19th Hole
Tiger Woods driver swing video, on-site reports as he prepares for Hero World Challenge
Tiger Woods, as you surely have heard, teed it up with President Donald Trump, Dustin Johnson, and Brad Faxon at Trump National in Jupiter, Florida, on Friday.
The unheralded fourth member of the group, Brad Faxon, had this to say (exclusive to Golfweek) regarding Woods’ play.
“Tiger looked great to me. He was happy and, more than anything, he’s finally pain-free. The issues he had with the back the last couple of comebacks seem to be gone. He looked effortless, he looked free, he had some power.”
“I was impressed with how far he hit the ball. Probably on the 10 holes that they were both hitting driver, Tiger hit it past Dustin half the time and Dustin hit it past Tiger half the time. He looked great. I think more than anything, he looked at ease. He was not concerned about swinging hard and going at it with driver. The ball flight, the sound off the club, all of it was right there.”
“Tiger looked like he had all the touch shots down. On the very first hole he hit a pitch shot over a bunker that looked great. Hit some tough little pitch shots, tough chip shots and hit some close. Some to gimme’ distance.”
Outdriving Dustin Johnson? If you say so, Mr. Faxon. Two days later, Woods was on site at sun-drenched paradise that is Albany in the Bahamas, where he’ll tee it up in the Hero World Challenge next week.
While the quality of this video from Golf Channel’s Tiger Tracker is sort of “animal spotted in the wilderness,” the driver swing shown is comfortable with the slightest hint of sauce. Definitely a fuller follow through than we saw from TW at Albany last year. TT also reported Woods’ driver swing is “not there yet” but “irons look good.”
A little driver action. #fairway pic.twitter.com/NMqxYG7Bwk
— GC Tiger Tracker (@GCTigerTracker) November 26, 2017
TGR Live Events tweeted a better video of Woods’ driver swing (as you’d expect, given the slightly better access).
Welcome to the 2017 #heroworldchallenge | @TigerWoods pic.twitter.com/p4MfWOyz32
— Hero World Challenge|TGR Live (@TGRLiveEvents) November 26, 2017
ESPN’s Bob Harig looks to be on site in Albany (rough gig). He reported Woods played a brisk (sub 2.5 hour!) 18 holes Sunday and finished with a lengthy session on the putting green, tweeting this photo.
Tiger basically has the place to himself today at Albany in the Bahamas. He played 18 holes in a brisk 2 hours plus, then headed to the putting green. https://t.co/5drTJ5bWE4 pic.twitter.com/iucwIVx0qP
— Bob Harig (@BobHarig) November 26, 2017
Look, there’s no point making bold predictions about Tiger Woods’ future in the game. Somewhere between “he’s going to win more major championships” and “he’ll never win again” is the most probable future for the phenom, should his health permit.
However, we can say a few things about what we’ve seen from the Presidents Cup until now. Woods is serious about his comeback, seems genuinely pain-free and able to do a healthy amount of practice.
Also, even Brandel Chamblee has to agree that Woods’ action looks serviceable and free enough to compete on the PGA Tour. If we add to this reports about his distance off the tee, Woods looks to have the tee-to-green game to play respectable golf.
Pitching, chipping, and bunker play may be another story. And of course, there’s the canard of Woods fractured mental state…Fortunately, we’ll know more in a less than a week (and mercifully the season of speculation will be over).
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19th Hole
“Is it a Titleist?” – Jerry Seinfeld shares never-before-heard details of iconic scene
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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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.
More from the 19th Hole
- Phil Mickelson drops big retirement hint; Says LIV will grow the game “on a much more global basis”
- 2-time major champ announces shock retirement from the sport at age of 33
- Tiger explains why golf has “negative connotations” for daughter Sam
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19th Hole
Phil Mickelson drops big retirement hint; Says LIV will grow the game ‘on a much more global basis’
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).
More from the 19th Hole
- The wild reason why Mark Wahlberg was initially denied entry to an Australian golf club
- 2-time major champ announces shock retirement from the sport at age of 33
- Edoardo Molinari reveals the latest PGA Tour golfer to turn down ‘good offer’ from LIV Golf
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19th Hole
Tiger explains why golf has ‘negative connotations’ for daughter Sam
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.
Tiger Woods sits down with Carson Daly to talk about golf, growing up in Southern California, his father and his new apparel line, Sun Day Red. pic.twitter.com/2TFbSNxzxq
— TODAY (@TODAYshow) May 1, 2024
More from the 19th Hole
- The wild reason why Mark Wahlberg was initially denied entry to an Australian golf club
- 2-time major champ announces shock retirement from the sport at age of 33
- Edoardo Molinari reveals the latest PGA Tour golfer to turn down ‘good offer’ from LIV Golf
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