The Process, Deja Vu Style

Associated Press

I’ll be honest – there was a point sometime around the WGC Bridgestone Invitational back in August of 2010 when the thought finally crept into my mind that maybe his career was over, at least the dominating career I’d known it to be over the years anyway. Tiger didn’t come remotely close to breaking par in any of the four rounds that week, and in fact he played so badly that he could’ve been spotted a whopping 29 strokes by the eventual winner (Hunter Mahan) and still would’ve come up a stroke shy of beating him. Unfortunately for Tiger there wasn’t a cut in that event, and his horrible golf game was on display all four days that week. Only one player in the field would play worse, Henrik Stenson, who finished the week at +20. Tiger got him by 2 strokes, finishing at +18.  When asked later that evening what aspect of his game he felt he needed to work on the most, he was very matter-of-fact in his response. “I need to hit the ball better, I need to chip better, I need to putt better, and I need to score better,” he said. In other words, everything. Everything needed some serious work.

Over the next several months we found ourselves becoming desensitized to the typical Tiger-speak every other week during his interviews. Phrases like “it’s a process,” and “getting closer,” or “getting more consistent” or “excited about how my game is progressing” caused us to ponder amongst ourselves if maybe the collision with the fire hydrant back in the fall of 2009 had injured the part of his brain that processed his cognitive thinking skills. Or maybe he was in complete denial of how bad his game really was, despite what we saw on our televisions back home each tournament he played. It was some really awful golf, kinda like a freak of nature seeing a player who for his entire career made the game look so incredibly easy, suddenly tormented with the enormous difficulty of it all.

Then again, maybe he continued to say these things over and over because he knew a few things about himself that we didn’t know, like the fact that he’s overcome these situations before in his career and his level of determination and self-belief would see them through once again.

Precisely two years, seven months and three days later, the nagging left knee that’s required no fewer than four surgeries throughout his career doesn’t appear to be bothering him. He’s swinging and putting well enough to have won 5 Tour events since this time last year, more than any other Tour player in the world. As of Monday morning, only a single point separates him from once again becoming the top-ranked player in the world, and he’s coming off of arguably the best overall tournament performance in his entire career. The “process” that he spent so many frustrating weeks and months talking about and working through seems to be paying off, in spades.

After his win Sunday evening in Miami, he spent a few minutes in the media tent fielding dozens of familiar questions from familiar sports writers who’ve followed him since he won his first major championship 16 years ago, probably knowing his answers to the questions long before they ever asked them. But one question in particular stood out, the gist being whether or not he felt like he could dominate the game once again.

“Well, I’m just trying to get better. It’s very simple,” Woods said. “I feel like my game’s becoming more efficient, and it’s more consistent day in and day out, and I’m very pleased with the progress I’ve made with Sean.”

Typical Tiger-speak, to be sure… stuff we’ve heard countless times before, but with a different twist this time around.

Most of us now believe it.

(all player’s quotes courtesy of PGATOUR.COM)

Tiger Woods Wins Cadillac Championship

Andrew Innerarity/Reuters

And just like that, it seems like old times again.

No one was shocked to see Tiger Woods win Sunday afternoon, although a few were probably surprised that he made it a bit more interesting than he needed to on the final hole. But there wasn’t any doubts who the player to beat was over the weekend. As he’s done countless times in the past, Woods protected a handsome 4-shot lead in textbook fashion in Sunday’s final round, relying on percentage plays and solid putting to close out what was otherwise an uncontested victory over the final two days. McDowell, Stricker, and Mickelson each had several opportunities Sunday to narrow the gap between themselves and Woods, but Stricker’s 4-under 68 was as close as any of the three would get. And even that wasn’t enough to get Woods to blink.

The sloppy finish for bogey notwithstanding, it was arguably the best tournament Woods has played tee-to-green since 2009, and one that reignites the conversation about who exactly is the best player playing the game today.

