If, by "back," you actually mean not back, and probably not coming back until the Masters. Tiger made it through eleven holes in his first round at Torrey Pines on Thursday before his back seized up and forced him to withdraw. As you might imagine, this withdrawal has people asking whether or not Tiger is done. Does he have it in him to get healthy in time for Augusta, or will he miss his second consecutive Masters for the first time ever in his professional career?
Can he get healthy in time? Probably, but I don't know if that's the problem. Tiger's golf swing, over time, has been critiqued and tweaked more times than a Presidential address. As he's moved from swing coach to swing coach, Tiger's never ending quest to squeeze more power out of his swing has lead to a swing that is literally tearing apart his already injured back.
If you watch his swing closely, you'll see at the top of the swing, as he's beginning his downswing, his head moves down and back, moving further behind the ball in an attempt to gain leverage to speed up the swing. As an athletic move, it makes sense. The more compressed your body is, the more rotational speed you can generate, which leads to higher club head speed and longer drives. As a concept, it makes perfect sense. Just not for a 38-year-old that's coming off of back surgery.
 |
Throughout his career, Tiger has continually shaped and revolutionized the game. When he first burst onto the scene in 1996, Tiger's overwhelming power and length off the tee hadn't been seen in professional golf before. Courses were "Tiger-proofed" in attempts to level the playing field for players without the same distance as Tiger. Now, in the third act of his career, it may be time to change the game again.
When Michael Jordan was heading towards his fourth NBA title with the Chicago Bulls, he was still the best player in the NBA. He could still physically dominate anyone on the court, but he was getting older. So what did he do? He changed his game. He perfected the fade-away jump shot and slowed his game down. Jordan could still drive on anyone he wanted, but he didn't need to. Tiger could stand to learn a few things from his Airness.
If Tiger can find a way to slow down his game, it could significantly decrease the number of back injuries he experiences as well as preserve his power, thereby lengthening his career. Tiger's 14 majors clearly show he's had enough game to beat anyone on the planet, and I think he still does, but he's going to need to fundamentally change the way he attacks golf courses.
 |
| Definitely less of this. |
For a long time, he dominated the game by physically overpowering the course and driving his golf ball further than anyone in the field. Unfortunately, he doesn't have the power to maintain his lead on big hitters like Gary Woodland or Bubba Watson, so he needs find another way to create a competitive edge for himself. Maybe, instead of trying to drive the ball 320 yards off of every tee, look to drive it 280-300 yards down the middle of the fairway. A more conservative play off the tee would also eliminate some of the errant tee shots that we've seen lately because Tiger won't be swinging out of his shoes. Plays like these would leave Tiger with short iron shots into greens that he has more than enough ability to stick close enough to holes to leave himself reasonable putts. Then, when he has an opportunity to stripe one on a short par 5, he'll be able load up and do it because he won't have swung his back out three times in the round already.
Anyway, that's probably enough space dedicated to a player who played about 17% of a golf tournament. Let's move on to things that actually happened over the weekend.
OTHER HIGHLIGHTS
What a finish to this one, huh? A two-hole, four man playoff to decide the tournament? Great stuff. If I'm honest though, I can't say I was surprised by the outcome. I mean, between World No. 4 Jason Day, and three other players whose rankings ranged from 49th in the world to 88th. It was more a question of how long it would take him to win, not if he would win.
On the first playoff hole, Day was the only player to hit the fairway with his tee shot and went on to birdie the par 5 18th along with 54 hole co-leader JB Holmes, dispatching playoff competitors Scott Stallings and Harris English, who was also tied for the lead after 54 holes. However, when Holmes overshot the green on the par 3 16th on the second playoff hole, he wasn't able to get up and down for par after Day two-putted from 15 feet for the win.
Day's best highlight of the tournament didn't come on the final day though. For my money, his best shot was on the par 4 17th in the third round. Day holed out for eagle from 146 yards, putting him on track for a great finish in the final round. You can see the highlight here, because the tyrants that run the PGA Tour YouTube account won't take pity on lowly bloggers like us.
Beyond that, the standout highlights were Chad Campbell's third round ace on the 3rd hole and the PGA Tour's prodigal son Dustin Johnson's eagle in the opening round from 159 yards. Once again, shoutout to the soulless minions at the PGA Tour for denying me content for my blog. Heartless.
Also, as an aside, Tiger Woods was only 2 over when he withdrew, and the cut for the tournament was -1. When I made my prediction, I assumed Tiger was healthy and would have a couple days extra to prepare A healthy Tiger would have been on track to finish the tournament 2 or 3 under par, making the cut by a couple strokes. So, technically, I'm 1-0 on predictions. Take that.
As far as the ATT Pebble Beach Pro-Am goes, I would expect 2013 winner Jimmy Walker to make another good run at it, but I'd also keep an eye on 2-time winner Dustin Johnson to play big in his second event since returning from his cocaine suspension sabbatical. Johnson finished tied for second in 2014, and after missing the cut at Torrey Pines by one stroke, Johnson will have two extra days of preparation, he'll be fresh to hit the course at Pebble Beach...if he's healthy.
Keep your head down.
No comments:
Post a Comment