Conditions
Conditions will be tough this week at Copperhead. I am looking for golfers who can rise to the occasion if the course plays as difficult as it has in the past.
Strokes Gained: Total in Difficult Conditions Over Past 24 rounds
- Xander Schauffele (+1,71)
- Min Woo Lee (+1.39)
- Cameron Young (+1.27)
- Jordan Spieth (+1.08)
- Justin Suh (+.94)
6. Course History
That statistic will tell us which players have played well at Copperhead in the past.
Course History Over Past 24 rounds
- Patrick Cantlay (+3.75)
- Sam Burns (+2.49)
- Davis Riley (+2.33)
- Matt NeSmith (+2.22)
- Jordan Spieth (+2.04)
The Valspar Championship Model Rankings
Below, I’ve compiled overall model rankings using a combination of the five key statistical categories previously discussed — SG: Approach (27%), Good Drive % (15%), SG: BS (20%), Bogeys Avoided (13%), Course History (13%) Strokes Gained: Total in Difficult Conditions (12%).
- Xander Schauffele
- Doug Ghim
- Victor Perez
- Greyson Sigg
- Ryan Moore
- Tony Finau
- Justin Thomas
- Sam Ryder
- Sam Burns
- Lucas Glover
2024 Valspar Championship Picks
Justin Thomas +1400 (DraftKings)
Justin Thomas will be disappointed with his finish at last week’s PLAYERS Championship, as the past champion missed the cut despite being in some decent form heading into the event. Despite the missed cut, JT hit the ball really well. In his two rounds, the two-time major champion led the field in Strokes Gained: Approach per round.
Thomas has been up and down this season. He’s missed the cut in two “signature events” but also has finishes of T12 at the Arnold Palmer Invitational, T12 at the Waste Management Phoenix Open, T6 at the Pebble Beach AT&T Pro-Am and T3 at the American Express. In his past 24 rounds, he ranks 3rd in the field in Strokes Gained: Approach and 6th in Strokes Gained: Ball Striking in the field.
Thomas loves Copperhead. In his last three tries at the course, he’s finished T13, T3 and T10. Thomas would have loved to get a win at a big event early in the season, but avoidable mistakes and a balky putter have cost him dearly. I believe a trip to a course he loves in a field he should be able to capitalize on is the right recipe for JT to right the ship.
Christiaan Bezuidenhout +6000 (FanDuel)
Christiaan Bezuidenhout is playing spectacular golf in the 2024 season. He finished 2nd at the American Express, T20 at Pebble Beach and T24 at the Genesis Invitational before finishing T13 at last week’s PLAYERS Championship.
In his past 24 rounds, the South African ranks 3rd in the field in Strokes Gained: Approach and 26th in Strokes Gained: Ball Striking. Bezuidenhout managed to work his way around TPC Sawgrass last week with minimal damage. He only made five bogeys in the entire week, which is a great sign heading into a difficult Copperhead this week.
Bezuidenhout is winless in his PGA Tour career, but certainly has the talent to win on Tour. His recent iron play tells me that this week could be a breakthrough for the 35-year-old who has eyes on the President’s Cup.
Doug Ghim +8000 (FanDuel)
Doug Ghim has finished in the top-16 of his past five starts. Most recently, Ghim finished T16 at The PLAYERS Championship in a loaded field.
In his past 24 rounds, Ghim ranks 8th in Strokes Gained: Approach and 5th in Strokes Gained: Ball Striking. In terms of his fit for Copperhead, the 27-year-old ranks 12th in Bogey Avoidance and 7th in Strokes Gained: Total in Difficult Conditions, making him a great fit for the course.
Ghim has yet to win on Tour, but at one point he was the top ranked Amateur golfer in the world and played in the 2017 Arnold Palmer Cup and 2017 Walker Cup. He then won the Ben Hogan award for the best male college golfer in 2018. He certainly has the talent, and there are signals aplenty that his talent in ready to take him to the winner’s circle on the PGA Tour.
Sepp Straka +8000 (BetRivers)
Sepp Straka is a player who’s shown he has the type of game that can translate to a difficult Florida golf course. The former Presidents Cup participant won the 2022 Honda Classic in tough conditions and should thrive with a similar test at Copperhead.
It’s been a slow 2024 for Straka, but his performance last week at the PLAYERS Championship surely provides some optimism. He gained 5.4 strokes on approach as well as 1.88 strokes off the tee. The tee-to-green game Straka showed on a course with plenty of danger demonstrates that he can stay in control of his golf ball this week.
It’s possible that the strong performance last week was an outlier, but I’m willing to bet on a proven winner in a weaker field at a great number.
Victor Perez +12000 (FanDuel)
Victor Perez is no stranger to success in professional golf. The Frenchman has three DP World Tour wins including a Rolex Series event. He won the 2019 Alfred Dunhill Links Championship, as well as the 2023 Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship, which are some big events.
Perez earned his PGA Tour card this season and enters the week playing some fantastic golf. He finished in a tie for 16th in Florida at the Cognizant Classic and then tied for third in his most recent start at the Puerto Rico Open.
In his past 24 rounds in the field, Perez ranks 11th in Strokes Gained: Approach, 1oth in Strokes Gained: Ball Striking, 6th in Good Drive % and 15th in Bogey Avoidance.
Perez comes in as a perfect fit for Copperhead and offers serious value at triple-digit odds.
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Opinion & Analysis
Myrtle Beach, Explored: February in South Carolina
As I gain in experience and age, and familiarity breeds neither contempt nor disdain, I understand why people return to a place. A destination like Myrtle Beach offers a sizable supply and diversity of restaurants, entertainment venues, and shops that are predicated on the tenets of the service industry. Greet your customers with a smile and a kind word, and they will find comfort and assurance. Provide them with a memorable experience and they will suggest your place of business to others.
My first tour of Myrtle Beach took place in the mid-1980s, and consisted of one course: Gator Hole. I don’t remember much from that day, and since Gator Hole closed a decade later, I cannot revisit it to recollect what I’d lost. Since then, I’ve come to the Grand Strand a few times, and been fortunate to never place a course more than once. I’ve seen the Strantz courses to the south and dipped my toe in the North Carolina courses of Calabash. I’ve been to many in the middle, including Dunes, Pine Lakes, Grande Dunes among them.
2024 brought a quartet of new courses, including two at the Barefoot Resort. I’d heard about the North Myrtle Beach four-pack of courses that highlight the Barefoot property, including layouts from Pete Dye, Tom Fazio, Davis Love III, and Greg Norman. I had the opportunity to play and shoot the Dye and Fazio tracks, which means that I’ll have to return to see the other two. Sandwiched between them were the TPC-Myrtle Beach course, also from Tom Fazio, and the Pawley’s Plantation trace, by the hand of Jack Nicklaus. I anticipated a bit of the heroic, and bit of the strategic, and plenty of eye candy. None of those architects would ever be considered a minimalist, so there would be plenty of in-play and out-of-play bunkers and mounds to tantalize the senses.
My nephew arrived a few days early, to screen a few more courses. As a result, you the reader will have an extra quarter of mini-reviews, bringing the total of courses in this piece to eight. It was inconceivable that CJR would play four courses that I had never played nor photographed, but that was the case. His words appear at the end of this piece. We hope that you enjoy the tour.
