Friday Fun

A big Thursday in the golf world, so let's have at it...

He's Back: Woods Shoots 63 - Wow, that Chris Como is some kind of miracle worker, 'cause I didn't see this coming... What?  Oh, it's a different Woods...

There was a Woods in golf at the top of a leader board on Thursday -- and it wasn't Tiger. It was his niece, Cheyenne. The LPGA Tour rookie fired a career-best 63 in the first round of the LPGA Manulife Classic in Ontario, good enough for first place.

Of course I didn't see that coming either, as the comely youngster has missed her five previous cuts and her highest finish on the year is T23.

Now just two days ago, we saw her backstage at a concert of someone named Drake...

Then she goes out and shoots her best professional round evah....Coincidence?  I don't believe in coincidences.... Want more of the purty young thing?  Of course you do...

As for her Uncle, not so great...

Unfortunately, Woods played the Ranger Rick role on his first nine at the Memorial Tournament. Rick -- er, Tiger, bogeyed three of the first four holes on Muirfield Village's back nine, spraying drives in both directions. He rallied with a couple of birdies but concluded a disastrous start by hitting a drive out of bounds at the 18th hole. 

Wait. There's out of bounds at Muirfield Village's 18th hole? This was practically a state secret, but yes, there's OB if you hit it far enough right. Like, right of Vladimir Putin.

Ummm Gary. Vlad the Impaler is a leftie..... but we take your point.  The good news is that it did get better:

Ranger Rick went back to the range on the second nine and someone who resembled the real Tiger returned, making three birdies and a few nice par saves to salvage a one-over-par 73. Not a bad recovery, but the problem is, there was barely a breath of wind at Muirfield Village on a pleasant morning, the greens were fast and receptive and as Brendon Todd, one of four morning-wave players who shot 67 noted, “It was as easy as it ever gets here.”

Dave Shedloski surveys the carnage thusly:

A five-time winner of Jack Nicklaus' invitational tournament, Woods sprayed shots like he was more intent on marking territory, not shooting a score. Only four times did he find the proper mowing pattern, also known as the fairway, which represented a career-worst performance for a guy who owns a tournament-best 69.95 scoring average. He also tied his career-worst at Muirfield Village by hitting only nine greens in regulation.

That he shot as low as 73, his third score over par in his last four rounds here, was a testament to his resourcefulness and determination.

I agree that 73 was a remarkable result given his ball-striking, it's just that the striking of the golf ball is, you know, kind of important and something at which he used to be quite skilled.  But our corporate mission statement specifically requires availing ourselves of every cheap shot available, so how about an intra-gene pool comparison:

Fairways Hit:  Cheyenne - 14 of 14
                          Tiger -          4 of 14 

Greens in Reg.:  Cheyenne - 16 of 18
                             Tiger -          9 of 18 

Driving Dist.: Cheyenne -    276 yards
                         Tiger -           286 yards

That last one was a little close, no?

 The Field - A fun first day at Jack's Place, no?  A familiar name atop the leaderboard and all...

Matsuyama made a bold start in his bid to join Woods as the only repeat winners at

Muirfield Village by running off four straight birdies on the back nine and one strong par save on his way to an 8-under 64 that tied the Japanese star with Bo Van Pelt. 

"To be honest with you, up until yesterday I was not hitting the ball very well, I was not chipping very well, I was not putting very well," Matsuyama said through a translator. "And I don't know what happened overnight. We just caught magic."

They had rain over the weekend, so while the greens were still quite fast (stimping 13 if the Golf Channel crew was to be believed), they were extremely receptive.  And when golf balls stay where they land, these guys throw darts...

And Jack could care less, which is a great attitude....in his time in the booth he noted that when you get favorable conditions the guys will go low, and as the architect there's no reason to fight it.

The Course:  Shack gives Jack high marks for cleaning up the look of the finishing hole in this video:

Errr Geoff, is that the only jacket and tie you brought East?  'Cause it's gonna get old before the end of the week...

He had as many as nine bunkers there, which pretty much says it all...it's a really awkward driving hole, with the creek on the left and that tree that always seems to be in a player's line.  

Otherwise the course looks spectacular...though I've always been amused that he named it after Muirfield, where he played in a Walker Cup and completed his career slam.... I get the emotional significance, but you'd be hard-pressed to find a place where the golf is less like Muirfield.  In fact it's a great homage to another place where Jack had some success, and they'd know better than to have nine bunkers on any hole...