Close but no cigar

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So, a top 10 finish for Tiger but the win goes to Phil. When you look at the stats for the week it all came down to the putting. Tiger beat Phil in driving, greens in regulation and distance to the pin but had twelve more putts. If Tiger had the same number of putts as Phil, he wins, simple as that.

Phil is off to a roaring start to the season but I thinking that his success will just inspire Tiger to greater heights, there's no one he want s to beat more than Phil.

Tiger said that he lipped out a number of putts which suggests that his speed control was to blame. I'm sure that he'll have the putter dialed in before the Masters in which case we might be in for a fantastic tussle for the Green Jacket.

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He's BACK

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Tiger's back and the world seems just a bit brighter, even the stock market seems to be rallying!
Golf just hasn't been as interesting for the past 8 months without the game's greatest player but now he's back on Tour and I'm wondering when he will win.
This week's tournament in Doral is one where he's highly favored but a six shot deficit after one round might be hard to overcome. It really depends on the putter. Tiger said yesterday that he lipped out 5 times and could easily have shot 66. Phil Mickelson needed only 20 putts during his opening round to vault him to the top of the leaderboard.
I'm certainly hoping that Tiger can finish high up the leaderboard this week. We need something to cheer about and Tiger is the game's biggest draw and so I'm pulling for him to win the tournament, solve the financial crisis, re-invigorate the economy, create world peace and discover life on other planets. Oh and after he's done with those trifles he can jolly well win the Grand Slam this year.

Cut Kenny Some Slack

Image by Getty Images via DaylifeWhat's the deal with all of the criticism of Kenny Perry? He decided to skip the British Open because he is the defending champion at next week's Tour event.
Apparently loyalty is not prized very much by some people and in any case, who's business is it where Kenny plays?
Kenny Perry is one of golf's gentlemen and it's a recognized tradition that the defending champion does not skip out on a title defense unless there are extenuating circumstances.
What next? Will we hear criticism of Tiger for not defending at the PGA Championship? He won the US Open on one leg, can't he defend the PGA on crutches, or better yet from a wheelchair? What kind of wimp is he anyway?
So give Kenny Perry a break, he's showing some integrity and doing the right thing and you know you'll be rooting for him in the Ryder Cup later this year.

No relief for Retief

Image by Stewart Ho via FlickrRetief Goosen was struck by lightening as a kid and blown out of his clothes. This is the reason given to explain his lack of personality and may also explain why he made a complete ass of himself this week with his comments about Tiger.
Asked about Tiger's US Open victory, Goosen suggested that Tiger was making more of his injury than was actually true - "Nobody really knows if he was just showing off or if he was really injured. I believe if he was really injured he would not have played" said Goosen.

When the true extent of Tiger's injury was revealed on Wednesday, Goosen back-peddled somewhat - “I was being light-hearted,” he told The London Times. “No one but Tiger knows how badly hurt he was. But if he was really badly hurt, he would have withdrawn, wouldn’t he?”

No Retief, you would have withdrawn and that highlights the difference between you and Tiger. You can't imagine playing hurt because like many other Tour players you've become over-payed and soft. Tiger can't imagine giving up and I for one can't wait to see him return and continue to kick your sorry butt for many more years.

Maybe next time you'll wait for the facts before you open your mouth and spout a bunch of garbage about someone else's injury, who do you think you are - Johnny Miller?

Economic Effects of Tiger's Injury

Image by Getty Images via DaylifeDid you stop to consider the wide ranging effects on the economy that will result from Tiger's forced absence from the game?
Attendance at tournaments will be lower, affecting gate receipts, food and beverage sales and merchandise sales and requiring less staff for the events. Sales tax receipts will also be down.
TV advertising revenues will be down for the events that Tiger would have played. Golf fans who only tune in to watch Tiger will find something else to do and may be lost from the golf audience forever.
Less people will be inspired to try golf, resulting in less equipment sales, less lessons taken and less rounds played.
This may be an early knee-jerk reaction but several of my clients have said that they won't watch golf again till Tiger returns and I must admit that my enthusiasm for the remaining two majors has waned significantly.
Has one athlete ever had such an economic impact on the US economy? I doubt it.
So get well soon Tiger, we need you, your country needs you and the economy needs you.

Tiger's bitter/sweet victory

Image by sammiemo via FlickrSo now we know the price that has to be paid for the greatest US Open in history.
Six months without Tiger!!
A broken leg and a torn ACL couldn't stop Tiger's assault on a 14th major championship. We are told that he knew about the stress fractures and decided to play anyway. We can only imagine the pain he played through and the mental discipline that was required to keep playing.
Some will say that he was crazy to play and some will say that it was the greatest performance in modern sports history.
I'm not sure where I stand on the issue. Obviously the injury had already been sustained, he knew that another surgery was necessary and he would probably be out for six months whether he played or not. If that's the case then it was an incredibly courageous performance.
If playing made the injury worse then the decision will be second guessed for ever.
In reality the general public will never know. Tiger will keep the full details to himself and his victory will become part of the Tiger legend.
Tiger, we will miss you for the rest of 2008 and we can't wait for your return - perhaps at Torrey Pines for the 2009 Buick!!

