Connect with us

News

Morning 9: 80-freaking-2! | Perspectives on Tiger Woods’ win | Other tour action

Published

5 years ago

on
By Ben Alberstadt
Email me at [email protected] and find me at @benalberstadt on Instagram and golfwrxEIC on Twitter.

October 28, 2019

Good Monday morning, golf fans. If you watched Tiger Woods’ Skins performance, saw him start the Zozo with 3 bogeys in a row and thought he had any chance of winning the tournament, you are lying. An incredible, out-of-nowhere effort to join the Slammer!
 
**Just a reminder we’re looking for advertisers for 2020. Drop me a line if you’d like to talk about getting your message in front of the M9 readership.** 

 
 

1. 82!
Steve DiMeglio for USA Today with the game story…“Ten weeks after he last played and two months after having a fifth surgery to his troublesome left knee, Tiger Woods joined Hall of Famer Sam Snead in the record books with his 82nd PGA Tour victory on Monday (Sunday night in the United States). Snead’s final PGA Tour win came in 1965, when he was 52 years old.”
  • “At the storm-delayed Zozo Championship, the first official PGA Tour event in Japan, Woods played seven holes under sunshine Monday morning to wrap up his historic triumph. With rounds of 64-64-66-67, Woods finished at 19 under to win by three shots over local hero Hideki Matsuyama.”
  • “It’s just crazy. It’s a lot,” Woods said of his 82nd PGA Tour win. “I’ve been able to be consistent most of my career, and I put myself up there with a chance to win on a number of occasions. There’s plenty of times when I didn’t.
2. Nobody (probably not even Tiger) saw this W coming
Forget about the longer arc of Woods career and the “will he win again” abyss of 2013-2018 for a moment and look at the mico level. Excellent stuff from Bob Harig at ESPN putting into perspective just how unlikely this particular win looked just a week ago.
  • “It was only a month ago that he began playing golf again after arthroscopic knee surgery on Aug. 20. Woods admitted that all of his golf in recent weeks was in a cart. “It’s a little bit different than when you have to walk out here,” he said.”
  • “When he competed in the skins game challenge along with Matsuyama, Rory McIlroy and Jason Day on Oct. 21, his game was so sketchy early on that he missed a par-3 green so badly his ball hit a cart path and rolled halfway back to the tee”.
  • “Then he opened the tournament Thursday with three consecutive bogeys — according to Elias, no player dating to 1983 had won a tournament after doing that — and it seemed that it might be a struggle for him to be respectable.”

Full piece.

3. From the man who watched every shot in person (presumably)
All of Tiger Tracker’s bullet points are worth digesting, but here are a few.
  • “In his first start in nine weeks, in his first start since offseason knee surgery, Tiger shot 19 under par and no round worse than 67. Sheesh.”
  • “Was there any doubt that Tiger was going to roll in that 8-footer on the last, to make an indelible moment that can run on a loop for the next six months? Of course not.”
  • “This thing could have gotten a whole lot more interesting early in the restart. Tiger bogeyed his first hole out of the gates (hey, 12 is tough!) and then Matsuyama stuffed it to 5 feet on 14. That could have cut the deficit to just one shot with four holes remaining. Instead … Matsuyama shoved it, and Tiger rolled in a 20-footer for birdie. He never trailed by fewer than two the rest of the morning.”

Full piece.

4. A morsel of perspective
The takes are plentiful, as you’d expect, following Tiger Woods’ win. Here are a couple of Eamon Lynch’s best paragraphs from his reaction piece…
  • “What makes win No. 82 so remarkable isn’t the manner of the victory -we’ve long since become accustomed to seeing Woods cruise past a quality field as he did at the Zozo Championship in Japan – but the fact that few people genuinely expected to witness even wins 80 and 81. It was August 2013 when he notched No. 79 at the Bridgestone Invitational. Then came injuries. Surgeries. Personal travails. Chipping yips. Scorecards more worthy of a 10-handicap. A mug shot. A DUI plea. Treatment. Each episode brought an avalanche of career obituaries.”
  • “…Like the 1,876 barren days between wins 79 and 80, two peaks separated by a valley whose walls once seemed insurmountable. Or the 3,954 days that elapsed between his 14th major victory and his astonishing 15th earlier this year at Augusta National. Or 1,199, the lowly, lonely position in the world ranking to which he had fallen less than two years ago.”
5. Bravo, Brown
John Huggan for Golf Digest on Steven Brown’s improbable triumph…”The last regular-season event on the European Tour is one invariably filled with tales of tour cards lost and found. And the 2019 Portugal Masters did not disappoint. Happiest man on the Dom Pedro Victoria course at Vilamoura, however, was surely Steven Brown. The 32-year old Englishman arrived on the Algarve a lowly 150th on the Race to Dubai and mentally preparing himself for what would have been a seventh visit to tour school in his eight-year professional career.”
  • “Things — and minds — can change quickly though. With a 72-hole aggregate of 267, 17-under par, Brown claimed his first European Tour victory by a shot over a pair of South Africans, Branden Stone and Justin Walters. Way more importantly given his previous status, Brown — whose closing rounds of 67-65-66 all beat his season’s best of 68 — now owns a two-year tour exemption. In the shorter term, his 81-place rise on the money list means he will also be part of the upcoming Turkish Airlines Open, the first of three post-season playoff tournaments.”

