I got a little worked up on that U.S. Open post, so let's deal with the rest of our golf news.... A heads up that tomorrow is a travel day, so check back later in the week.
Tiger Scat - This will likely be scattier than usual, but that's why you continue to drop by. We'll dive in with John Feinstein's take, which is captured by is header:
The state of Tiger's comeback (so far)
Fans and critics will interpret Woods' first three starts in different ways but one thing seems hard to deny: There's real suspense again when he tees it up
The piece doesn't have a strong conclusion, but there are good moments, such as this:
Although you wouldn’t have known it reading internet headlines on Sunday morning, Woods was never in serious contention to win, but he was well within the top 20 allweek. It began quickly on Thursday with two birdies on his first four holes, as he pieced together rounds of 70-71-69-70. He talked in his usual Woodsian way about feeling as if he was, “back in the flow,” and how he knew he just needed more “reps.”
At no point did the subject of his glutes come up. Which was a good thing.
No argument there.
Allow to go back to Alan Shipnuck's mailbag, which I'll remind preceeded the Honda:
Does Tiger have a better chance competing with 13 clubs or 14 clubs? I'm serious. His score Thursday at Riviera certainly would have been lower without a driver. I get that he's always been a bit wild, even in his prime. But it's really bad right now. -@CHFounder
And that same round he was bombing his 3-wood long and straight, which made the misbehaving driver even more painful. In fact, Tiger hits his 5-wood farther than Zach Johnson hits his driver. I'd love to see Tiger be more conservative off the tee, because through the rest of the bag he looks pretty solid. But he's not ready to concede 30-50 yards to the DJs and McIlroys of the world. Part of that is tactical; he knows it's tough to beat guys ceding that much yardage. And part of it is vanity; Tiger is simply too proud to capitulate. So, we're all gonna be along for this wild ride as he continues to try to figure it out.
That's gonna leave a mark.....on Zach.
Admittedly, this question has less urgency after the Honda, during which he seemed more comfortable with the driver as the week progressed. But I just wanted to note that we've down this road with Tiger before. Notably, when he won at Hoylake and Southern Hills in '06 by leaving the driver in the bag.... Driver woes are nothing new to the man.
Dylan Dethier, a new writer at Golf.com, is growing on me. This take-down of Stephen A. Smith is a fun read, though admittedly it's preying on the weak.
SAS: At his height, he was the greatest golfer we’ve ever seen. his long game, his short game, and everything in between was just surreal. Again, I know this. And the fact that he was black in a sport that was never known for being too welcoming to folks with a darker hue only made Tiger Woods’ accomplishments that more riveting, that more mesmerizing. Bravo brother (clapping), hats off to you.
DD: YES! Transcendent player. Invaluable to the game. Couldn’t have put it better myself.
I don't quibble tat he's a darker hue, but I should remind you both that the word for which you're searching is Cablinasian.
SAS: Can we say this: that was a long time ago? What’s all the fuss about now?
DD: Uhh…well, Stephen, remember all those things you said before? The guy with the wins and the surreal golf game and the unprecedented transcendent appeal? That guy’s back playing competitive golf! At a high level! That’s what all the fuss is about.
Well done, Dylan, though the score is tempered by the extremely low degree of difficulty.
A Master Class in.....Class - Justin Thomas demonstrates that he's a good guy with this:
Justin Thomas apologizes, says he overreacted by kicking out unruly fan
The ability to reconsider our actions and express remorse is what separates us from the apes. So, Mr. Ape-Man, screaming at Justin and Luke List, you've received an apology from JT. Anything you'd like to say to him? I thought not....
Never Too Early To Panic - I kid, but I had wanted to look into this, then saw this comment from the Tour Confidential panel:
6. We've spent a lot time in this forum in 2018 discussing Tiger Woods. With eight tournaments behind us this calendar year, what OTHER story line has most grabbed your attention?
Wood: The strength of the European Ryder Cup team. There is too much installing the U.S. as heavy favorites, and I just don't think their team is getting enough respect. We all know about Rose, Sergio, Stenson, and Rory Mcilroy, Add #2 in the world Jon Rahm, Tommy Fleetwood, and Alex Noren to the mix and you've got a very, very strong core to go to the first tee with. I can't wait.
And a couple more:
Shipnuck: I agree with both Dylan and Woody — it's been a stellar start to a year that promises so much more, and Paris is gonna be a bonkers way to end it.
Sens: Buckle up for early April. The Masters might not start ‘til the back nine on Sunday, but you know we'll be talking about it endlessly til then. And not that anyone asked me, but Europe wins in Paris.
Shipnuck is, of curse, all in, having written that piece predicting U.S. dominance for the next few decades.... OK, maybe not that long.
Here's that Euro Ryder Cup team, according to this week's OWGR:
- Justin Rose
- Rory McIlroy
- Tommy Fleetwood
- Sergio Garcia
- Henrik Stenson
- Alex Noren
- Tyrell Hatton
- Paul Casey
- Rafa Cabrera Bello
- Francesco Molinari
- Ross Fisher
- Matthew Fitzpatrick
There's little quaetion that the U.S. has more fire power at the top and is deeper at the bottom, but that Euro roster is no pushover.
And if you're thinking that it's all about that task force?
A few weeks ago the Northern Irishman questioned Phil Mickelson about the U.S. RyderCup task force and how it managed to help right the ship for the U.S. team. His conclusion? The Americans are imitating the Europeans.“Basically, all they are doing is copying what the Europeans have done. That's what he said,” McIlroy said in his pre-tournament press conference at the Honda Classic.
“He said the first thing they did in that task force was Phil played a video, a 12-minute video of Paul McGinley to all of them,” McIlroy said. McGinley led Team Europe to a victory in 2014 at Gleneagles.
So Phil, that Gleneagles presser was just about sticking it to Watson? I knew, but now everyone knows.
Remembering Pete - His legacy has some warts, but he was always one of the nicest guys in the biz:
Pete couldn’t come to the phone, Alice said, because he was playing golf at The Little Club near their home in Delray Beach, Fla. Then she apologized that there would be noreturn phone call. “He’s not really able to use the phone much anymore,” she said quietly.
Her next few words were devastating.
Pete Dye, perhaps the game’s most transformative course designer, has been stricken with Alzheimer’s. It’s the cruelest of ironies that Dye is fit enough at age 92 to play golf most days but no longer can articulate the ideas that altered the rubric of golf course architecture.
“It’s such a tragedy that such a wonderful mind is being lost,” said Alice, who has been his faithful sidekick on a number of his works, including the renowned Stadium Course at TPC Sawgrass, during their 68 years of marriage. She couldn’t muster any more words except to say, “you should talk to the boys,” meaning their two sons, Perry and P.B.
I'm comforted that he can at least go out and play a little.... But in thinking of Pete, let me leave you with this:
“It’s the end of an era,” added Bill Coore, who worked for Dye for three years and is now enjoying a sensational run partnering with former Masters winner Ben Crenshaw. “Before Pete came along, golf architecture was Robert Trent Jones and that philosophy. That was the standard. Pete took the game and design in a different direction.”
It seems like everyone in the field worked at one point for Pete, and they all speak fondly of him. That's quite a legacy.
I'll leave you here and see you later in the week.
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