Main Feature: Two Barefoots, a TPC, and Pawley’s Plantation
What Paul “Pete” Dye brought back from his trips to the United Kingdom, hearkened back to what C.B. MacDonal did, some 65 years prior. There is a way of finding bunkers and fairways, and even green sites, that does not require major industrial work. The Dye course at Barefoot Resorts takes you on a journey over the rumpled terrain of distant places. If there’s one element missing, it’s the creased and turbulent fairways, so often found in England and Ireland. The one tenet of playing a Dye course, is to always aim away from temptation, from where your eyes draw you. Find the safe side of the target, and you’ll probably find your ball. It then stands that you will have a shot for your next attempt. Cut the corner, and you might have need to reload. The Barefoot course begins gently, in terms of distance, but challenges with visual deception. After two brief 4s and a 3, the real work begins. The course is exposed enough, to allow the coastal winds to dance along the fairways. Be ready to keep the ball low and take an extra club or two.
If memory serves, TPCMB is my first trek around a TPC-branded course. It had all the trappings of a tour course, from the welcome, through the clubhouse, to the practice facilities and, of course, the course. TPC-Myrtle Beach is a Tom Fazio design, and if you never visit Augusta National, you’ll now have an idea of what it is like. You play Augusta’s 16th hole twice at TPCMB, and you enjoy it both times. Fazio really likes the pond-left, green-angle-around par three hole, and his two iterations of it are memorable.
You’ll also see those Augusta bunkers, the ones with the manicured edges that drop into a modestly-circular form. What distinguishes these sand pits is the manner in which they rise from the surrounding ground. They are unique in that they don’t resemble the geometric bunkering of a Seth Raynor, nor the organic pits found in origin courses. They are built, make no mistake, and recovery from them is manageable for all levels of bunker wizardry.
If you have the opportunity to play the two Tom Fazio courses back to back, you’ll notice a marked difference in styling. Let me digress for a moment, then circle back with an explanation. It was written that the NLE World Woods course designed by Fazio, Pine Barrens, was an homage to Pine Valley, the legendary, New Jersey club where Fazio is both a member and the architect on retainer. The Pine Barrens course was plowed under in 2022, so the homage no longer exists. At least, I didn’t think that it existed, until I played his Barefoot Resort course in North Myrtle Beach.
Pine Valley might be described as an aesthetic of scrub and sand. There are mighty, forced carries to travers, along with sempiternal, sandy lairs to avoid. Barefoot Fazio is quite similar. If you’re not faced with a forced carry, you’ll certainly contend with a fairway border or greenside necklace of sand. When you reach the 13th tee, you’ll face a drive into a fairway, and you might see a distant green, with a notable absence: flagstick. The 13th is the icing on the homage cake, a callout of the 8th hole at Pine Valley. Numero Ocho at the OG has two greens, side by side, and they change the manner in which the hole plays (so they say.) At Barefoot Fazio, the right-side green is a traditional approach, with an unimpeded run of fairway to putting surface. The left-side green (the one that I was fortunate to play) demands a pitch shot over a wasteland. It’s a fitting tribute for the rest of us to play.
Be certain to parrot the starter, Leon’s, advice, and play up a deck of tees. Barefoot Fazio offers five par-three holes, so the fours and fives play that much longer. Remember, too, that you are on vacation. Why not treat yourself to some birdie looks?
The Jack Nicklaus course at Pawley’s Plantation emerged from a period of hibernation in 2024. The greens were torn up and their original contours were restored. Work was overseen by Troy Vincent, a member of the Nicklaus Architecture team. In addition, the putting corridors were reseeded with a hardier, dwarf bermuda that has experienced great success, all along the Grand Strand that is Myrtle Beach.
My visit allowed me to see the inward half first, and I understand why the resort wishes to conclude your day on those holes. The front nine of Pawley’s Plantation works its way through familiar, low country trees and wetlands. The back nine begins in similar fashion, then makes its way east, toward the marsh that separates mainland from Pawley’s Island. Recalling the powerful sun of that Wednesday morning, any round beginning on the second nine would face collateral damage from the warming star. Much better to hit holes 11 to close when the sun is higher in the sky.
The marshland holes (12 through 17) are spectacular in their raw, unprotected nature. The winds off the Atlantic are unrelenting and unforgiving, and the twin, par-three holes will remain in your memory banks for time’s march. In typical Golden Bear fashion, a majority of his putting targets are smallish in nature, reflecting his appreciation for accurate approach shots. Be sure to find the forgiving side of each green, and err to that portion. You’ll be grateful.
Bonus Coverage: Myrtlewood, Beechwood, Arrowhead, and King’s North
Arrowhead (Raymond Floyd and Tom Jackson)
A course built in the middle of a community, water threatens on most every hole. The Cypress 9 provides a few holes forcing a carried drive then challenge you with water surrounding the green. On Waterway, a drivable 2nd hole will tempt most, so make sure the group ahead has cleared the green.
Myrtlewood (Edmund Alt and Arthur Hills) and Beechwood (Gene Hamm)
A middle of the winter New Englander’s paradise. Wide open fairways, zero blind shots and light rough allow for shaking off the rust and plenty of forgiveness. A plethora of dog legs cause one to be cautious with every tee shot. Won’t break the bank nor the scorecard.
King’s North @ Myrtle Beach National (Arnold Palmer)
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19th Hole
Vincenzi’s 2024 Players Championship betting preview: Pete Dye specialists ready to pass tough TPC Sawgrass test
The PGA Tour heads to TPC Sawgrass to play in one of the most prestigious and important events of the season: THE PLAYERS Championship. Often referred to as the fifth major, the importance of a PLAYERS victory to the legacy of a golfer can’t be overlooked.
TPC Sawgrass is a par-72 measuring 7,245 yards and featuring Bermudagrass greens. Golfers must be patient in attacking this Pete Dye course.
With trouble lurking at every turn, the strokes can add up quickly. With a par-5 16th that is a true risk-reward hole and the famous par-3 17th island green, the only safe bet at TPC Sawgrass is a bet on an exciting finish.
THE PLAYERS Championship field is often referred to as the strongest field of the year — and with good reason. There are 144 in the field, including 43 of the world’s top 50 players in the OWGR. Tiger Woods will not be playing in the event.
THE PLAYERS is an exceptionally volatile event that has never seen a back-to-back winner.
Past Winners at TPC Sawgrass
- 2023: Scottie Scheffler (-17)
- 2022: Cameron Smith (-13)
- 2021: Justin Thomas (-14)
- 2019: Rory McIlroy (-16)
- 2018: Webb Simpson (-18)
- 2017: Si-Woo Kim (-10)
- 2016: Jason Day (-15)
- 2015: Rickie Fowler (-12)In this article and going forward, I’ll be using the Rabbit Hole by Betsperts Golf data engine to develop my custom model. If you want to build your own model or check out all of the detailed stats, you can sign up using promo code: MATTVIN for 25% off any subscription package (yearly is best value).
5 Key Stats for TPC Sawgrass
Let’s take a look at five metrics key for TPC Sawgrass to determine which golfers boast top marks in each category over their last 24 rounds.
