19th Hole
‘He’s a one dimensional player’ – What the top analysts said before Tiger’s dominant 1997 Masters win
We’ve all done it. Golf pundits, especially those that like to bet on the sport are always trying to be ‘on’ the next big name before he or she gets too well regarded.
Equally, for no other reason than that’s what human beings do, we’ll usually try to find the negative against the supposed next ‘big thing’.
In golf, there has never been a bigger name than Tiger Woods but, if you go back far enough, you’ll find some interesting thoughts on which direction folk thought his career would take.
Last Friday, Lou Stagner, stats guru for Arccos golf, tweeted a reminder of the comments made by Golf Magazine’s top pundits and coaches way back in 1997, just after Tiger had made his first few starts on tour.
David Leadbetter, coach to many of the star players at that time, said that: ”Right now, Tiger is a one dimensional player who swings full on practically every shot…”
Whilst golf instructor Johnny Myers agreed, commenting that ‘he is too aggressive, which is probably why he’s better at match play than medal play. He swings too fast…So I think he’ll finish out of the top 10 and go winless in the majors.”
Golf Magazine's Top Teachers predicting how Tiger would do in 1997.
Two months later Tiger won by 12 shots at Augusta.
Tune out the naysayers. pic.twitter.com/SSlMK28sV8
— Lou Stagner (Golf Stat Pro) (@LouStagner) January 21, 2022
Of course, they may have been simply playing down their expectations and, of course, didn’t have the delights of Twitter to wind up the fans.
Nevertheless, probably the most surprising of the comments was from Dick Harmon, brother of Butch, Tiger’s coach for over ten years: “Tiger will win one tour event and do well to finish in the top 30. He’s not ready to handle the pressure of a major.”
Two months after these statements, Tiger won the Masters in 1997 by 12 shots at Augusta, and now sits on 15 Majors and 93 worldwide tour victories.
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19th Hole
‘You’re f***ing hilarious, aren’t you?’ – Shane Lowry snaps at spectator during WGC Match Play
It’s been a struggle for Shane Lowry throughout his career at the WGC Dell Technologies Match Play. Since 2019, the Irishman is now 3-6 at the event prior to the 2023 version of the event.
The struggles continued on Wednesday for Lowry as he found himself two down to Taylor Montgomery on the 17th hole when a fan said something to him after his tee shot.
The frustration finally showed through and Lowry snapped back at the fan.
“You’re f***ing hilarious ,aren’t you?”
Shane Lowry not a happy bunny ?? pic.twitter.com/0V1gHa7kJX
— Andy Roberts (@AndyRobertsGolf) March 22, 2023
Laura Davies on Sky Sports reacted immediately, saying “Apologies for the language.”
Lowry will give it another crack tomorrow as he faces off against Mackenzie Hughes on Thursday at 11:59 A.M. EDT.
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Holly Sanders, who was a host on Golf Channel working on “School of Golf” and “Playing Lesson with the Pros,” before going to Fox Sports until 2019.
According to her post on Twitter, the 34-year-old is about to be back in the world of sports in the form of a topless sports league.
@holly_sonders announces the launch of her new topless sports league, and suffice it to say, there are NO complaints over here. https://t.co/Mo6CCS0GB0 pic.twitter.com/MTXvazik3f
— Chulo Magazine (@ChuloMagazine) March 20, 2023
Sonders also made an Instagram post about her new venture, saying she was still looking to “add talent” to the league.
View this post on Instagram
“I will be watching over all operations making sure the content is of the highest quality possible, and that the girls are safe, having fun and enjoying themselves. This league is owned by women and will be run by women. Feminists should praise this as it’s creating opportunities for women.”
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LPGA Tour superstar Nelly Korda recently signed a deal with both TaylorMade and Nike. In a promotional Instagram video for TaylorMade, Korda was hitting the Stealth 2 driver.
The post read: #Fargiveness with a view. ? #TeamTaylorMade is gearing up for a big week in Arizona and striping their #Stealth2Drivers around Superstition Mountain.”
View this post on Instagram
However, the post didn’t go as planned, with some users comparing Korda to Rickie Fowler because of her wardrobe choice, while one user simply said: “Orange pants with red shoes? Bruh for real?”
Korda responded on Instagram shortly after, saying “Don’t hate me for my Orange pants and red shoes,” she wrote. “It was a bit of a wardrobe malfunction.”
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benseattle
Jan 26, 2022 at 2:33 pm
This is fascinating to me because this sort of critique happened once before….to JACK NICKLAUS. I was a kid, just having taken up golf in the early 60’s when one of the major golf monthlies (I’m thinking it was Golf Magazine) a featured headline, next to a photo of new pro Jack, that said something like, “Ten Reasons Why Nicklaus Won’t Make It.” Inside, the writer or various experts, spewed out their logic as to why Nicklaus would fail: his weight, the ‘flying’ right elbow and other assorted absurdities. This is why the business of predictions has no benefit: if you’re right, nobody cares and if you’re wrong, you look like a complete and utter fool.
Chuck
Jan 25, 2022 at 12:49 pm
I really love columns like this one. We don’t see enough of them; past predictions, and how wrong they were. Props to Lou Stagner and his Tweet; a Tweet which apparently formed the entire basis for this particular column.
Going forward; let it be noted that Tiger Woods had just finished a run of winning three straight US Juniors, followed by three straight US Amateurs. Just one US Am win is enough, in my book, to establish any golfer’s bona fides. Three straight, after three straight Juniors, is off the charts. No normal standards could be applied to Tiger at that point. Look at past US Am winners and the statistics are that those players (having won just one!) routinely go on to success. In the case(s) of players who aren’t successful on Tour, as often as not it was the choice of the player.
And that analysis doesn’t require any more insight than a clear understanding of golf history. No one needed to get inside the mind or spirit of Tiger, or analyze his swing on the range at a Tour event. He entered the PGA Tour with a more formidable record of winning than any Tour rookie in history. The quoted experts should have known better.