Speaking of which, as it relates to the player who’s technically the world’s top player at the moment, the final round was arguably just as important for Rory McIlroy as it was for Woods. McIlroy showed serious signs of renewed confidence Sunday, firing the 2nd lowest score of the day with a 7-under 65. Despite opening the week with a miserable round of 1-over 73 on Thursday, Rory finished T-8th Sunday and will head into Houston in a few weeks feeling quite a bit better about life.

As it relates to Mickelson, Stricker and McDowell – they obviously played some solid golf last week and carried a strong leaderboard all four days, each with an outside shot at winning over the weekend. Stricker’s 4-under 68 Sunday earned him solo 2nd, and Mickelson and McDowell finished in a 4-way tie for 3rd with Sergio Garcia and Adam Scott.

Tiger Woods picks up his 2nd win of the season, and clearly has the momentum heading into the closing stretch of the Florida swing. He’ll take a week off and then try to defend his title at Bay Hill in two weeks, a venue that has every potential to reward him with his 3rd win this season. Although I’ve yet to tally the exact points spread separating him from McIlroy for the #1 spot in the world rankings, a win there would likely overtake Rory in that department, and then it’s game-on in Augusta.

For a full recap of Sunday’s action at the 2013 Cadillac Championship, click HERE.

 

Props to Kooch

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In this day and age, it’s incredibly unfortunate that most of us have become so dependent on a subjective scientific formula to measure both the worthiness and the quality of golf on display each week at the professional level. It seems like anytime someone wins a tournament nowadays, regardless of the perceived level of prestige, we find ourselves measuring the significance of the outcome based on any one of three primary criteria: who was or wasn’t in the field, who did or didn’t make the weekend cut, and who did or didn’t play to their usual standard. While the Official World Golf Rankings have enabled many of us to have lively discussions about both the credibility and accuracy of the formula their system employs, unfortunately the system (with enormous help of the media) has also swayed a lot of perceptions with regard to the overall measure of accomplishment we get to enjoy each Sunday on a weekly basis. But of the three criteria I listed above, only the final point was really in play last week. And sometimes, as was the case this time around, a player goes above and beyond his usual standard.

Matt Kuchar’s impressive performance in the World Matchplay is one without the need of such qualifiers or asterisks, as he plotted his way around Dove Mountain in meticulous fashion. Despite the freezing weather and howling winds Sunday that made par a very good score on every hole, Kuchar played 32 holes of golf on an incredibly long and difficult layout nearing 8000 yards, at a brilliant 3-under par. On a day when an average score in a regular stroke play format would’ve likely been 74 or 75 for 18 holes alone, he executed an overwhelming majority of his shots to perfection. On those rare occasions when he didn’t, he bounced back with flawless execution to recover. The last thing a player wants to do in matchplay format is give holes away to his opponent, and that’s something Matt avoided remarkably well last week.

While Hunter Mahan battled back in heroic fashion coming down the stretch, closing the gap to being only 1-down near the end, he was simply no match for his steady and undeterred opponent. Kuchar’s brilliant approach shot from the fairway bunker to 3 feet on the 17th hole was a befitting end to the quality of golf he played in every match last week, truly second to none.

Congrats to a great player with an even greater attitude and enjoyable personality. Well done, Kooch.

 

Sweet 16: World Matchplay Recap

I tell ya… these West Coast tee times and late starts are taking a serious toll on me. The rounds aren’t finishing until 1:00 or 2:00 a.m. in the morning over here in the European time zone and it’s not helping me win my epic battle with insomnia. Be that as it may, the world has had sufficient time to come to grips with numbers 1 & 2 in the world getting dispatched quite expediently from the competition, and the show out in Zona continued today with some very good golf being played.

