Monthly Archives: March 2013

Short reaction to a yahoo blog

http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/golf-devil-ball-golf/teeing-off-weaknesses-left-tiger-woods-golf-game-154054806–golf.html

There doesn’t always need to be criticism. Nobody knows how Tiger is going to do in a few weeks. Augusta is a very difficult golf course. People need to chill though. Tiger has hit some of the most incredible shots and has the best recovery game in the sport. He has a chance at August. Relax.

And Tiger has always hit shots sidewards. Its not how you drive, its how you arrive.

Scott, Sunday 64, doesn’t help case for belly putter

One of the major debates going on in the worldwide golf community is if belly putters should be legal. The European tour recently supported a ban on belly putters contradicting the PGA Tour‘s stance.

The USGA and PGA of America have both publicly opposed any proposed rule changes, meaning they do not wish to ban the longer putter from competition.

The belly putter, or anchored putter has grown in popularity because of the ability it gives players to remain still while stroking the ball. One of the players that has seen a noticeable improvement in his putting because of this equipment is Australian Adam Scott.

Scott, in my opinion, has one of the nicest golf swings on tour today. The Australian is one of Butch Harmon‘s pupils and has a swing very similar to the swing Tiger Woods had when he first came onto the PGA Tour. The swing he had when Tiger was also Harmon’s student.

As you can see, Scott and Woods have very similar swings.

Scott is currently ranked 7th in the official world golf rankings but has never won a major. In 2009 he dropped out of the top 50 in the world because of his putting.

Scott then switched to the anchored belly putter.

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After switching to the longer putter, Scott began to score much better and regained his top 10 ranking in the world. He has also played much better in the major tournaments. In 2011, at the Masters, when he had the sole lead on the 71st hole and in 2012 when he limped in the last 5 holes, ultimately handing the Open Championship to Ernie Els.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VD8L_Y3Zayo

As the 2013 season rounds into full swing, Scott is still on fire on the greens. This was very apparent during his final round of the WGC-Ford Championship at the Trump Doral resort in Miami, FL, where he shot a 64. He only had 22 putts.

This amazing round on the greens only proves to show that these long, anchored putters are helping players on the greens. Scott is just one example of a player who has drastically improved from when he used a standard length putter. This should only fuel the debate between the US and Europe on whether or not there should be a band on anchored belly putters.

 

 

Tiger settles down with Olympian

In the wake of one of the most public scandals in recent history, Tiger Woods and Elin Nordegren ended up divorcing in 2010. Golf’s rock-star and the Swedish babe could not reconcile after Tiger’s famous car accident on Thanksgiving in 2009. 

Both have moved on.

Rumors surfaced last week about the couple trying to mend their relationship to make things work for their two children, Charlie and Sam.

This is not true.

Nordegren is now dating another very wealthy man, not that she didn’t make enough in the settlement from Woods. She is now dating Chris Cline. Cline made his fortune in the coal industry and met Nordegren in a Palm Beach neighborhood called Seminole Landing, where the two both owned homes.

Tiger doesn’t seem to be too heartbroken.

Over the weekend, Tiger announced that he and longtime friend Lindsey Vonn are currently dating. Vonn is an olympic skier who won a gold medal at the 2010 Vancouver games. Tiger made the announcement on his Facebook page by posting a few pictures of the couple.

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I think that it was actually just a Nike ad shoot.

My other theory on the relationship is that Tiger, and his ultra competitive personality, is trying to one up the worlds number 1 golfer Rory McIlroy, who is dating professional tennis playerCaroline Wozniacki.  

Tiger, Nike in Rory’s head?

After a tremendous 2012 season, Rory McIlroy came into 2013 ranked number 1 in the official world golf rankings.

In the offseason, McIlroy left Titleist and signed an endorsement deal with Nike which means that he also had to change equipment. In the transition over to Nike, McIlroy developed a close friendship with Tiger Woods, the former wold number 1.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oo4AOd5fCfk

He has not played well since.

Some people are attributing Rory’s sluggish start in 2013 to the equipment change but I think it is the friendship with Woods that has gotten into the young golfers head.

Another rumor swirling around is that Rory and girlfriend Caroline Wozniacki have hit quite the rough patch. The couple had a honeymoon year in 2012 when both athletes enjoyed success, and tweeted cute pictures about their respective world rankings. But 2013 has seemed to be a reality check as now there are mumblings that the two are close to splitting. I’m going to give Rory some credit and blame his shortcomings on Tiger getting in his head.

Yes, I will admit that changing equipment takes time. But, McIlroy hasn’t resembled anything of the golfer we saw dominate the 2012 PGA Championship, winning the final major of the year by 8 strokes. There is clearly something off about Rory’s game and it goes deeper than an equipment change.

The kid has the talent to become as dominant as Tiger was during the 2000s but seems to lack to competitive edge that Woods displayed all those years. I can’t remember Tiger being friends with many people on tour during his dominant stretch. When he would play with Phil Mickelson, his arch nemesis, the two would rarely speak to one another.

Hopefully Rory will figure something out before The Masters in April. Golf has become so exciting because of the budding rivalry between the two top ranked players in the world. For now, Rory remains on top of Tiger, but the start of 2013 has shown that Tiger is out to reclaim his throne atop the sport.

If i was Rory, I’d stop making friends.

Red hot putter, Tiger wins 17th WGC

The star power was superfluous in Donald Trump’s first year as owner of the new Trump Doral Resort. Big names ruled the week as Tiger Woods won his 76th PGA Tour event last week at the WGC-Cadillac Championship at Trump’s new playground in Miami.

 

It was an exciting weekend to watch. Many of the worlds top players found their way to the top of the leaderboard. In fact, the top nine players in Miami are all ranked in the top 25 in the World Golf Rankings.

Here is the final leader board. http://www.cbssports.com/golf/leaderboard/pga-tour/1186082/world-golf-championships-cadillac-championship

 

The WGC-Ford Championship is Tiger’s second victory on this young PGA Tour Season. The win propels Tiger into second place in the season long race for the FedEx cup.

 

Tiger made 27 birdies on the week because his putter caught fire after friend and foe Steve Stricker have him a putting lesson on Wednesday during a practice round. Woods and Stricker finished the week as the top 2 in strokes gained putting. I bet Strick regrets giving Tiger all that advice.

 

This already being his second victory of the season, Tiger is going into The Masters with a lot of confidence. Seeing the Sunday red and black outfit lead a field of the worlds top golfers is not unusual in Miami as this was Tiger’s 17th victory in a World Golf Championship event.

 

Tiger will play in the Arnold Palmer Invitational at Arnie’s course in Orlando, Bay Hill. Then we will see Tiger play alongside Tim Clark, Ian Poulter, and Justin Rose for Team Albany at the Tavistock Cup.