Average Golfer

Tiger Woods Takes Chevron World Challenge - Is He Back?

noreply@blogger.com (Average Golfer) — Sun, 04 Dec 2011 18:43:10 PST

Biggest question... Woods' game still in the woods?

Tiger Woods bested Zach Johnson with an 18th hole birdie, his second straight, to grab his own Chevron World Challenge title. He finished at -10, one clear of Johnson, who he battled all day in a tight back and forth match. No one else really contended, making this almost a match play scenario. Sunday was calm in contrast to the blasts of Santa Ana winds that colored the first three days. His final round 69 erased a one shot deficit to Johnson at the start of the round. Johnson therefore carded a 71 today. Woods' game is obviously improving. You can tell by his ball striking and trajectory. He's regained some of his legendary control of the ball, but still some questions remain....

1. Is a victory over just 17 other players an indication of Woods return to form? Probably not. With the tiny field I see it as just north of MJ winning a game of HORSE in his driveway. Still, a win's a win and no pro golfer needed one more than Woods.

2. Can he carry the improved shot making into 2012? Only one way to find out. Play the tournaments. It's no coincidence that Woods' improvement is directly related to his increase in playing.

3. Any chinks in the armor? Well of course. Loose shots here and there. 27 putts on Friday, 32 on Saturday. Not the sort of consistency a player of Woods' pedigree looks for, but miles better than his PGA Championship performance.

4. What else will factor in Woods' 2012? Health. Four knee surgeries can't be on anyone's wish list. The rigors of a full, by Woods' standards, season will be the arbiter. One factor he can't account for is age, both his increasing and his prime competition's decreasing.

5. Bottom line? No sane person can argue that Tiger's not in the top two of all time. He's playing better, his self-imposed off the course problems are naturally fading. I see him winning two to three tournaments a year on a schedule of about 18 entries. Figure a major victory thrown in the mix and he'll give Nicklaus' record of 18 a run for it's money. I wouldn't be shocked to see them tied when all is said and done. If you'd have asked me ten years ago, I'd have figured him for 25.

*Average Golfer aside.... How can they call it a "World Challenge" with only 18 players?

Swing hard, they'll make more.

Tiger Pulls Smoke and Mirrors Act at Chevron World Challenge (aka Sherwood 18 Open)

noreply@blogger.com (Average Golfer) — Tue, 29 Nov 2011 18:35:57 PST

I know we're at the "end" of pro golf season. To be fair, the pro golf season never really ends. They crank the 2012 PGA season up again on January 6, 2012. It's omnipresent. This week's fare is the Chevron World Challenge at Sherwood Country Club in Thousand Oaks, CA. Still, Tiger's tourney raises a considerable amount of moolah that benefits his foundation and the Tiger Woods Learning Center, both good causes.

Eighteen players will tee it up on Thursday. That's right, eighteen. We have more on Sunday mornings at my muni for a $5.00 blind draw. These boys are divvying up $5 million. Gotta like like your odds if you scored an invite. The field typically consists of the four current major champions, the next eleven in the Official World Golf Rankings, and sponsor picks. Evidently not everyone got the email. This year's field has Keegan Bradley as a major winner, Bill Haas, the FedUp Cup champion and a heavily American weighted field with 9 of the world's top 25. In the top ten are Steve Stricker (6), Webb Simpson (9), and Nick Watney (10). Woods himself dodged a bullet just to qualify for his own shindig. He crept into the top 50 at 49 at qualifying time, but has slipped to 52nd in the interim. At least he didn't have to use an exemption. Unfortunately, defending champ, Graeme McDowell is playing in the Nedbank Challenge in Sun City, South Africa along with stalwarts Luke Donald, Lee Westwood, and Martin Kaymer. In related news, someone has seen fit to give John Daly a spot in the USB Hong Kong Open. Bring extra balls.

How things change. Twas a time when everyone checked their mailboxes for a Woods' invite. I'm not sure if it's the global aspect of golf or Woods' declining influence that's turned his tourney into a buddy match. Probably some of both. I'll take a peek at the telly because I'm a golf nut. My trigger finger will be on the NFL though. If Woods intends to break his losing streak, this is his best opportunity in two years.

