Tour News
No reason to sound the alarm on Tiger
By Zak Kozuchowski
GolfWRX Managing Editor
Tiger Woods’ 2-over first round puts him in bad position at The Players Championship. But even though Woods is nine shots behind current leaders Ian Poulter and Martin Laird and likely needs to shoot more than an average round tomorrow to secure a spot in the weekend field, Woods didn’t play that poorly today. And the state of his game is better than you think.
After the round, Woods said that his good shots ended up in bad spots, and his bad shots ended up in worse spots. It sounds like normal Tiger speak, a way for the former No. 1 player in the world to blame a bad score on anything but himself. But having followed Woods on every hole on Thursday, it was clear he got the shaft in Round 1.
Woods was the longest player in his group, which also included Hunter Mahan, a two-time winner in 2012, and last week’s Quail Hollow Championship winner, Rickie Fowler – both pretty long hitters. On the par 5s on the back nine (the group’s first nine), Woods was able to use long irons when Mahan and Fowler were stuck with woods or hybrids. The problem was, Woods didn’t convert any birdies on those par 5s.
Woods’ worst shot of the day came on No. 11, his second hole, after he striped a driver down the left center of the fairway. Woods said after the round that he was in between the yardage of his 3 iron and 4 iron on the par 5, and chose to “slam” a 4 iron as hard as he could hit it. Unfortunately, Woods slammed the ground before he slammed the ball at impact, hitting a shot that barely carried the water well short of the green. Woods recovered by playing a beautiful long bunker shot below the hole, but like many other times in Round 1, his putt just missed.
Woods, Mahan and Fowler each birdied No. 17, which played easy in Round 1 because of a front-right pin position. But the group stumbled on No. 18. Even though Woods and Fowler placed their tee shots perfectly in the center of the fairway, Woods missed the green short and to the right, and failed to convert a makeable par putt. Fowler three putted from the front of the green, and Mahan made a double bogey after driving his ball in the water off the tee. Woods was smiling and chatting with Mahan and Fowler all day, but he was at his most serious when he walked off No. 18. This made it all the more impressive when he flipped his golf ball to a young boy who looked to have recently lost his two front teeth. It won’t earn Woods the Nobel Peace Prize, but it’s a start.
“Are you serious,” his mother exclaimed. “I can’t believe it.”
After the turn, Woods launched another driver in the fairway on No. 1, and appeared to have struck his iron shot within birdie range. But the ball was a few yards short from staying on top of the ridge that protected the pin position, rolling down the slope and back onto the fringe. Woods chose putter from that position, but the ball hopped as it skidded through the Bermuda grass, coming up well short, leaving him another makeable par putt that he missed.
It looked as though it could fall apart for Woods at that moment. He was two-over, and the scoreboard showed that other players were going low given the fairly soft, low wind conditions. It got even worse for Woods after his tee shot on No. 2, where he tried to hit a draw, but instead hit a low hook. He drew a good lie in the rough, and boldly dug into the pine straw with his feet, proceeding to smash a 5 wood nearly hole high. He converted that up and down for birdie, and for the moment looked to be back on track. But it proved to be a day where Woods couldn’t get any momentum going.
Fowler and Mahan played safe iron shots to the front of the green on No. 3, where the pin was on the back tier of the deep and narrow putting surface. Woods went with a different strategy, hitting a mid-iron that landed hole high to the right of the stick.
“Did it stay on,” Woods asked his caddie Joe LaCava.
“They didn’t clap, so I don’t think so,” LaCava said.
“That was perfect,” Woods said. “The best swing I made all day.”
Woods drew a tough lie in the rough, with the ball well below his feet. As Woods started to bring the club down, there was a loud “click” that caught his attention. Woods wasted no time criticizing the person behind the camera.
“Not in my swing,” Woods said. “Put the cameras away.”
Sure, there were moments where the huge crowds distracted Mahan and Fowler, but not to the extent that Woods faced. After most of Woods’ shots, half of the huge galleries would migrate toward to green, leaving Mahan, who is leading the PGA Tour’s FedExCup, and Fowler, one of the most popular players on Tour, with few eyes on them.
But Woods kept grinding, showcasing his ability to hit the long ball. He was also impressive with his irons, shaping shots both ways with high and low trajectories. There was a collective gasp from the gallery on No. 9 after Woods sent his drive in the palm trees left of the fairway. And his second shot from the rough wasn’t much better, landing in a waste area a large section of trees, leaving him no shot to the green. But Woods smartly pitched out, and then played a crisp pitch shot to the back-right pin position, converting the short par putt to salvage a 74.