Full piece.

6. Jang > Kang
Via the LPGA communications team…”Seventy-two holes was not enough to decide the BMW Ladies Championship. With a birdie on the third sudden-death playoff hole, KLPGA star and former LPGA Tour player Ha Na Jang beat Danielle Kang at LPGA International Busan and earned her fifth LPGA victory. Jang is the second non-Member winner of the 2019 season, joining AIG Women’s British Open winner Hinako Shibuno, and is now eligible to again accept LPGA Tour Membership.”
  • “I played to the level of this game which is the best,” said Jang, who birdied No. 17 to tie with Kang at -19. “I’m also happy that I went into a playoff with one of my closest friends Danielle Kang.”

Full piece.

7. Seems like captain Tiger is definitely picking Tiger
Golf Digest’s Christopher Powers…“There have been plenty legitimate questions raised over whether or not Tiger Woods should select himself with one of his four Presidents Cup captain’s picks next week. First, was his current form worthy of a pick? He’d done almost nothing since his Masters victory, save for one backdoor top 10 at the Memorial. Then there was his health, which is always a concern with the 15-time major winner. He did not appear to be at full strength at the end of the season, and his latest knee procedure only further that notion. Finally, and perhaps most importantly, would he be able to handle double duty, something only Hale Irwin has done in the history of the event.”
  • “Woods answered the first two questions emphatically on Monday in Japan, claiming his 82nd career PGA Tour victory at the Zozo Championship, which ties him with Sam Snead for most all-time wins. Not only did he impress with his play, but his body held up for a marathon of a week, one that featured a 29-hole day on Sunday.”
  • “Because of his history, Woods didn’t have to prove anything to anyone in order to pick himself to play at Royal Melbourne. But his performance should certainly silent whatever critics there are left. If there’s anyone that still thinks he shouldn’t pick himself, well, we have some bad news…”

Full piece.

8. Why there was no Woods-Matsuyama grouping
In case you hadn’t been following the action all week and were wondering…
  • Rex Hoggard for Golf Channel…“Poor timing and a curious decision will keep Japanese fans from what could only be considered a best-case scenario at the Zozo Championship.”
  • “Because of Friday’s washout, officials were determined to play as much golf as they could Sunday, which for front-runner Tiger Woods was 29 holes. It also meant players wouldn’t be re-grouped following the third round.”
  • “Had the draw been redone, Woods would have been in the final group with Japan’s Hideki Matsuyama, who is alone in second place and three strokes behind Woods.”

Full piece.

9. Tiger Woods’ WITB
Driver: TaylorMade M5 (9 degrees)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Diamana D+ White 60 TX
3-wood: TaylorMade M5 (15 degrees)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Diamana D+ White 70 TX
5-wood: TaylorMade M3 (19 degrees)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Diamana D+ White 80 TX
Irons: TaylorMade P7TW irons (3-PW)
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue X100
Wedges: TaylorMade MG 2 “Tiger MT Grind” (56 and 60 degrees)
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue S400
Putter: Scotty Cameron Newport 2 GSS
Golf Ball: Bridgestone TourB XS
Grips: Golf Pride Tour Velvet Cord

 
Your Reaction?
  • 11
  • LEGIT0
  • WOW1
  • LOL1
  • IDHT0
  • FLOP1
  • OB0
  • SHANK1

Related Topics:

GolfWRX Editor-in-Chief

1 Comment

1 Comment

  1. Fredo

    Oct 28, 2019 at 6:09 pm

    The silence speaks for itself, Tiger haters be gone, muahahaha!