1. Strokes Gained: Approach
Strokes Gained: Approach has historically been far and away the most important and predictive stat at THE PLAYERS Championship. With water everywhere, golfers can’t afford to be wild with their iron shots. Not only is it essential to avoid the water, but it will also be as important to go after pins and make birdies because scores can get relatively low.
Total SG: Approach Over Past 24 Rounds
- Tom Hoge (+1.37)
- Scottie Scheffler (+1.20)
- Tony Finau (+0.99)
- Jake Knapp (+0.83)
- Shane Lowry (+0.80)
2. Total Driving
This statistic is perfect for TPC Sawgrass. Historically, driving distance hasn’t been a major factor, but since the date switch to March, it’s a bit more significant. During this time of year, the ball won’t carry quite as far, and the runout is also shorter.
Driving accuracy is also crucial due to all of the trouble golfers can get into off of the tee. Therefore, players who are gaining on the field with Total Driving will put themselves in an ideal spot this week.
Total Driving Over Past 24 Rounds
- Rory McIlroy (22)
- Akshay Bhatia (25)
- Keith Mitchell (25)
- Adam Hadwin (34)
- Sam Burns (+39)
3. Strokes Gained: Total at Pete Dye Designs
TPC Sawgrass may be Pete Dye’s most famous design, and for good reason. The course features Dye’s typical shaved runoff areas and tricky green complexes. Pete Dye specialists love TPC Sawgrass and should have a major advantage this week.
SG: Total (Pete Dye) per round over past 36 rounds:
- Patrick Cantlay (+2.02)
- Scottie Scheffler (+1.90)
- Min Woo Lee (+1.77)
- Sungjae Im (+1.72)
- Brian Harman (+1.62)
4. Strokes Gained: Ball Striking
Prototypical ball-strikers have dominated TPC Sawgrass. With past winners like Sergio Garcia, Henrik Stenson, Webb Simpson, Rory McIlroy and Justin Thomas, it’s evident that golfers must be striking it pure to contend at THE PLAYERS.
SG: Ball Striking Over Past 24 Rounds
- Scottie Scheffler (+2.02)
- Tony Finau (+1.51)
- Tom Hoge (+1.48)
- Keith Mitchell (+1.38)
- Will Zalatoris (+1.18)
5. Par 5 Average
Par-5 average is extremely important at TPC Sawgrass. With all four of the Par-5s under 575 yards, and three of them under 540 yards, a good amount of the scoring needs to come from these holes collectively.
Par 5 Average Over Past 24 Rounds
- Scottie Schefler (+4.31)
- Erik Van Rooyen (+4.35)
- Doug Ghim (+4.34)
- Wyndham Clark (+4.34)
- Matt Fitzpatrick (+4.31)
6. Strokes Gained: Florida
We’ve used this statistic over the past few weeks, and I’d like to incorporate some players who do well in Florida into this week’s model as well.
Strokes Gained: Florida over past 30 rounds:
- Scottie Schefler (+2.43)
- Erik Van Rooyen (+1.78)
- Doug Ghim (+1.78)
- Wyndham Clark (+1.73)
- Matt Fitzpatrick (+1.69)
7. Strokes Gained: Total on Courses with High Water Danger
With water everywhere at TPC Sawgrass, the blow-up potential is high. It can’t hurt to factor in some players who’ve avoided the “eject” button most often in the past.
Strokes Gained: Total on Courses with High Water Danger over past 30 rounds:
- Scottie Schefler (+2.08)
- Rory McIlroy (+1.82)
- Tony Finau (+1.62)
- Patrick Cantlay (+1.51)
- Will Zalatoris (+1.49)
THE PLAYERS Championship Model Rankings
Below, I’ve compiled overall model rankings using a combination of the five key statistical categories previously discussed — SG: Approach (25%), Total Driving (20%), SG: Total Pete Dye (14%), SG: Ball-striking (15%) SG: Par 5 (8%), SG: Florida (10%) and SG: High Water (8%).
- Scottie Scheffler
- Shane Lowry
- Tony Finau
- Corey Conners
- Keith Mitchell
- Justin Thomas
- Will Zalatoris
- Xander Schauffele
- Cameron Young
- Doug Ghim
- Sam Burns
- Chris Kirk
- Collin Morikawa
- Si Woo Kim
- Wyndham Clark
2024 THE PLAYERS Championship Picks
(All odds at the time of writing)
Patrick Cantlay +2500 (DraftKings):
Patrick Cantlay is winless since the 2022 BMW Championship but is undoubtedly one of the most talented players on the PGA Tour. Since the win at Wilmington Country Club, the 31-year-old has twelve top-10 finishes on Tour and is starting to round into form for the 2024 season.
Cantlay has done well in the most recent “signature” events this season, finishing 4th at Riviera for the Genesis Invitational and 12th at Bay Hill for the Arnold Palmer Invitational. The former Tour Championship winner resides in Jupiter, Florida and has played some good golf in the state, including finishing in a tie for 4th at the 2023 Arnold Palmer Invitational. His history at TPC Sawgrass has been up and down, but his best career start at The PLAYERS came last year when he finished in a tie for 19th.
Cantlay absolutely loves Pete Dye designed courses and ranks 1st in the field in Strokes Gained: Total on Dye tracks in his past 36 rounds. In recent years, he’s been excellent at both the RBC Heritage and the Travelers Championship. TPC Sawgrass is a place where players will have to be dialed in with their irons and distance off the tee won’t be quite as important. In his past 24, rounds, Cantlay ranks in the field in Strokes Gained: Approach.
Despite being winless in recent years, I still believe Cantlay is capable of winning big tournaments. As one of the only United States players to bring their best game to Marco Simone for the Ryder Cup, I have conviction that the former top amateur in the world can deliver when stakes are high.
Will Zalatoris +3000 (FanDuel):
In order to win at TPC Sawgrass, players will need to be in total control of their golf ball. At the moment, Will Zalatoris is hitting it as well as almost anyone and finally has the putter cooperating with his new switch to the broomstick style.
Zalatoris is coming off back-to-back starts where he absolutely striped the ball. He finished 2nd at the Genesis Invitational and 4th at the Arnold Palmer Invitational where his statistics were eye opening. For the week at Bay Hill, Zal gained 5.0 strokes on approach and 5.44 strokes off the tee.
Throughout the early part of his career, Zalatoris has established himself by playing his best golf in the strongest fields with the most difficult conditions. A tough test will allow him to separate himself this week and breakthrough for a PLAYERS Championship victory.
Shane Lowry +4000 (DraftKings):
History has shown us that players need to be in good form to win the PLAYERS Championship and it’s hard to find anyone not named Scottie Scheffler who’s in better form that Shane Lowry at the moment. He finished T4 at the Cognizant Classic followed by a solo third place finish at the Arnold Palmer Invitational.
The fact that the Irishman contended at Bay Hill is a great sign considering he’s really struggled there throughout his career. He will now head to a different style of course in Florida where he’s had a good deal of success. He finished 8th at TPC Sawgrass in 2021 and 13th in 2022.
Lowry ranks 6th in the field in approach in his past 24 rounds, 7th in Strokes Gained: Total at Pete Dye designed courses in his last 30 rounds, 8th in par 5 scoring this season, and 4th in Strokes Gained: Total in Florida over his past 36 rounds.