*Average Golfer aside..... Quite a coup to have the results from the Sherwood 18 rack up World Ranking Points.

Swing hard, then swing harder.

Why The US Won The Presidents Cup.

noreply@blogger.com (Average Golfer) — Sun, 20 Nov 2011 23:47:37 PST

Outside of the obvious, "We won more matches", "We scored more points", there's one real forehead slapping reason the US squad won this year's and most year's Presidents Cup competitions. We have better players.

According to the Official World Golf Ranking points system as of 11/18/2011 the average ranking of the 12 US players was 18.5. The Internationals 34.6. The 19th ranked player in the world would typically beat the 35th ranked player over a series of matches.

So sorry Uncle Albert.

Ain't math great?

Go ahead, they'll make more.

2011 Presidents Cup - Post Mortem

noreply@blogger.com (Average Golfer) — Sun, 20 Nov 2011 10:43:31 PST

Captain Couples, undefeated.

Final score 19-15 in favor of the US squad vs the Internationals in the 2011 Presidents Cup from Melbourne, AU. This was a bit closer in final day singles matches than it appears. Still, the Internationals were faced with an unprecedented task of coming from four points behind on the last day, considering no team has ever overcome a deficit in singles. Four early wins gave the Internationals some false hope. The back loaded US squad prevailed when Cup veterans Furyk, Toms, Woods, and Stricker sealed the deal. Not exactly compelling on the last day, but at least interesting.

Some observations gleaned by this Average Golfer's astute eye....

The Presidents Cup isn't the Ryder Cup by any stretch. Drawing from a global pool the Prez Cup participants don't have the team chemistry of a Euro Ryder team. Language barriers and infrequent contact contribute. History's on the Ryder side as well. The difference in intensity and seriousness is palpable.

Robert Allenby had a tough week. Coming off a missed cut in the previous week's Australian Open, Robert Allenby hoped to validate captain Norman's faith in him and his familiarity with Royal Melbourne by turning in a good performance. Didn't happen. 0-4-0 record made Norman's comments regarding the Tiger Woods captain's pick ring hollow. Allenby putted like he was drunk for two weeks.

Home field advantage wasn't there. Five Aussies made Norman's roster. RM was supposed to be their own private Idaho. Combined 7-14-3 record for the quintet dispelled that notion.

Royal Melbourne was on the edge. Yes. Bath tub slick greens, harder than 10th grade math, coupled with some howling wind, made certain holes ridiculously difficult to play. All in all in one of the most spectacular venues in the world. I just hate to see some of the world's best win or lose a hole in match play on what's essentially luck.

Tiger Woods made a statement here. Yes and no. Yes, his full swing appears to be rounding into form, proven by the return of the patented stinger. Yes, he made putts in the singles round to trounce Aaron Baddeley. No, his 2-3-0 record for the tourney didn't win it for the US.

Jim Furyk was MVP. 5-0-0. Nuff' said. Furyk's missing putting stroke magically reappeared and he became just the 4th player in Cup history to win five matches.

No substitute for experience. Example, Mickelson 3-1-0, Mahan 4-1-0. Having been there means a lot. Much was made of International rookies KT Kim and Ryo Ishikawa having breakout tourneys. Fact is they were a combined 4-4-0. Not embarrassing, but .500 doesn't win Cups.

Jason Day had a tough week too. It sure seemed like he was nervous as a long tailed cat in a room full of rocking chairs. The wind wreaked havoc with his high ball flight and sent him all over the property. Day's a better player than he showed, but better learn to hit the ball lower when needed.

Norman's suggestions worth a look. In a post-round interview Greg Norman suggested that in the interest of a more competitive tournament the captains should be allowed four picks with eight qualifiers. Makes some sense given the vast pool the International team has to draw from. He also postulated that the home team have the ability to counter with their picks in the pairings rather than the defending team as it is now. Again, worth consideration. Seemingly small changes might have some impact. As it's been, this Cup is a mismatch every two years.

To sum, interesting, not history making. Face it, between the Ryder and the Prez Cup the US squad plays in one of these every year. We should win. I was about to suggest a biennial US v. The World event until I remembered the tarring we took in the last Ryder.

*Swing extra hard, they'll make more.