    Reply Report comment

Leave a Reply

Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

News

Five Things We Learned: Thursday at the PGA Championship

Published

5 hours ago

on

May 16, 2024

By

It was a year ago that we the north, found ourselves with toes and fingers crossed. The Oak Hill PGA Championship of 2023 finished on schedule, despite the iffiness of weather in upstate New York. It’s 75 degrees today across the Niagara Frontier, which makes it two out of three (2022 was the same way) for sultry, unseasonal weather.

Louisville is, let’s be honest, a much better bet for a May PGA Championship, and Valhalla is an exciting venue for the year’s second major championship on the men’s circuit. Brooks Koepka came in as the defending champion, and Rory McIlroy arrived as the last golfer to win a major at the Nicklaus-designed course. That was a decade ago, and lord, have things changed in the world and golf.

Day one at Valhalla offered walk-in eagles, buckets of birdies, and potential for a record-low, winner’s score. We’ll get right to the meat of the matter, with five things that we learned. After all, if you can make par from the muck, anything’s possible in the land of the horses.

1. X marks this spot

Xander Schauffele went head to head last Sunday with Rory McIlroy, at least on the practice green. By the end of the round, Rors had won for a fourth time at Charlotte, while the X Man sat scratching his head, wondering what went wrong. Fortunately for us, Xander didn’t sulk.

The San Diego State alumnus absolutely torched Jack’s track with 62. Four birdies on the front nine, were followed by five more on the inward side. Schauffele never looked as if bogey was a consideration, and he might have gone even lower. Despite winning the Covid-delayed Gold medal at the Japan Olympics (I consider it a major, btdubs) Schauffele continues to chase an initial men’s major, and the validation that it brings. If 62 doesn’t get you over the hump, who knows what will.

2. Scottie starts strong? Aye.

Last month, Mr. Scheffler won a second green jacket at Augusta National. Last year in Rochester, Mr. Scheffler tied for second in this event. Mr. Scheffler began play today with a walk-in eagle, a one-hop affair that never looked as if it might go anywhere but to its home. Scheffler had a few rough holes, but that’s to be expected from a new dad. Each time he made bogey, he bounced back with birdie, so he has that short memory that winners crave. Surprisingly, Scheffler failed to manage one last birdie at the reachable 18th. Perhaps that miss will motivate him in round two.

3. LIV Check-In

It’s good to check in on the departed from time to time, to ensure that the fellows formerly known as PGA Tour members are doing well. It’s safe to say that some of them can still play. Defending champion Brooks Koepka posted 67 on the day, He had an eagle and three birdies on the day, with only a stumble at the 17th. He’s tied for 7th. Bryson DeChambeau made an eagle of his own, but also had a bogey, at the 12th hole. He cohabits eleventh position with Cameron Smith, who ALSO had a bogey on his card. They are one shot behind Koepka, and a fistful more behind the leader.

4. Sahith and Tony at Schauffele’s heels

Both Finau and Theegala represent a special sort of athletic golfer. Their power and their charisma blend to draw golf fans to their groups. Let’s be honest, too, and say that they don’t look like the traditional professional golfer. As much as Tiger Woods did in the 1990s, they have the power to bring greater diversity to the sport.

In terms of their play today, well, only Xander was better. Finau had a clean card, with six birdies and twelve pars. Theegala had seven birdies, ten pars, and one bogey. Each combined power and finesse to insert themselves squarely in contention, ahead of round two. How will they, and Xander as well, manage the afternoon putting surface on Friday? That’s the great unknown!

5. All those other guys are here!

Rory, Tom Kim, Collin, and Viktor are all at minus-three or lower. Valhalla may not be a traditional golf course, but it is the type of course that the world’s best play well. McIlroy currently sits at minus-five, tied with Robert MacIntyre, Kim, and three others in fourth position.  Maverick McNealy finished fast to reach the same figure, as did Tom Hoge. Morikawa closed with birdie to join the sextet at five below. Both Scheffler and Morikawa finished their rounds late on Thursday, meaning they should see smoother greens on Friday morning. If someone is a betting sould, wiser wagers could not be placed on better names than those two, two-time, major champions. Rory will tee off in Friday’s afternoon wave but, hey, he’s Rory, and he won going away last week at Quail Hollow, a course not unlike Valhalla.