Lowry is a player who’s capable of winning big events. He’s a major champion and won another premier event at Wentworth as well as a WGC at Firestone. He’s also a form player, when he wins it’s typically when he’s contended in recent starts. He’s been terrific thus far in Florida and he should get into contention once again this week.
Brian Harman +8000 (DraftKings):
(Note: Since writing this Harman’s odds have plummeted to 50-1. I would not advise betting the 50).
Brian Harman showed us last season that if the course isn’t extremely long, he has the accuracy both off the tee and with his irons to compete with anyone in the world. Last week at Bay Hill and was third in the field in Strokes Gained: Approach, gaining 5.54 strokes on the field in the category.
In addition to the strong iron play, Harman also gained strokes off the tee in three of four rounds. He’s also had success at Pete Dye tracks recently. He finished 2nd at last year’s Travelers Championship and 7th at the RBC Heritage.
It would be a magnificent feat for Harman to win both the Open Championship and PLAYERS in a short time frame, but the reality is the PGA Tour isn’t quite as strong as it once was. Harman is a player who shows up for the biggest events and his odds seem way too long for his recent track record.
Tony Finau +6500 (FanDuel):
A few weeks ago, at the Genesis Invitational, I bet Hideki Matsuyama because I believed it to be a “bet the number” play at 80-1. I feel similarly about Finau this week. While he’s not having the season many people expected of him, he is playing better than these odds would indicate.
This season, Tony has a tied for 6th place finish at Torrey Pines, a tied for 19th at Riviera and tied for 13th at the Mexico Open. He’s also hitting the ball extremely well. In the field in his past 24 rounds, he ranks 3rd in Strokes Gained: Approach, 3rd in Strokes Gained: Ball Striking, 6th in Par 5 average and 15th in Total Driving.
Finau’s problem has been with the putter, which has been undeniably horrific. However, this week he will see a putting surface similar to the POA at TPC Scottsdale and PGA West, which he’s had a great deal of success on. It’s worth taking a stab at this price to see if he can have a mediocre week with the flat stick.
Sungjae Im +9000 (FanDuel):
It’s been a lackluster eighteen months for Sungjae, who once appeared to be a certain star. While his ceiling is absolutely still there, it’s been a while since we’ve seen Im play the type of golf expected of a player with his talent.
Despite the obvious concerns, the South Korean showed glimpses of a return to form last week at the Arnold Palmer Invitational. He tied for 18th place and gained strokes off the tee, on approach, around the green and with the putter. When at his best, Im is a perfect course fit for TPC Sawgrass. He has remarkable precision off the tee, can get dialed in with his irons on shorter courses and can get up and down with the best players on Tour.
This number has gotten to the point where I feel comfortable taking a shot on it.
Billy Horschel +20000 (FanDuel):
Billy Horschel is a great fit on paper for TPC Sawgrass. He can get dialed in with his irons and his lack of distance off the tee won’t be a major detriment at the course. “Bermuda Billy” does his best work putting on Bermudagrass greens and he appears to be rounding into form just in time to compete at The PLAYERS.
In his most recent start, Billy finished in a tie for 9th at the Cognizant Classic and hit the ball extremely well. The former Florida Gator gained 3.32 strokes on approach and 2.04 strokes off the tee. If Horschel brings that type of ball striking to TPC Sawgrass, he has the type of putter who can win a golf tournament.
Horschel has been great on Pete Dye designed courses, with four of his seven career PGA Tour wins coming on Dye tracks.
In a season that has seen multiple long shots win big events, the 37-year-old is worth a stab considering his knack for playing in Florida and winning big events.
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Steve Wozeniak
Feb 4, 2015 at 5:33 pm
Chris is a horrible choice for Tiger and you are seeing this already…….There are quite a few people that “claim” to be masters of biomechanics that have NO CLUE how to relate it to the golf swing. You can certainly see this in the guys last “tips” in golf digest……wow…..
Also he says I am getting Tiger back to his old swing, well it would take two days for someone to do this, his swing sucks now and there is no end to it with this guy, sorry Tiger, try again…..
Steve Wozeniak 425 533 4711
goodatgolfblog
Dec 4, 2014 at 5:04 am
It’s really exciting to see Tiger getting back into the game.
Hopefully Como will be the right choice to help him bounce back from his uneventfull season of 2014.
I just released a blogpost discussing Chris Como.
Check it out if you’ve got the time and let me know what you think:
http://www.good-at-golf.com/you-dont-have-to-be-tiger-woods-to-learn-from-chris-como/
Dpavs
Dec 2, 2014 at 12:31 pm
Yawn… less news worthy every year… the clock is ticking.
mark d
Dec 1, 2014 at 5:21 pm
Thanks, Tom. Always go for your articles on GolfWRX. As for Tiger… wow, short memories, at least from the comments. Dude blistered everybody for a decade, amassed a record that absolutely blows every modern player out of the water. Is Rory or whomever the “next Tiger?” I dunno. Show me a stretch of several years when anybody wins like Tiger did and we’ll talk.
Meanwhile, I’m with Bradley. Mechanics can only take you so far, and he’s had the best in the business and he still ain’t happy.
Tom Stickney
Dec 2, 2014 at 12:02 am
Mark– happiness is key.
Rus
Nov 30, 2014 at 10:22 am
Tiger is a lightening rod period! The haters will continue and the lovers’ will still love. I be live in karma – If Eldrick misses the flag on 15 @ Augusta the major drought ends and folks are looking at him as a factor. Instead he had no good-will with the Golf Gods and we all saw the outcome.
I have never met Chris Como having lived in Dallas for 6 years. I am intrigued to see what and how he can influence what Tiger does on/ off the course.
I refuse to join the Rory – Tiger Debate – My only point is the body of work is the measurement of success or failure. When Tiger is long gone and Rory is in his twilight will he surpass all of the Tiger benchmarks of an extremely successful career.
As always great article Tom… Keep writing and I’ll keep reading.
Tom Stickney
Nov 30, 2014 at 11:59 am
Rus– thx sir. Gonna be fun.
Frank "FREE-RELEASE" Drollinger
Nov 30, 2014 at 8:47 am
We all know that TW – I like him – has a very long story of injuries. He changed his instructors because of the injuries. Also TW said that he do not know “if it work or not”. All former instructors are teaching Dys-Balance and no 3-D Coordinates. TW´s Center of Gravity moves to the left to the right and up and down. This blocks his muscles and joints and is the key reason why he is not able to repeat ball hits. His DA and GIR are “poor”. Or in other words. Tiger has space and the quality!!!! to improve this #´s more than 25%. That would be the key precondition to win. Additional TW need to minimze shear and torsion force. Both bio-key-points would be possible for TW. It has nothing to do with the point working with Butch, Hank, Sean or Chris. It is the Dys-Balance Swing System TW should change. Because at the end of the day TW´s health allows him to be competitve or not. TW had more than 6 injuries. The possibility to get the next injury grow more than 50%. Golf needs TW. Golf needs a healthy TW.
Tom Stickney
Nov 30, 2014 at 12:00 pm
Hopefully Chris will use his work with Sasho to address the issues you’ve brought up.