Woods called it “one of those days,” saying he should have shot an under-par score. And he’s right, the final score didn’t represent how well he played. But Woods showed me something I haven’t seen much of since the scandal – patience. Yes, the putter will continue to be a question mark for him as he goes forward, but the ability for him to hit all the shots seems to have returned. And if his patience has truly returned, it is more valuable than the results of any swing changes. In my experience, the most patient putters are usually the best putters. And the best putters, especially those with Woods’ ball striking skills, win a lot of tournaments.
Click here for more discussion in the “Tour Talk” forum.
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Tour Photo Galleries
Photos from the 2024 RBC Heritage
GolfWRX is on site this week at Harbour Town Golf Links on Hilton Head Island for the RBC Heritage. Plenty of golfers who competed in the Masters last week will be making the quick turnaround in the Lowcountry of South Carolina as the Heritage is again one of the Tour’s Signature Events.
We have general albums for you to check out, as well as plenty of WITBs — including Justin Thomas and Justin Rose.
We’ll continue to update as more photos flow in from SC.
Check out links to all our photos, below.
General Albums
- 2024 RBC Heritage – Monday #1
- 2024 RBC Heritage – Monday #2
- 2024 RBC Heritage – Tuesday #1
- 2024 RBC Heritage – Tuesday #2
WITB Albums
- Justin Thomas – WITB – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Justin Rose – WITB – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Chandler Phillips – WITB – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Nick Dunlap – WITB – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Thomas Detry – WITB – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Austin Eckroat – WITB – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Xander Schauffele – WITB – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Jason Day – WITB – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Will Zalatoris – WITB – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Patrick Cantlay – WITB – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Ludvig Aberg – WITB – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Collin Morikawa – WITB – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Sam Burns – WITB – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Stephen Jaeger – WITB – 2024 RBC Heritage
Pullout Albums
- Wyndham Clark’s Odyssey putter – 2024 RBC Heritage
- JT’s new Cameron putter – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Justin Thomas testing new Titleist 2 wood – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Cameron putters – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Odyssey putter with triple track alignment aid – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Scotty Cameron The Blk Box putting alignment aid/training aid – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Cameron putter – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Odyssey Ai One Eleven T putters – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Christian Bezuidenhout – testing new Callaway Ti 340 mini driver – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Rory McIlroy testing the new TaylorMade BRNR Mini Driver Copper – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Xander Schauffele testing the Callaway Ti 340 mini driver & the DUW – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Byeong Hun An, two new L.A.B. Golf putter builds with “T” alignment – 2024 RBC Heritage
See what GolfWRXers are saying and join the discussion in the forums.
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Tour Photo Galleries
Photos from the 2024 Valero Texas Open
GolfWRX is on site this week at the Valero Texas Open.
The event has been around since 1922, making it one of the oldest on the PGA Tour calendar. Over the years, it’s been held at a variety of courses across the Lone Star State, but it’s found its home at TPC San Antonio in recent years. Some of the biggest names in golf have taken home the title here, including Arnold Palmer, Ben Hogan, Lee Trevino, and Ben Crenshaw.
GolfWRX has its usual assortment of general galleries, WITBs and special pull-out albums. As always, we’ll continue to update the links below as more photos come in from TPC San Antonio.
General Albums
WITB Albums
- Ben Taylor – WITB – 2024 Valero Texas Open
- Paul Barjon – WITB – 2024 Valero Texas Open
- Joe Sullivan – WITB – 2024 Valero Texas Open
- Wilson Furr – WITB – 2024 Valero Texas Open
- Ben Willman – SoTex PGA Section Champ – WITB – 2024 Valero Texas Open
- Jimmy Stanger – WITB – 2024 Valero Texas Open
- Rickie Fowler – WITB – 2024 Valero Texas Open
- Harrison Endycott – WITB – 2024 Valero Texas Open
- Vince Whaley – WITB – 2024 Valero Texas Open
- Kevin Chappell – WITB – 2024 Valero Texas Open
- Christian Bezuidenhout – WITB (mini) – 2024 Valero Texas Open
- Scott Gutschewski – WITB – 2024 Valero Texas Open
Pullout Albums
- Cameron putter – 2024 Valero Texas Open
- Ben Taylor with new Titleist TRS 2 wood – 2024 Valero Texas Open
- Swag cover – 2024 Valero Texas Open
- Greyson Sigg’s custom Cameron putter – 2024 Valero Texas Open
- Davis Riley’s custom Cameron putter – 2024 Valero Texas Open
- Josh Teater’s custom Cameron putter – 2024 Valero Texas Open
- Hzrdus T1100 is back – – 2024 Valero Texas Open
- Mark Hubbard testing ported Titleist irons – 2024 Valero Texas Open
- Tyson Alexander testing new Titleist TRS 2 wood – 2024 Valero Texas Open
- Hideki Matsuyama’s custom Cameron putter – 2024 Valero Texas Open
- Cobra putters – 2024 Valero Texas Open
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Tour Photo Galleries
Photos from the 2024 Texas Children’s Houston Open
GolfWRX is on site in the Lone Star State this week for the Texas Children’s Houston Open.
