Full Contact Q & A

Are you ready for some football?  

Me neither, although I haven't seen an actual football game in over two weeks, if you get my drift.  With the snow still coming down, how about we turn to the Sports Illustrated/Golf crew for some full contact Q&A?

1. Last week at Torrey, many golf observers said Tiger Woods was rusty and one week means nothing. Do two lousy performances in a row mean anything?

Pro's Response:  Most of the gents seem mystified and/or concerned at the lack of intensity, though we've all seen this movie too much to draw too strong a conclusion from it.

Best Line:  Alan Shipnuck, in providing the strongest defense of Tiger:

Tiger's whole season is April to August so if he's decided he needs to conserve mental energy in January and February, I say good for him. But it does make the Florida swing quite important for him.

My Take:  For the sake of my interest level come the majors, I hope Shipnuck is right.  Given Tiger's physical issues, it would actually make sense for him to shorten his season, and certainly none of us begrudges him the time allocated to seeing his kids grow up.  But that argues against traveling the world to play in glorified exhibitions, but then again he's still chasing  appearance fees in the Middle East, so what's a lowly blogger to think?  But my biggest concern with the State of Tiger is that we're seeing the same issues in his game, driving accuracy, distance control with his wedges and continued putting woes.

2. We saw a wild finish at the Waste Management Phoenix Open with Kevin Stadler taking the title after Bubba Watson missed a five-foot putt to tie. Bubba held the lead all day until he made bogey on 16 and 18. What went wrong for Bubba down the stretch?

Pro's Response:  A team of Viennese psychiatrists would be more the ticket, as who amongst us can possibly explain the enigma that is Bubba.  There's talk of demons and twitchiness, and one of the wags admits that he has no sense of the man.

Best Line:  Michael Bamber says that "Bubba looks as jittery as a long-tailed cat in a room full of dogs with machetes."

My Take:  Exactly, which is why I still wonder that he won a Masters.  Seriously, he's the last guy (well, maybe Jeff Overton) that I thought could hold it together under that pressure.  But as those of us who play tournaments know, some days you go out there and feel the inner peace of a Zen master, and other days you play golf.  But Bubba seems unlikely to ever be a good closer, so we should probably focus instead on the sheer artistry of his self-made swing.

3. It was another fraternity/sorority party at the Waste Management Open this weekend, the largest drawing event on PGA Tour. Does golf need more of this sort of spectacle? Less? Or none at all?

Pro's Response:  Mostly pro, though Mike Bamberger makes a spirited case that a golf tournament should be about the, you know, golf.

Best Line:  From Eamon Lynch:

Golf shouldn't run every tournament like a wake, but there's nothing worse than a beer-fuelled fan who thinks he's the star of the show. "Chloroform, please nurse!" as Peter Alliss used to say upon hearing “Get in the hole!” after a tee shot on a par 5.

My Take:  This will never be my favorite tournament, but given that the Tour's biggest problem is a mind-numbing sameness to each event, let's give it its due.  It's an event that actually has some history, that draws huge crowds, that donates big dollars to local charities and succeeds with  C+ field.  Oh, and did I mention it succeeds despite a horrible spot on the schedule, when they play a certain football game?  And as an aside, they've actually cleaned up their act at No. 16, as it's now primarily corporate boxes.  But I kinda miss the caddy races...

4. On Saturday at the Waste Management Phoenix Open, his ball nestled into a desert bush, Bubba Watson obtained relief from a gopher hole, with no penalty. Some critics have taken exception, stating that there's no way he would have actually attempted to play the shot, thus he wouldn't be entitled to penalty-free relief. Do we give Bubba the benefit of the doubt?

Pro's Response:  A unanimous verdict for Bubba.

Best Line:  None worth noting.

My Take:  I'm on record here as calling Bubba a rules savant (we could also call him the Desert Fox), so there isn't a lot to discuss.  Except with Rory, that is...

5. After a first-round 63, Rory McIlroy tied for 9th at Dubai, following a mediocre weekend against a less-than-stellar leaderboard. Are you convinced that Rory is back as a legitimate top-5 player?

Pro's Response:  Another unanimous verdict, as all agree that Rory is a big time talent.

Best Line:  From Mike Bamberger:

Rory's in the top 5, for sure, along with Woods, Mickelson, McDowell, Zach Johnson, Dustin Johnson, King Louie, Keegan Bradley, Justin Rose, among others.

My Take:  Seems that no one warned Mike there'd be math.  To me that's not the interesting question about young Rory.  At his tender age he's won two majors by 8 shots each plus a bunch of other events, so let's stipulate that he's a top 5 player.  The more interesting issue, it seems to me, is whether he'll underperform his talent due to a lack of focus and ambition.  That's what will make the next few years so interesting.

6. The late Payne Stewart would have turned 57 this past week. What's your favorite Payne Stewart memory, and which player on Tour compares most favorably with Stewart?

Pro's Response:  Lots of warm remembrances of a player and man everyone misses.

Best Line:   From Gary Van Sickle:

I remember when Payne's buddy Paul Azinger holed out from the bunker on the last hole to beat him for the Memorial Tournament, Payne secretly placed banana slices in Zinger's street shoes in his locker. Zinger never admitted whether he fell for the gag and put on the shoes and got squishy banana toes. It's the thought that counts.

My Take:  I actually have a Payne story.  I was at a practice round before the 1993 Open at Baltusrol and Payne came through with Tom Kite.  By way of background, not only was Kite defending, but he had been playing the best golf of his career and running away from fields early in the year, but then his back went out.  

Kite came over to play a bunker shot near where I was standing, so I asked him, "Tom, how's the back?"  He ignored me and Payne, from across the green scolded him.  "Tom, the nice man asked you about your back.  Don't you think he deserves an answer?"  Kite grinned as we do when we know our chain has been tugged, and explained that he was just very tired of talking about the back.  

As an aside, I almost didn't recognize Stewart because he was wearing a normal pair of pants.