Bradley
Nov 30, 2014 at 1:07 am
Rather than get involved in a discussion of what’s above, I’ll just post my thoughts from the day after the news was announced based on my 30+ years teaching experience.
The golf world is abuzz with the news that Tiger Woods, who announced a few weeks ago he was moving forward in 2015 on his own without a swing coach, yesterday announced he has hired Chris Como as his “swing consultant.” I’ve been asked to weigh in with my thoughts.
Not much is known about Como other than he is another scientist in the game who specializes in biomechanics. I will only offer this. I’m a firm believer that the mind is the greatest invention ever and your mind can will you to produce the greatest results ever when it comes to sports. When the round is played, the mind weaves you through the ups and downs. Your mind harnesses the feel of each motion you create and you repeat learned processes with confidence, harnessing adrenaline, and the only calculations are playing high percentage shots with a vision for the shot at hand. You don’t worry about shots already played. They cannot be changed. A poor shot does not portend another is coming. Every shot is a chance at greatness. When the round is done, the mind NEEDS to replay the good and bad. It needs to cleanse itself and prepare for the next round with conviction in what works and what doesn’t. It’s the ONLY way a player can even attempt to “get in THE ZONE.” That rarefied air of sport where everything is possible; all is on cruise control; you completely dominate the competition.
Sitting down after a round to analyze specific body movements on a computer screen or even attempting to introduce a physics based model or theory in a round of golf is disastrous at best. It robs the mind of the proper rationalization and reasoning powers you need to move forward by leaps and bounds; not by millimeters or degrees where no such thought to those was made during the action of the sport. Think about it. I’ve yet to see a tour professional jump up and thank Homer Kelly’s The Golfing Machine for all his success or for maintaining a physics formula over those crucial shots when it counted.
You only have to look at the tour in general to see what’s happening here. Jack, the greatest ever, played by feel. It wasn’t perfect. It just won, and won a lot. Bobby Jones, inside, across the line, over the top did it exactly the same every time and it won. So much so, he retired at age 28. He won by feel. Lord Byron won 11 in a row; a record never to be beaten in our lifetime. All by feel. Norman adopted Jack’s physical and mental approach. It won a lot. He did it by feel even though he was one of the first to introduce the physical training side to golf fitness. Phil has won a lot with Butch and working the “feel” side of the game. Tiger won all of his biggest with Butch and Hank, again emphasizing the feel side of the game. If there was one to become a bit technical it was Hogan, but imo, only as it related to himself BY FEEL! The first noted mechanical player that was entirely over the top was Mac O’Grady. I haven’t found a major victory for him and it seems he retreated as quickly as he appeared; to the shadows to churn out disciples of a mechanical mind unable to learn feel, only formulas.
Yet we have all these biomechanics, physics based scientists out there now. Why? No clue whatsoever other than the fact it takes a very special talent to learn to teach feel. Rather than work to develop that talent required to become an expert in teaching “feel” it’s much easier to take the “There’s an app for that” approach to teaching golf. Great golf will never be paint by numbers and today’s tour proves it. There is no dominant player anymore. They are all the same. Robots. A career lasts 6 weeks tops.
In 1986, Jack’s mind willed him back to 1975. The “feel” magically returned on that one Sunday in April. His 6th green jacket. Johnny Miller last won in ’87 and limped away from the tour with the yips. He overcame it in his mind and the hole became a bucket again. Never did he sit staring at computer models. He willed his mind back to that 63 in the US Open. In ’94, he emerged at age 46 also and took them down at Pebble Beach. Norman obliterated the TPC record in ’94 with 264, 24 under par with likely the greatest display of golf ever played. A record likely to never be broken. He did it by feel. The Tiger Slam, four majors in a row, of 2000 was accomplished purely by feel like Bobby Jones. Since then, the majors have been scattered. None since 2008 since he became completely immersed in the physical and biomechanic side of golf; if one can really provide evidence that there is a side for this at all. The records and the numbers do not prove it.
Mr. Como doesn’t have a stable of winners tearing it up on tour. But as we’ve said before, being in Tiger’s circus demands you speak what he wants to hear. It didn’t used to be this way. I’ll offer an analogy here. Have you ever invested in the stock market? Many billionaires have been created that have the vision, “the feel” for how a company’s success will play out. Take Apple for instance. The largest company in the world now. Ten years ago, thousands of analysts said it was a sell, dead, gone. Why? They looked at charts, stats, tick by tick trades, numbers, numbers, numbers. Every single one of them was wrong. They call them analysts. They tell you a stock isn’t a buy until a chart on a computer says it’s a buy. Tell that to all the guys who bought at $8 when the guys looking at computers and charts couldn’t dump it fast enough. They have no vision just like the scientists in golf. The scientists cannot quantify or measure the zone in golf. It doesn’t fit the model.
I’ll leave you with this. Tiger wins majors when Tiger plays golf by feel and not by calculations. As soon as he remembers how he did it, he can win majors again. Until then, surrounding yourself with scientists shields you from greatness IMO. Unless the goal is to be great for six weeks. Then he’s got that covered with the rest of them. Here’s the definition of Sports Biomechanics. Good luck with that.
Sports biomechanics is a quantitative based study and analysis of professional athletes and sports’ activities in general.[1] It can simply be described as the Physics of Sports. In this subfield of biomechanics the laws of mechanics are applied in order to gain a greater understanding of athletic performance through mathematical modeling, computer simulation and measurement. Biomechanics is the study of the structure and function of biological systems by means of the methods of “mechanics.” – which is the branch of physics involving analysis of the actions of forces. Within “mechanics” there are two sub-fields of study: statics, which is the study of systems that are in a state of constant motion either at rest (with no motion) or moving with a constant velocity; and dynamics, which is the study of systems in motion in which acceleration is present, which may involve kinematics (the study of the motion of bodies with respect to time, displacement, velocity, and speed of movement either in a straight line or in a rotary direction) and kinetics (the study of the forces associated with motion, including forces causing motion and forces resulting from motion).
Go ahead. You’re on the tee. Here’s an extra dozen balls. Hope it’s enough.
Tom Stickney
Nov 30, 2014 at 12:03 pm
Brad– appreciate the post. Bottom line–feel is the key. I’m hopeful tiger will return to the feel player he once was.
marcel
Nov 27, 2014 at 7:58 pm
i have watched Como’s video on the longer drives… and here are my reservations. i play around 15… mostly bad putting – 36yo quite athletic, 5’7″ drives around 280yrd sometimes longer – the longest recorded 393 yards. My coach AAA+ coach always reminded me to stay calm and never change spine angle and high during back swing and ball contact – lots of bucket drills in front of mirror to watch the head moves… chin should never ever drop… or you hit the ground before the ball!. Como on the video emphasize quite a move in right leg which creates lots of height and chin movement up and down – this requires so much more adjustment with hands… well horses for courses
Tom Stickney
Nov 28, 2014 at 12:40 am
Marcel…if you’re using verticals as tiger does it’s ok to move up and down a touch. But be careful.
