19th Hole

4-time major champ says Tiger Woods will ‘without a doubt win this year’ – under one condition

Published

5 months ago

Feb 21, 2024

Tiger Woods’ return to golf during the 2024 season didn’t go to plan in his first start at Riviera Country Club last week. During the second round of the Genesis Invitational, the 15-time major champion was forced to withdraw due to what he later identified as influenza.

Prior to his withdrawal, Woods was +2 and flirting with the cut line. He was hitting the ball well off the tee and on approach but was a bit sloppy around and on the greens, most likely due to competitive rust.

While speaking with Sky Sports, Laura Davies gave her opinion on Tiger’s return, viewing it from an optimistic lens.

“I actually think, if he had been fit, he’d have probably made the cut; the cut was one-over at the time, and he was two-over when he had to withdraw,”

“The way we saw him driving it on Thursday, he was scrappy, he dropped five shots – very un-Tiger-like – and he’d already dropped a couple [on Friday]. If he can drive it like that all the time, we know his irons will come around.

“They have been a little bit loose. Putting’s been great; he’s still holing those very important five, 10-footers. A lot of them were for pars yesterday and he made them.”

Davies added that she thinks Tiger can win again this year.

“They have been a little bit loose. Putting’s been great; he’s still holing those very important five, 10-footers. A lot of them were for pars yesterday and he made them.”

“I think, if he is going to be fit – and it looked like the signs for that are good with his body – then I think we’ve got lots to look forward to. Without a doubt he will win this year – if he stays fit.”

Whether Woods “stays fit” or not is highly questionable given what we’ve seen from him since 2022.

The Open TV ratings don’t make for pretty reading

Published

2 days ago

Jul 24, 2024

Matt Vincenzi

According to Josh Carpenter of Sports Business Journal, last week’s Open Championship suffered its lowest television rating in almost a decade.

NBC and Peacock drew 3.39M viewers on Sunday for Xander Schauffele’s two-shot win in @TheOpen, down 4% from last year and Brian Harman.

That’s the lowest number for the final round since Zach Johnson’s win in 2015, which finished on a Monday on ESPN (cable) pic.twitter.com/9r7guxnfx1

— Josh Carpenter (@JoshACarpenter) July 23, 2024

The final round was down four percent from Brian Harman’s win in 2023 at Royal Liverpool, which offered very little drama down the stretch. It was the lowest-rated final round since Zach Johnson’s win in 2015 at St. Andrews: and that was a Monday finish.

Stars such as Rory McIlroy, Bryson DeChambeau, Ludvig Aberg, Viktor Hovland all missed the cut, which may have contributed to the lack of interest from casual golf fans.

This year, the Masters and The Open have decreased in ratings while the PGA Championship and U.S. Open saw an uptick. It’s fair to speculate whether the inclusion of Bryson DeChambeau deep into contention had an impact.

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19th Hole

‘That looks brutal’ – First photo of Tiger Woods’ leg without sleeve shows depth of injury

Published

3 days ago

Jul 23, 2024

Matt Vincenzi

It’s been a struggle of late for Tiger Woods on the golf course. The 15-time major champion has only teed it up five times in 2024, finishing 60th in The Masters and missing the cut in the other three majors. He also played in the Genesis Invitational and was forced to withdraw.

Woods has many ailments, but none as debilitating as his surgically repaired leg. Since his car accident three years ago, the 48-year-old has rarely been seen without wearing a leg sleeve. However, on Monday, a fan was able to take a photograph of Woods’ leg without the sleeve.

@blakebunkersgolf IG

??? #LOOK: A photo has emerged of Tiger Woods without his leg sleeve @TWlegion

(Via: blakebunkersgolf/IG) pic.twitter.com/ppaGLdXg8X

— NUCLR GOLF (@NUCLRGOLF) July 22, 2024

The photo was taken at an event Tiger’s son, Charlie, was playing in by “blakebunkersgolf” on Instagram, and one of the top responses on X towards the photo was simply “That looks brutal.”

Woods has struggled with the lack of reps on the course but hasn’t given any indication as to whether his schedule will look any different come 2025.

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19th Hole

John Daly says this is the best golf course in Scotland…and it’s not St. Andrews

Published

3 days ago

Jul 23, 2024

Matt Vincenzi

John Daly withdrew at last week’s Open Championship with a knee injury, but the 58-year-old was back on the links this week showcasing one of the most famous golf courses in the world for his fans.

While at Trump Turnberry, John Daly recorded a video of the 18th green.

In the video, the 1995 Open Champion shared his opinion that Turnberry is the best golf course in Scotland, even better than St. Andrews.

?????????? #BEST OF THE BEST — John Daly says Trump Turnberry beats out St Andrews for the title of best golf course in Scotland.

Do you agree?

(Via: @LGlick1) pic.twitter.com/Ya7FIJEfp2

— NUCLR GOLF (@NUCLRGOLF) July 22, 2024

“Hey everybody, John Daly here. I’m at Trump Turnberry today. I went out and tried to play a little bit. This place is amazing. It is the best golf course in Scotland, I think. St. Andrews is my baby, but I think I just found my new baby. I’m at the 18th green right here, this thing is unreal.”

Turnberry hosted its first Open Championship in 1977, which was dubbed “The Duel in the Sun” when Tom Watson beat Jack Nicklaus by a single stroke. The most recent Open the course hosted was 2009, where Watson almost won again, but lost to Stewart Cink in a playoff.

The course is not slated to host any Open Championships in the foreseeable future.