Your Reaction?
  • 0
  • LEGIT0
  • WOW0
  • LOL0
  • IDHT0
  • FLOP0
  • OB0
  • SHANK0

Continue Reading

News

Morning 9: Tiger 2025 Ryder Cup talks continue | Rory: Tour in a worse place with Dunne’s resignation

Published

16 hours ago

on

May 16, 2024

By
By Ben Alberstadt with Gianni Magliocco.

For comments: [email protected]

Good Thursday morning, golf fans, as day one of the PGA Championship gets underway from iconic Valhalla.

1. Waugh: 2025 Ryder Cup talks continue with Tiger

Golf Channel’s Ryan Lavner…”PGA of America CEO Seth Waugh said Wednesday that the organization continues to have conversations with Tiger Woods about captaining the U.S. Ryder Cup team in 2025 and there remains no firm deadline to get their pick in place for Bethpage Black.”

  • “A day earlier, Woods told reporters here at the PGA Championship that he is undecided about taking on the role next year…”
  • “He doesn’t do anything that he’s not fully committed to,” Waugh said, “and we totally respect that.”
  • “Still, the PGA’s decision to hold off on naming an American captain for the September 2025 matches is a significant departure – at least three months late – from the past five captains.”
Full piece.

2. Rory: Tour in a worse place with Dunne’s resignation

Golf Channel’s Rex Hoggard…”McIlroy, who has become an outspoken proponent of a deal with PIF, was denied a spot on the board last week but was named to the “transaction subcommittee,” which will spearhead the day-to-day negotiations. But the loss of Dunne will be a blow to those talks, the world No. 2 said.”

  • “Honestly I think it’s a huge loss for the PGA Tour if they are trying to get this deal done with the PIF and trying to unify the game,” McIlroy said. “Jimmy was basically the relationship, the sort of conduit between the PGA Tour and PIF.
  • “It’s been really unfortunate that he has not been involved for the last few months, and I think part of the reason that everything is stalling at the minute is because of that.”
Full piece.

3. Brandel on AK’s criticism: I thought it was a LIV bot

Our Matt Vincenzi…”On Tuesday during an interview with GolfWRX, Chamblee addressed the feud between Kim and himself.”

  • “At first, I thought it was a bot. But it’s not, it was just somebody who’s been bought.
  • “I thought it was juvenile. Social media is a perfect place for juveniles to go behave like children, like the ball pit at McDonalds without adult supervision. I’m sure Anthony Kim scrolls and gets positive comments and says ‘yeah, these people get me! I’m doing the right thing’. And it’s just juvenile and sad is what it is. I feel sorry for him.”
Full piece.

4. Aberg (knee) ready for PGA

Cameron Morfit for PGATour.com…”Ludvig Åberg said lingering knee soreness that kept him out of the Wells Fargo Championship last week will not be an issue at this week’s PGA Championship.”

  • “The world No. 6 Åberg, who finished second at the Masters Tournament in his very first major start last month, allowed that he is wearing a brace as a precautionary measure.”
  • “Knee’s good,” said Åberg, 24. “It was more of a safety concern last week that I didn’t play. I’m consulting with my doctors, and I trust them with everything that I have, so it’s not bothering me at all this week, and I look forward to playing. I’m wearing a brace just for safety reasons, but it’s nothing that’s bothering me. I’m focusing on the golf.”
Full piece.

5. Masters employee pleads guilty to stealing millions in memorabilia

Sean Leahy for Yahoo Sports…”A former employee of Augusta National Golf Club in Georgia pleaded guilty on Wednesday to transporting millions of dollars worth of stolen Masters memorabilia and historic items, including a green jacket belonging to Arnold Palmer.”

  • “According to federal prosecutors, 39-year-old Richard Globensky made around $5 million over the course of a decade from selling items stolen from the Augusta National warehouse, which were then transported to another party in Florida.”
  • “Globensky pleaded guilty to one count of transporting stolen goods across state lines. As part of his plea, he must hand the government a $1.5 million check this week.”
Full piece.

6. Chamblee on why Rory hasn’t won a major

Our Matt Vincenzi…”While speaking with GolfWRX, Golf Channel’s Brandel Chamblee gave his opinion as to why McIlroy has come up empty.”