General galleries from the putting green and range, WITBs — including Thorbjorn Olesen and Zac Blair — and several pull-out albums await.
As always, we’ll continue to update as more photos flow in. Check out links to all our photos from Houston below.
General Albums
- 2024 Texas Children’s Houston Open – Monday #1
- 2024 Texas Children’s Houston Open – Monday #2
- 2024 Texas Children’s Houston Open – Tuesday #1
- 2024 Texas Children’s Houston Open – Tuesday #2
- 2024 Texas Children’s Houston Open – Tuesday #3
WITB Albums
- Thorbjorn Olesen – WITB – 2024 Texas Children’s Houston Open
- Ben Silverman – WITB – 2024 Texas Children’s Houston Open
- Jesse Droemer – SoTX PGA Section POY – WITB – 2024 Texas Children’s Houston Open
- David Lipsky – WITB – 2024 Texas Children’s Houston Open
- Martin Trainer – WITB – 2024 Texas Children’s Houston Open
- Zac Blair – WITB – 2024 Texas Children’s Houston Open
- Jacob Bridgeman – WITB – 2024 Texas Children’s Houston Open
- Trace Crowe – WITB – 2024 Texas Children’s Houston Open
- Daniel Berger – WITB(very mini) – 2024 Texas Children’s Houston Open
- Chesson Hadley – WITB – 2024 Texas Children’s Houston Open
- Callum McNeill – WITB – 2024 Texas Children’s Houston Open
- Rhein Gibson – WITB – 2024 Texas Children’s Houston Open
- Patrick Fishburn – WITB – 2024 Texas Children’s Houston Open
- Peter Malnati – WITB – 2024 Texas Children’s Houston Open
- Raul Pereda – WITB – 2024 Texas Children’s Houston Open
- Gary Woodland WITB (New driver, iron shafts) – 2024 Texas Children’s Houston Open
- Padraig Harrington WITB – 2024 Texas Children’s Houston Open
Pullout Albums
- Tom Hoge’s custom Cameron – 2024 Texas Children’s Houston Open
- Cameron putter – 2024 Texas Children’s Houston Open
- Piretti putters – 2024 Texas Children’s Houston Open
- Ping putter – 2024 Texas Children’s Houston Open
- Kevin Dougherty’s custom Cameron putter – 2024 Texas Children’s Houston Open
- Bettinardi putter – 2024 Texas Children’s Houston Open
- Cameron putter – 2024 Texas Children’s Houston Open
- Erik Barnes testing an all-black Axis1 putter – 2024 Texas Children’s Houston Open
- Tony Finau’s new driver shaft – 2024 Texas Children’s Houston Open
See what GolfWRXers are saying in the forums.
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H Reyes
May 12, 2012 at 1:31 pm
No one is making excuses for him but if you actually watched the round and then listened to Chamblee you would think he shot an 86.
Yesterday, he missed two birdie opportunities that I hardly ever see him miss. It’s the flat stick that’s betraying him and I wished FOLEY never messed with his short game. Why try and fix what’s not broken?
TheMan
May 11, 2012 at 3:44 pm
Yet another Tiger apologist making excuses. A lot of good “the longball” did him I see.
P Roberts
May 11, 2012 at 6:50 am
Agree with H Reyes on the write up, very good, nice to see somebody not jumping on the ‘Tiger sucks’ bandwagon. As for Brandel Chamblee, the guy is a joke, yes everybody is allowed his/her own opinion but this guy gets it wrong about Tiger 99% of the time, I am forever hearing him say this is wrong in his swing or he did this on that swing etc etc. If you look at the swing that he is ripping apart on V1 ( which I do), slow it down and place some line etc up and the things coming out of his mouth are so far off the mark its stupid (wayne d golf on youtube shows this time and time again when it comes to Chamblee’s analysis). For a guy that gets paid to be an analyst and that has all the tech in the world to work with he is really really poor.
H Reyes
May 10, 2012 at 7:24 pm
Zak,
You’re review sounds the exact opposite of what Brandel Chamblee had to say. Then, again, when Tiger is not winning Chamblee goes out of his way to criticize him. It’s so easy to do post-scandal. I wish he along with the others who pile on had the stones to do so, previously.
Excellent write-up, enjoy the rest of the tourney.