Jacko
Nov 28, 2014 at 6:03 pm
Idiot …zzzz
RG
Nov 27, 2014 at 3:11 pm
Oh and Tom the only problem with Tigers swing is his tempo. Look at the film from 2013 when he won and even back in 2000, he was so smooth in transition and it looked effortless. Now he snatches it at the top and it looks like hes giving birth in his downswing. My eyeballs feel strained just watching him.
RG
Nov 27, 2014 at 3:05 pm
So whats the over under on how long this one lasts?
Tom Stickney
Nov 27, 2014 at 4:48 pm
It’s not pretty. Hopefully it will last. We’ll see.
dion
Nov 26, 2014 at 11:23 pm
everyone get ready for the rory slam at next years us open at chambers bay going to be epic and yes I know he has two so far but the boys at down at agusta better get rorys measurements because the jacket needs to fit when bubba gives it to him
Tom Stickney
Nov 27, 2014 at 1:36 am
Would be epic!
cflow
Nov 26, 2014 at 2:22 pm
For all of you Tiger haters, how quickly your brains forget. Just one year ago in the 2013 golf season Tiger won 5 (count them 5) events in just 16 starts with 8 Top 10’s and the second lowest scoring average for the year. 2014 was just another hiccup on his journey. That same year (just 1 year ago) Rory only had 5 top 10’s and ZERO wins. Hell Rory only won 9 events on the PGA in his first 7 years, while Tiger won 29 events in his first 7 years and in one of those years he won 9 events (equal to Rory’s total for those 7 years). Rory is very good but lets check his longevity 10 years from now until we call him great!
tom stickney
Nov 26, 2014 at 2:57 pm
Rory will be one of the greats for sure! I’d love to see him in the Tiger/Jack Major race years from now. He’s a good kid!
steve
Nov 27, 2014 at 9:26 am
To bad for you that this isn’t early 2000’s. Rory has 4 Majors in 4 years, you think Tiger would trade his last 4 seasons for that? You are comparing 25 year old Tiger to Rory, but it is 39 year old Tiger playing 25 year Rory. I agree with you about Tiger he could be the greatest golfer ever, when you consider his 6 amateur titles in a row. But I live in the NOW and now Tiger is not the Tiger then.
Ponjo
Nov 27, 2014 at 1:31 pm
Just for the record wins when not a pro don’t count
steve
Nov 27, 2014 at 3:10 pm
Don’t count? What doe’s that mean?
Nick Bradley
Nov 26, 2014 at 9:16 am
A terribly blinkered and bias article.
Tom Stickney
Nov 26, 2014 at 10:36 am
I have nothing to gain….
RP Jacobs II
Dec 17, 2014 at 12:41 pm
Nick, with all due respect, of course this is an opinion piece, as 95-96% of articles are, lol. That is not a negative, it’s just a fact. Tom either likes Como or he doesn’t. He either agrees with Tiger’s pick or he doesn’t. He provides corroborative “evidence” to support his opinion. THAT is how I judge an article. The fact that I may or may not agree with Tom is irrelevant. What is relevant is whether or not he supports his opinion with cohesive, grounded, accurate & well articulated thoughts.
Tom does that, in spades in this and any of the articles of his that I have read. And no, I am not always on the same side of the table as Tom regarding his opinions, with this being one such case, IF Chris Como takes Tiger down the techno path.
I agree with Bradley’s thoughts and post above 100%. My Teacher, who I was blessed to have had for 40+ years, was Sam Snead’s older Bro, a student, Protégé, Peer & Friend of Tommy Armour and I felt reading Bradley’s post I was back sitting on Pete’s porch listening to him speak of the swing and the game. Look, since the mid-late 50’s, we have had a parade of swing theories & techniques, most of which my teacher referred to as “theories du jour” which, regardless of who was trumpeting them or how they were packaged, the vast, vast, vast majority of them were/are contrived, artificial & UNNECESSARILY COMPLICATED.
Regarding all of these little techy teachers, I’ll leave ya with one name- Percy Boomer.
I believe that it was Ecclesiastes that said, “there is nothing new under the sun.”
As one with graduate degrees in the sciences, one of which is in Physics, I find it amusing when these guys, Teachers and Players alike, start chirpin all of this techno babble as though it’s the key to the kingdom, LMAO. I work daily with surgeons on their “course,” the OR. Tens of thousands of procedures over 28 years and I’ve been with the best of the very best in the world, and unfortunately I’ve been with some that I wouldn’t let put a Band-Aid on a bee sting.
One thing I know sure as I know my name, DOB & SS#, and that is that when one is performing at their very best, their left side brain is dead and they are operating/playing off of muscle memory and visualization of the perfect procedure/outcome/shot.
So, as Bradley stated above, and I don’t believe that Tom has disagreed with, Tiger has to rid his mind of all this techno garbage, and get back to the swing that he can produce without a single thought, just a vision on his mind’s “movie screen,” especially under pressure & when s*** hits the fan.
And Nick, as your post would be a textbook definition of “blinkered,” where do you differ from Tom’s views & thoughts?
It’s like I tell my people-
That’s fine if you disagree with me, I’m good with that, however, don’t just tell me that I am wrong-
Tell me, show me the better/right way-
Tom, nice article!
Stay well my Friend & the Very Best to You & Yours this Holiday Season 🙂
Golfingly Yours,
Richard
David
Nov 26, 2014 at 5:00 am
“Let’s face it: Tiger has more talent than any golfer to date and if he can just make a few changes he will be right back on track. It’s easy to kick him while he’s been injured etc., but a refocused Tiger is a scary one if he sees some quick success! I have no doubts it will come sooner than everyone believes.”
Talent than any golfer to date? Let’s compare McIlroy to Woods’ game shall we?
McIlroy is:
Longer
Straighter
Better at ball striking
Equally as good with a wedge
Unreal iron player
Woods is:
Erratic at everything
Now let’s consider putting. Woods is a better putter than Rory. Sorry, he was a decade ago. Now McIlroy is a better putter than Woods and what made Woods so great was his mental strength rather than his admittedly formerly fantastic game.
You can teach him the swing again, but without the mental game he had he’s done for. And you can’t teach that.
Ryan
Nov 26, 2014 at 8:58 am
David. Out of your mind.. Look at their records.
Woods = Legendary
McIlroy = To be determined
WillyTwoBalls
Nov 26, 2014 at 10:05 am
Tiger’s legacy is way greater than Rory’s no doubt, but Tiger’s legacy won’t beat Rory on the course next season, and right now Rory looks like the biggest roadblock for Tiger in eclipsing Jack’s record.
Tom Stickney
Nov 26, 2014 at 10:40 am
We’ll see. Be fun to watch.
TheFightingEdFioris
Nov 26, 2014 at 12:17 pm
Oh, how quickly we forget Rory’s 2013… I’m rooting for the two of them to split majors next year. But let us not forget that Rory’s best year was last year when he won two majors and only two other tournaments (nothing to blink at, I know), while Tiger has had at least three years better than that. What a time to be a golf fan!
Tom Stickney
Nov 26, 2014 at 12:23 pm
Ed- love to see that! 🙂
David
Nov 27, 2014 at 2:51 am
He does play a lighter schedule than when Woods was playing regularly though, he also has had something daft like top 10 in every tournament aside from one this season which is insane. He and Woods, at their respective ages, are fairly equal except for ‘normal’ wins, however the field is way better than when Woods was dominating in fairness, Rory won’t win most weeks like Woods.