  • “I just think he can’t find a place mentally where he plays his best golf.”
  • “If you go back and look at what he did from 2011-2014, in that stretch, he led roughly 20% of the rounds he played in major championships. His game has not fallen off, not one bit.
  • “He’s, on paper, pretty much the same player he was. He’s not quite the ball striker he was 2011-2014, not quite, but he’s made up for it with his short game around the greens and on the greens. He’s almost the same player.”
  • “Yet, he’s led just two rounds beginning with the 2015 Masters to the 2024 Masters. I just think that tells you he can’t find the proper way to prepare, the proper way to ease into a round. When he’s needed to play his best, he’s played his worst. When he’s played his worst, he’s then followed it up with his best golf. That’ll tell you that he’s just not in the right place mentally.”
Full piece.

7. Why Scottie’s caddie will have a fill-in Saturday

Paul Hodowanic for PGATour.com…”Scottie Scheffler will have a fill-in caddie on the bag for Saturday’s third round of the PGA Championship.”

  • “Ted Scott, Scheffler’s full-time caddie, will miss Saturday’s round at Valhalla Golf Club to attend his daughter’s high school graduation. Scott will leave Friday night after caddying the first two rounds and return late Saturday to loop the final round.”
  • “That’s something we talked about from the beginning of our relationship was family always comes first,” Scheffler said during his pre-tournament press conference on Tuesday. “It’s the same thing for me as it is for my caddie. It was a pretty easy decision. He told me at the beginning of this year that that was the date.”
Full piece.

8. Chamblee: LIV format makes it impossible to judge player talent

Our Matt Vincenzi…”While speaking with GolfWRX, Golf Channel’s Brandel Chamblee explained why he believes the LIV format makes it impossible to determine if a LIV player is playing well.”

  • “Describing the format as “stupid”, Chamblee stated
  • “The format for LIV is just stupid. There’s no other word for it. 54 holes, 54 players start. Willy nilly here and there.
  • “Nobody winning a golf tournament should finish on the third hole on some par three while his closest competitors finish on the 17th hole or the 18th hole.”
  • “When we asked Brandel if LIV players should be in majors, Chamblee indicated that it would be tough to do with no way to truly measure their performance.
  • “It’s just a laughable concept. There’s no way to judge the talents of these players out there. You look at their data, and again, their data is laughable. It’s very hard to hit 75% of your greens and it looks like everybody on their tour is hitting 75% of greens. Who’s keeping their stats? Who’s doing their data? They haven’t gotten their act together.”
Full piece.

9. Photos from the 2024 PGA Championship

  • Check out all of our galleries from the year’s second major!
Full piece.
Your Reaction?
  • 1
  • LEGIT0
  • WOW0
  • LOL0
  • IDHT0
  • FLOP0
  • OB0
  • SHANK0

Continue Reading

Tour Photo Galleries

Photos from the 2024 PGA Championship

Published

3 days ago

on

May 14, 2024

By

GolfWRX is on site this week at Valhalla Golf Club in Louisville, Kentucky, for the PGA Championship.

While we see fewer equipment changes and new gear seeding at major championships, we get a look at custom gear and looks into the bags of players we rarely see, which is just as exciting. In the case of the PGA Championship, this means a look at the gear some of the PGA Professionals who qualified for the tournament will be gaming, and LIV players, such as Jon Rahm and Patrick Reed.

Check out links to all our albums from Valhalla below and check back throughout the week as we continue to update.

General Albums

WITB Albums

Pullout Albums

Your Reaction?
  • 10
  • LEGIT1
  • WOW0
  • LOL0
  • IDHT0
  • FLOP0
  • OB0
  • SHANK0

Continue Reading

WITB

Whats in the Bag11 hours ago

Patrick Reed WITB 2024 (May)

Patrick Reed what’s in the bag accurate as of the PGA Championship. More photos from the event here.  Driver: Ping...
Whats in the Bag15 hours ago

Club Junkie WITB, league night week 5: Another L.A.B. putter arises

We will be one quarter of the way through Thursday night men’s league season after this week. BK played much...
Whats in the Bag16 hours ago

Jon Rahm WITB 2024 (May)

Jon Rahm what’s in the bag accurate as of the PGA Championship. 15 clubs pictured. More photos from the event...
Whats in the Bag2 days ago

John Daly WITB 2024 (May)

John Daly WITB accurate as of the PGA Championship. More photos from the event here.  Driver: Ping G430 LST (9...

Facebook

Trending