What about the Ladies

Image by Getty Images via DaylifeI know, I know, it's been Tiger this and Tiger that for a week now and some of you are reminding me that there are other Tours besides the TGA of Woodsmerica.
The LPGA swing back into action this week ahead of next week's US Women's Open where I have more than a passing interest in the results since my student, Joanne Lee, will be playing in her third Open in 3 years.
Michelle Wie has qualified and could be a factor as she has been playing much better of late. However she would not be considered as a good bet to win since she has not played very much tournament golf in the past 8 months because of being a freshman at Stanford University.
Annika and Lorena will be the favorites and I'm sure that Annika would love to top off her final LPGA season with another US Open title.
As you watch the play from Interlachen you will see many things that would do well to emulate.
Few of us will ever have the strength or talent of a Tiger Woods but we can swing like an LPGA player in many ways.
I had the pleasure of attending the last two Opens with Joanne and the most noticeable thing about the way that most LPGA players swing is that they concentrate on turning fast rather than hitting hard. Their swings are very balanced and co-ordinated which is a huge advantage if you are not tall or muscular. Also, a co-ordinated swing is easier to repeat whan you only play once a week.
So watch and learn, it's fun to see the men smash it 320 yards but realistically you're never going to be able to do that. However, perhaps you can emulate the women and hit it 260 straight down the middle.

Tiger Wins, now what?

Image by thegordons via FlickrSo now it's official, Tiger is the 2008 US Open Champion and this was the most exciting US Open I've ever seen. All credit to Rocco Mediate, what a great competitor - he never gave up, but Tiger isn't the number one player in the world for nothing. He showed us that even playing hurt he is a force to be reckoned with.

The question now is "Will he play in the British Open?". Frankly I doubt it, we may not see him before the PGA Championship in August where he is the defending champion. This time he will make sure that his rehab is complete and that he's completely cleared by his doctors.

As for Rocco, doubtless he's disappointed but he seems to have a realistic handle on the enormity of what he achieved. He rose into the top 50 in the World Rankings and that will give him access to opportunities that he never had before this weekend. He may also have just played himself onto the Ryder Cup team where he will be a great asset for the USA. If Paul Azinger doesn't team Rocco and Tiger on the first day he's crazy.

Tiger - The Legend Grows

Image by Jim Epler via FlickrIn almost 40 years as a golfer, having attended many Majors and having watched hundreds of televised golf tournaments, I've never seen a more thrilling 6 holes of golf than Tiger played at Torrey Pines today.
In obvious pain from his recently repaired left knee, Tiger overcame a deficit of 5 strokes with 6 to play.
In 13 previous US Open starts he had only two eagles, today he had two eagles in 6 holes. One can only imagine how far ahead he would be if he was 100% healthy. This was a performance to rival Ken Venturi's Congressional win and Hogan's post car crash wins.
Unfortunately, win or lose tomorrow, we've probably seen the last of Tiger for several weeks. I will be very surprised if he even returns for the British Open. If this week was a regular Tour event he would probably not have played, but it's a Major and Tiger lives for Majors. I just hope that he doesn't miss the rest of the season, having re-injured his knee.
Only time will tell but for now I'm more excited about tomorrow's final round than I've been in years.

Amateur's in the Women's Open

Image via WikipediaOne of the notable things about this year's USGA Women's Open will be the number of amateurs that qualified - one of my student's qualified for the third consecutive time as an amateur.
At the San Diego qualifying site, 9 of the top ten qualifiers were amateurs, the exception being Liselotte Neumann, a former Open winner.
Last year at Pine Needles, 4 amateurs made the cut. I'll be surprised if any amateurs play on the weekend at Torrey Pines.
The presence of great amateurs is a good sign for the long term health of the game and it's a great incentive to juniors coming up on the ranks to see that they have a change to play in the national championship as they are grooving their games for the pro ranks.

US Open Week

Image by Getty Images via DaylifeSo it's US Open week and Tiger is back after 8 weeks away from competition. He played horribly and in true Tiger fashion managed to scrape in with a 72 which included some of the greatest par saves in Open history. He's obviously rusty but he'll be right there on the weekend. I expect him to win the event despite his lack of play.

US Open Week - Dream Time

Image via WikipediaFor the guys, this is US Open week and for many of the women it's Open Qualifying week. Thousands of people enter the USGA Open Championships and play for the few spots that remain after the exempt places are filled. They are following their dreams.
One of my students is playing today in one such qualifying event, hoping to qualify for the third consecutive year. Whether she is successful or not, she represents the new breed of teenage female golfer vying to knock the veteran players from their perches at the top of the women's game.
No wonder Annika is retiring. She's had her day in the sun, won her majors, made millions and now she's going to concentrate on raising a family and perusing her business interests.
Perhaps the most important aspect of Annika's retirement is that she opens up a spot in the field for another player, someone trying to establish themselves in this great game and maybe one day win a tournament, or a major or the Grand Slam.
Perhaps it's time that the LPGA and PGA Tour should take a look at the number of exempt spots that are available each week. I know that the crowds want to see Tiger, Ernie and Phil rather than Joe Bag-of-Doughnuts but there are too many boring cookie-cutter players out there making a great living and providing no excitement or added value to the game.
Let's have 9 spots available through Monday qualifying every week. Some LPGA events have done away with Monday qualifying in favor of sponsors exemptions which is a shame and could easily be rectified by reducing the number of exempt players or by increasing the size of the field.
9 more players is only three more tee times. They don't need to have more players making the cut and so it won't cost any more but it might just allow someone to fulfill their dream of playing on Tour.

The proof is in the Putting

Image via WikipediaMy last two blogs were about custom putters and the SAMS Putt Lab. This one is about my own results. One of the key elements that I discovered about my own putting was that I did not have enough "rise angle" so that my putts were actually starting with back spin rather than topspin.
I already have a custom putter so I worked on my stroke for three days - about 20 minutes per day. Today I played golf and had 25 putts for 18 holes !!!!!
Obviously one round is not a statistically significant sample but in 38 years of golf I've only had 3 or 4 better putting days and they occurred when I was playing and practicing daily.
Don't wait another minute, call for your putter and stroke evaluation now!