In terms of people saying i’m ‘out of my mind’, how? He is longer, straighter and an all round better player these days, he’s the best player on the planet. To suggest otherwise would be madness.
Also Rory had a bad year, granted, but he’s not an emotionless robot like Woods is, he’s unlikely to be mentally broken in the future ala Woods now due to the experiences he had then. And considering he had that awful year he’s still number 1 and only a few months away from getting a shot at the career grand slam at 25 years old.
I enjoyed Woods in his prime but now see a bitter, broken man. It’s just sad, and those who are so alarmingly biased to him are just insane.
Knobbywood
Nov 26, 2014 at 10:05 am
Tiger woods holds the record for PGA tour season with the lowest ever scoring average at around 67… End of discussion
tom stickney
Nov 27, 2014 at 2:20 pm
David– I would agree that Tiger’s attitude on and off the course over the years in general isn’t the best. I think we would have all loved him to be a touch more human, but I guess I really can’t comment since I have not walked in his shoes.
Tom Stickney
Nov 26, 2014 at 10:38 am
Rory is better at this stage but it’s all about their entire career. One or two years doesn’t mean anything.
steve
Nov 26, 2014 at 1:12 pm
Really? Two great years on tour lets you keep your card for a long time. Makes you very rich.
Why would it be about their entire career? It is about this point in their career. Who shoes would you rather be in right now? 25 year old Rory or 39 year old Tiger? And Tiger is an old 39, bad back and legs. A back doesnt go away. Winning 4 majors in 4 years, two by 8 shots, means nothing to you. Tiger doesnt need another swing doctor, he needs a swing advisor. I look forward to another year of Tiger, rehearsing his swing over and over. Playing golfswing instead of golf. But I quess Rorys hall of fame career, is just a flash in the pan
tom stickney
Nov 26, 2014 at 6:36 pm
If you are speaking about a single portion of a career then Rory is the man, but I’d love to have seen them square off in 2000.
steve
Nov 27, 2014 at 3:12 pm
A ten year old Rory against a 25 year old Tiger? I have no interest in that
Forsbrand
Nov 28, 2014 at 4:25 pm
We need Tiger to be great again, so that we can watch head to heads with Rory, we’ll see who really is the Daddy then, no excuses! Unfortunately, we thought we’d see tiger els getting it on more often! but then Ernie damaged his knee and it never materialised! which was a big shame.
ND Hickman
Nov 26, 2014 at 11:23 am
Bit harsh. Tiger spent over a decade as the preeminent golfer on the planet. Injuries and off field problems have caused a sharp decline in his game but we have still seen glimpses of the old Tiger when he reclaimed the number one spot. A fully fit and focused Tiger against a fully fit and focused Rory should be a battle for the ages. Throw in Adam Scott, Justin Rose, Rickie Fowler and Jordan Speith and golf has quite an interesting few years ahead of it.
Tom Stickney
Nov 26, 2014 at 11:25 am
ND– love to see em all on the peak of their game together. Wouldn’t care who won. Be unreal to watch!!!!
mo
Nov 26, 2014 at 11:40 am
How many wins did Tiger have in 2013? I think he still wasn’t all the way back.
Andrew Cooper
Nov 26, 2014 at 4:33 am
I hope you’re right Tom. He’s clearly a smart and very knowledgable coach. Hopefully he can make golf simpler for Tiger and not more complicated.
Tom Stickney
Nov 26, 2014 at 10:39 am
Teachers should ALWAYS make things less cluttered in the minds if their students.
Pumper
Nov 25, 2014 at 10:23 pm
Hope he teaches Tiger how to enjoy what he is doing rather than constantly looking so miserable.
Tom Stickney
Nov 25, 2014 at 10:28 pm
Pumper– agree 100%!
Brett
Nov 25, 2014 at 10:00 pm
The biggest issue will be how well Chris can coach Tiger’s ego. Woods was the longest and swings so hard with his driver that he can hit it anywhere at any time. It’s over. Nobody is scared when they have to wait for him to play first.
Tom Stickney
Nov 25, 2014 at 10:29 pm
Brett– ego is a huge component of teaching tiger I’d guess
Jamie
Nov 25, 2014 at 10:32 pm
Like him or not, all anyone should say to tiger is “thank you”. Thank you for giving us such great golf.
Tom Stickney
Nov 25, 2014 at 11:02 pm
Agree jamie
steve
Nov 25, 2014 at 6:52 pm
I have to disagree with some of what is written here. Tiger is not the most talented any longer. Like any other sport kids copy and then surpass or atleast equal. Jordan created Kobe, Lebron and Durant. Tiger created Rory, Adam, Ricki etc. Is 39 year old Jordan better then 25 year old Kobe, Lebron and Durant? I dont think so. Same goes with Tiger. And what Tiger doesnt have now is the intimation factor he had on Ernie, Phil and the others. Can Tiger win more Majors? Yeah. But times have changed.
Tom Stickney
Nov 25, 2014 at 9:27 pm
70+ wins and 14 majors tell a different story. Let him win the masters by a few and see what happens
steve
Nov 25, 2014 at 9:57 pm
how does that tell a different story? 32 years old when he won his last major. I quess time stopped for you in 08
Tom Stickney
Nov 25, 2014 at 10:30 pm
Steve– tiger isn’t at his best right now but name one guy in the modern game who’s record matches tigers to date? Besides none, whom do you choose?
steve
Nov 25, 2014 at 11:50 pm
What is your definition of modern golf? and why does that make a difference. Did Jack play with different equipment than everyone else. They all played on the same level field at different times of history. Tiger’s career record is maybe the best not arguing that. The funny points you make , then we can say Jack could win because of his record. You have to live in the NOW, not the past. Is Tiger the best golfer in the last 5 years? in the last 2 years? in the year? Jordan has a better record in finals then Lebron so I quess he is the best player in the world? Does that make sense? I quess by your logic Phil is the second best player, who has more majors or wins, except Tiger. I am a Tiger fan, but you cant fall in love with a stock, have to let it go when it is time
Tom Stickney
Nov 26, 2014 at 11:27 am
Steve– it’s far from over on the tiger issue. We’ll see. Let’s discuss in five years. I’ll take the long. 🙂
Jamie
Nov 25, 2014 at 10:13 pm
Tom, i agree with you regarding tiger’s lower body causing things to be out of sync. Particularly his right foot has always fired up so quickly causing the club to drop under the plane coming down.
Tom Stickney
Nov 25, 2014 at 10:32 pm
Jamie…love to see his lower body action altered if possible.
Jamie
Nov 25, 2014 at 10:39 pm
Think its hard for him to do with driver cause its a timing mechanism for him. When he was a little more upright under butch it gave him fractionally more time and room to bring the club down. Under hank he was flatterand more laid off but he had no room. His iron swing is much more in sync. My view.
WillyTwoBalls
Nov 26, 2014 at 10:14 am
Tom, with all due respect, you can’t use Tiger’s brilliant legacy as justification for continued success, everyone loses it eventually. Furthermore, Tiger lost it between the ears, you can’t deny that, watch him even in his comeback in ’13, his mental game isn’t what it used to be, and it used to be his greatest asset.