Snead Bracket

The biggest surprise Friday was Scott Piercy’s total annihilation of world #3 Luke Donald, which quite frankly would’ve happened to anyone playing Piercy today. He was 6-under through 12 holes when the 10-run rule went into effect, ousting the Donald to the tune of 7 & 6. Piercy faces the ever cagey Steve Stricker Saturday morning, as Stricker needed extra innings to take care of Nick Watney in his match earlier today. That should be a very good match, with Piercy apparently coming into the tournament this week with something to prove. On the bottom half of the Snead bracket, Ian Poulter ended Bo Van Pelt’s week with a 3 & 1 victory, and the ever-confident Poulter says that the extended break this winter has served him well, feeling refreshed and on top of his game. He faces a bulldog of a competitor Saturday against Tim Clark, who cruised to victory against Thorbjorn Olesen 3 & 2. Although the Poulter vs Clark match should be fairly even from the tee and the fairway, Clark will have his work cut out for him tomorrow morning against one of the best putters in modern matchplay competition. Clark will need to utilize his exceptional wedge play to keep the pressure on Poulter in this match.

Player Bracket

Hunter Mahan continues his successful bid to defend his matchplay title, making quick work of Richard Sterne with a 4 & 3 win in the bottom half of the Player bracket. Heading into tomorrow morning’s match against Martin Kaymer, who defeated Rafael Cabrera Bello 2 & 1 Friday afternoon, Mahan talked about how the layout at Dove Mountain suits his game. “I feel like I just have a good understanding of this place. Once you get on the greens, the greens are pretty difficult. They have a lot of slopes and a lot of variations,” Mahan said. “I’ve got a good feel for these greens, so I don’t feel like I’m giving too many holes away on three putts or anything like that. Confidence is high. I know I can play this place well, and I know I can beat anybody on any given day.” Beating Kaymer Saturday will be no easy task, however. The Mahan vs Kaymer match should be very entertaining, and don’t be surprised if extra holes are needed. Looking at the top half of the Player bracket, Webb Simpson barely eked by Peter Hanson in their match Friday, with the reigning US Open champ advancing in dramatic fashion with a birdie on the final hole to take a 1-up victory. Simpson faces Gonzalo Fernandez Castano Saturday morning, as the Spaniard made quick work of Charles Howell III with a 6 & 5 margin.

Hogan Bracket

The Hogan bracket has had its share of upsets through the first two rounds as well, as Robert Garrigus is probably the unlikeliest of stories to develop in the top draw of the bracket. Garrigus easily moved into the 2nd round with a 4 & 3 win over Branden Grace on Thursday, and earlier today added Louis Oosthuizen’s scalp to his trophy case with a convincing 3 & 2 win. He’ll face a very tough opponent in Fredrik Jacobson, who continues his good form from last week at the Northern Trust Open. The Swede put away Australian Marcus Frazar 4 & 3 in his second round match on Friday. Turning to the bottom half of the Hogan bracket, Matt Kuchar and Sergio Garcia needed 17 holes to decide their match this afternoon, with Kuchar taking the honors with a birdie on the 17th hole to claim a 2-up victory. He’ll face a tough competitor in Nicolas Colsaerts Saturday morning, as Colsaerts soundly upset #2 seed Justin Rose 4 & 2.

Jones Bracket

The most interesting story thus far this week is Shane Lowry, who topped Rory McIlroy Thursday in the opening round. His story continues, as he put a shellacking on Carl Pettersson with a 6 & 5 rout. The other player to advance in the top half of the draw in the Jones bracket is Graeme McDowell, who eked out a 20-hole, hard-fought 1-up victory against Alex Noran. Lowry will face McDowell Saturday morning in what should be deemed the battle of the Fighting Irish. At the bottom half of the Jones bracket, Bubba Watson needed 20 holes to overcome fellow American Jim Furyk, in what was a nip-and-tuck match all the way to the finish. He’ll face Jason Day, who needed an extra hole to overcome the season’s biggest rookie success story – Russell Henley. Henley maintained a 1-up lead midway through the match, until Day got the upper hand with a birdie on the 14th to take a 2-up lead. Henley bounced back with a birdie on the 15th, and then drained a clutch 14 footer on the 18th to push the contest into overtime. In the end, Day’s clutch iron play sealed the deal, with a timely laser-like approach on the first playoff hole to 4 feet, clinching the 1-up victory with birdie.

