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19th Hole

Did Tiger Woods choke at The Open?

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The winds picked up along the coast as the tide came in. The fickle gods of links golf reared their grey heads. Tiger Woods, stitched up and fused together, chasing his 15th major, felt the fury of both late Sunday at The Open.

Carnoustie’s 11th and 12th holes: A pair of poor efforts off the tee in howling crosswinds found the fescue. A pair of recovery efforts saw Woods’ True Temper Dynamic Gold shaft ensnared and golf ball gone awry.

At the par-4 11th, pressing, feeling he couldn’t afford to drop any shots (Woods stated he thought the winning score would be 9 under)–and indeed would need more birdies coming in–Woods left a flop shot out of the rough just short. Trusting in his powers with a 60-degree in hand, Woods went for a shot that would have left him a good look at par, had he pulled it off. Instead, his ball ultimately trickled away from the putting surface in sad retreat.

Two shots later, he filled in a double-bogey 6 on his scorecard, dropping back to even par for the day through 11 holes. He bogeyed the 12th after another sojourn into the thick stuff.

From that point on, Woods escaped the par-5 14th with what was probably an undeserved birdie, but it was all pars on a difficult stretch of holes. After wedging his approach to seven feet at the 72nd hole, Woods should’ve made the putt, sure–his impotent effort fizzled and fell away from the cup. A made putt would have left him one stroke back of Molinari, who was closer (and ultimately made his putt), but it wouldn’t have won him the tournament.

While it’s fair to say Woods didn’t play his best golf down the stretch, and perhaps he asked too much from shots from the rough at the 11th and 12th, the suggestion that he choked, failed to capitalize, or got nervy when the heat was on is off base.

That said, Woods’ legion of detractors will gleefully claim he choked. The Choke Lite take is that while Woods didn’t totally let things slip through his fingers, but the combination of opponents not self-destructing (most did though, Sunday, didn’t they?) and lacking the “step on their necks” gear he displayed so often earlier in his career did him in.

More to the point, the 79-time Tour winner hit a few poor shots and tried to do too much on a couple of occasions. He paid the price for both. The larger import we see likely had more to do with our preconceived notions of Woods than anything that happened inside the ropes at Carnoustie Sunday.

A final word: In the course of admitting that he was “ticked off” at himself for not getting the job done, Woods said

“I need to try and keep it in perspective because, the beginning of the year, if they’d have said you’re playing The Open Championship, I would have said I’d be very lucky to do that.”

We’d do well to maintain the same perspective: If you’re a fan, be glad you have something to cheer for, and if you’re an anti-Tigerite, be glad you have fodder for criticism. Everybody wins!

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19th Hole

“Is it a Titleist?” – Jerry Seinfeld shares never-before-heard details of iconic scene

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On Thursday, legendary comedian Jerry Seinfeld joined the Rich Eisen Show and shared an awesome story from a “Seinfeld” episode titled “The Marine Biologist.”

In the episode, a golf ball goes into the blow hole of a whale. According to Seinfeld, that was never in the episode’s script.

Seinfeld recalls saying the night before the filming of the episode, “What if what puts the whale in distress is Kramer’s golf ball?”

“He’s hitting golf balls at the beach. George is at the beach with a girl, we haven’t connected them!”

“We write that speech the night before at two o’clock in the morning…The sea was angry that day my friend.”

 

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A post shared by Rich Eisen (@richeisen)


Kramer finishes the iconic scene by asking “Is it a Titleist?” Seinfeld told Eisen the show sought Titleist’s permission to mention its name, saying the ball had to be a Titleist. Fortunately for lovers of the iconic show, the company agreed.

If (somehow) you’re unfamiliar with the scene, check it out below.

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19th Hole

Phil Mickelson drops big retirement hint; Says LIV will grow the game ‘on a much more global basis’

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While speaking with Bloomberg, golf legend Phil Mickelson acknowledged that he is inching close towards retirement.

“I’m 53 now,” Phil said, “and my career, you know, it’s — if I’m being truthful, it’s on — it’s — it’s — I’m a — it’s towards its end.”

Mickelson added that one of his focuses now is helping other young players.

“Now, I would like to help others find the same enjoyment and fulfillment that the game has provided me. I’d like them to experience that as well.”

The six-time major champion credited LIV with reaching new markets in golf to help it grow.

“I think that’s exciting for everyone involved in the game because we are going to reach markets that we didn’t reach before. I think it’s going to inspire more golf courses, inspire more manufacturers selling clubs and equipment, but also inspiring young kids to try to play golf professionally. I just see that the game of golf is going to grow on a much more global basis because of the excitement and the presence that LIV Golf has.”

Mickelson is playing at this week’s LIV Singapore and shot a first round 72 (+1).

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19th Hole

Tiger explains why golf has ‘negative connotations’ for daughter Sam

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While Tiger Woods’ son, Charlie, has certainly inherited his father’s love for golf, his daughter, Sam, has not.

On Wednesday, Tiger made an appearance on The Today Show with Carson Daly and explained his daughter’s relationship with golf.

“Golf has negative connotations for her. When she was growing up, golf took daddy away from her. I had to pack, I had to leave, and I was gone for weeks. So, there were negative connotations to it.

“We developed our own relationship and our own rapport outside of golf. We do things that doesn’t involve golf. Meanwhile, my son and I, everything we do is golf related.”

The nine-minute interview touches on plenty of other subjects, such as Tiger’s relationship with his late father, Earl.

It’s arguably the most open we’ve seen the 15-time major champion in an interview and is most definitely worth watching.

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