Tom Stickney
Nov 27, 2014 at 9:52 am
Willy…he still has the strongest mind in golf.
Scooter McGavin
Nov 25, 2014 at 4:23 pm
I died a little inside each time I read “Chris'”, without the s after the apostrophe.
tom stickney
Nov 25, 2014 at 4:45 pm
I’ll let Zac know, maybe you can edit our article from now
Charlie
Nov 25, 2014 at 7:43 pm
Both are grammatically acceptable, but the way Tom wrote it is seen as better among college professors who teach English.
aj
Nov 25, 2014 at 2:43 pm
GO tiger I cant wait for you to string some wins together this year you still have fans
tom stickney
Nov 25, 2014 at 3:03 pm
be fun to watch aj for sure
JT
Nov 25, 2014 at 8:55 pm
Never been a huge fan of Tiger bc he’s always been the opposite of the qualities you praise in Chris. Very interested to see the partnership play out with results, or lack thereof, on the course because as you mention Tiger is continuing the trend of taking his game to the limit of golf’s ‘intellectual technology’ boundaries with this choice. The trends in analysis (especially ground force efficiency) is very interesting to me, and I know that with Tiger focusing on it we are going to be enjoying a lot more in depth coverage.
Thanks for a great article and insider perspective on the tech and human angles of the story.
And good luck Chris, I think you’re gonna need it!
JT
Nov 25, 2014 at 9:07 pm
I’ve actually become more of a Tiger fan because life has dealt some blows, but he seems to be responding. A story I’m now following more than in the past, and not interested to bash him.
Also, I loved his swing from the Butch era. It was beautiful, and I always wonder, could he have simply throttled that swing down a little to protect his body? I recently googled the old Golf magazine swing sequence from ’97, and it’s so sound, it’s fun to study.
Tom Stickney
Nov 25, 2014 at 10:33 pm
It was solid for sure. Butch is a great teacher.
Tom Stickney
Nov 25, 2014 at 10:32 pm
Thx jt
Mad-Mex
Nov 25, 2014 at 2:27 pm
*YAWN*
Let’s be honest here, this is one of the reasons many golf fans either love or hate Tiger ( very few of us I the “I could care less” camp) we have been bombarded with “Tiger got his feelings hurt!”, “Tiger has a new girlfriend ” “Tiger pooped today ” articles, the proof is in the nose dive of golf digest readership.
I rather read articles of the pros trying to make it to the tour, the journeymen, there is now TWO articles about Tiger and one about his new coach, I would not be surprised to see “Keeping Up with Tiger Kardashian” show.
tom stickney
Nov 25, 2014 at 3:03 pm
mad– he has been over-exposed for some time and it shows for sure.
Pat
Nov 25, 2014 at 3:29 pm
I agree with you mex. I’m a Tiger hater as well and could care less. Yes, the ratings have gone down whenever he isn’t in the field but, the PGA tour is alive and well w/o him, still generating a ton of revenue and increasing size of the winnings for each tournament. I too, like to watch the young up and comers succeed on tour. I’m friends with a top ranked amateur trying to turn pro. I also train him for golf. Remember the name Kevin Fitzgerald.
tom stickney
Nov 25, 2014 at 3:50 pm
Pat– He has done plenty to make people not like him…hopefully when it’s all said and done, he will be more amiable.
MB
Nov 25, 2014 at 8:34 pm
You can really see what this topic is before reading the whole article.
If you do want to read about Tiger or hear about Tiger, WHY READ AND COMMENT ON EVERY TIGER ARTICLE/
Tom Stickney
Nov 25, 2014 at 10:34 pm
MB. Yep some people are interested in tiger and his future.
Nick
Nov 25, 2014 at 2:20 pm
Personally, I hope that the Woods-Como partnership is a huge success. Golf needs Tiger Woods healthy and competing for majors again.
tom stickney
Nov 25, 2014 at 3:04 pm
Agree Nick
timbleking
Nov 25, 2014 at 1:56 pm
Sorry but I don’t agree with your last statement. TODAY, Tiger IS NOT, and by far, the best player in the world. Hate it or love it, Rory McIlroy rules the world of golf nowadays.
simon
Nov 25, 2014 at 2:46 pm
ya last time I checked he he has more majors of an current player and even combine rorys total with scotts and even stenson and they still have less tiger is the best player in the game currently
tom stickney
Nov 25, 2014 at 3:05 pm
Timble– Rory is playing great, but he’s got a long way to go to match Tiger’s overall record.
Pat
Nov 25, 2014 at 3:32 pm
Golf is like other pro sports in which it’s a what have you done now mentality. That makes Rory top dog currently. He is clearly in the zone like Tiger was in 2000. Don’t be surprised if he wins 8 times globally in 2015.
tom stickney
Nov 25, 2014 at 4:46 pm
Pat– I’d LOVE to see someone dominate like that in ’15. Rory is certainly deserving of all the kudos he receives for sure! Good guy.
JBH
Nov 25, 2014 at 1:52 pm
So refreshing to read a balanced take on this matter. The golf media in North America has to sensationalize everything and has become more opinionated tabloid than actual golf news. I wish Tiger the best of luck at the Hero World Challenge and hope he has an incredible 2015! Good luck to Mr. Como as well since he will bear the brunt of the “golf writers” opinions. Hopefully this will be a dynamic duo.
tom stickney
Nov 25, 2014 at 3:06 pm
JBH– Chris is a good guy, hope it works
Charlie
Nov 25, 2014 at 11:40 am
Glad to see a positive perspective from an expert. Great article Tom!
tom stickney
Nov 25, 2014 at 11:55 am
Thanks Charlie…not sure if I’m an expert or not but I gave it my best! 🙂
Leon
Nov 25, 2014 at 10:39 am
Who cares…
Does anyone know the swing coach of Jack Nicklaus, Ben Hogan, Arnold Palmer etc?
Just swing your swing and play the game. Never trying to be a programmed swing robot.
Tom Stickney
Nov 25, 2014 at 10:52 am
Leon. Most people do in today’s time…
Chris
Nov 25, 2014 at 11:05 am
Jack Nicklaus’ coach was Jack Grout.
tom stickney
Nov 25, 2014 at 11:55 am
Palmer’s was his dad Deacon and Hogan’s was a little known guy named Fred
Mikec
Nov 25, 2014 at 11:08 am
Most players would make a deal w the devil to be that “robot”.
5 wins just a few years ago, that is a career for many players, let alone his 70-80~ some odd wins and #2 in majors all-time only to Jack.
tom stickney
Nov 25, 2014 at 11:57 am
Agree Mike…Trackman is very efficient in the hands of the right instructor but detrimental if used in the wrong way for sure.
Tom Stickney
Nov 25, 2014 at 10:37 am
Thx. At worst I’d like to see him get within one of jack…the buzz around the majors would be awesome.
Minh Nguyen
Nov 25, 2014 at 10:34 am
Good read Tom. I hope you are right. Golf is more fun and interesting when guys named Tiger and Phil are playing well. Love him or hate him, what Tiger has done for the game of golf can’t be measured. I myself play because, I wanted to be like Tiger after wanting to be like Mike.