Closing Thoughts

For those who didn’t notice, Jason Day conceded absolutely nothing unless Henley’s ball was virtually hanging on the lip of the cup in their match Friday. Some may recall Day’s self-serving bravado a few years ago in which he basically told a reporter that rattling his matchplay opponent with mind-game ploys was a tactic he personally employed, essentially deeming it fair play. He’s obviously not backed off the strategy, which could end up getting under Bubba Watson’s skin Saturday in their match. Bubba struggled with some relatively simple short putts in his match against Furyk, so it’ll be interesting to see how this all plays out Saturday. In fairness to Day, it’s obviously his prerogative whether or not to concede short putts, but on a few occasions Friday Henley could be seen smiling and shaking his head as he walked off the green after having to tap-in the short ones. There could be a few fireworks tomorrow in his match with the high-strung type that Bubba Watson is.

As it relates to my dark horse predictions… I’m sad to report that my underdog picks haven’t panned out, but then again – I think this format was designed to have people burning their brackets after the second day, if not the first. Jason Dufner, Zach Johnson, David Toms, and Rickie Fowler were all early exits after the opening round, and Freddy Jacobson is the only horse I have left running the race.

Saturday’s action should be very entertaining, but then again – matchplay format most always is.

 

(all players quotes courtesy of PGATOUR.COM, the most trusted source for tournament news and player insights)

 

Scouting Mickelson-Woods Pairings Over the Years

This week we’ll get to see Lefty and Tiger go head-to-head, something that we don’t see very often. In fact, it’s only happened 25 times on the PGA Tour. (check out THIS link for more info)

Lowest rounds in the 25 pairings: Mickelson = 10, Woods = 11

Rounds where they posted the same score: 4

Total strokes in 25 rounds, Mickelson: 1750 = 70.0 scoring average

Total strokes in 25 rounds, Woods: 1725 = 69.0 scoring average

So who gets the last laugh this week? It’s hard to say. Tiger’s obviously still searching for his golf swing, and Phil’s trying to rebound from a lackluster 2010. Mickelson’s best tournament this season was his first event of the year – the Farmers Insurance Open, where he finished 2nd. He also finished T9 in the Pebble Beach AT&T Pro-Am. Phil didn’t have a great showing at the Northern Trust Open, where he finished T35, and of course he was one-and-done after the Fowler highlight reel back in the 2nd round of the Accenture Matchplay. Tiger finished T44 at the Farmers Insurance Open, then of course he was an early exit in the first round of the Accenture Matchplay. For the sake of debate, I’d have to give Phil a slight edge heading into this week, simply because he’s played more events.

Then you start considering their histories here at the Big Blue Monster. Tiger obviously feels comfortable here, or at least has felt comfy in the past when he had a golf swing. Of his 71 PGA Tour Wins, 6 of them came at this very course in this event, with his last win here coming back in 2007. While only fractionally as successful, Phil has had success here at Doral too – winning this tournament just two seasons ago.

Then we start considering the conditions, more notably the wind. The early word is that this week’s event will be much more calm weather-wise than last week at the Honda Classic. But don’t be surprised if the forecast changes over the course of the next few days, although it is highly doubtful that it could be any worse than last week on the players. And you-know-who has let it be known that he hasn’t been overly successful controlling his “traj” (trajectory) in the more windy conditions. As for Phil – much of his success will be determined by two things: how well he’s hitting the ball off the tee and how he performs on the greens.

The notable side-story in this pairing will be the presence of Graeme McDowell, who will be the third wheel in the group. But I suspect that he’ll handle the big-league pairing just fine, especially considering that technically – he is the “A” player in the group.

Should be a great week of golf.