NO way that most of the guys at the top don't crack under pressure by Sunday. Still think Phil is slowly going to make a push for the top. He better not let too much distance get between the leaders though.
I'm pretty shocked Tiger made a run today. Today is when the pin placements were much harder and Tiger ate it up. Kudos to him.
Wow a blast from the past. Tiger actually played a round of golf. Aint banking on him after one round though. Good story for a day,but he won't contend on Sunday. Freddy had a great round and put himself in the mix. Not sure his back or him will hold up though. Too bad, because that would be absolutely amazing. Hard to believe a kid can go start to finish and win the thing, but dang mcillroy looks ROCK solid! The kid is swinging unbelievably good right now. Long way to go in this thing.... still anyones game. Starting to see glimpses of the final chapter though.
He LOST by 4 shots. Why is everyone annointing him as this meaing he's back? Contending means losing by 4 shots? That place was built for his golf game. If he doesn't do well there, he aint doing well anywhere. He had a normal opening round Thursday. He had a good round Friday. Crapped the bed Saturday. And a good front nine Sunday but couldn't keep it going like the Tiger of old on the back. 5-8 years ago hes' putting on the green jacket. Yes glimpses of the old, but at the end of the day the only difference is he wasn't bordering on the cut line or finishing in the middle of the pack. Remember what he did last year at Agusta..... remember how the year worked out for him. Just sayin.......... p.s. and hell i've always been a Tiger fan. It just is what it is.
He's really close to being "back". Out of the jacket by 4 shots isn't a great tournament for him. But, it's a great weekend for most. I've never been a Tiger band-wagoner. I've always loathed how the media (announcers) treat him. It's sickening and insulting to everyone else. It's not his fault, though. I find myself climbing on the wagon, about now, though. I was really pulling for him (but, not against anyone else), yesterday. He started hitting golf shots this past week...in lieu of trying to swing, perfectly. I hope something clicked. I wouldn't count him out of anything. He'll win this year. And, if he played as much as some of these other guys.....he'd win multiple times.
I did notice that too. He was playing golf instead of golf swing. Still a lot of preswing mechanic checks it seems to me. He's off to the side of the tee reinforcing his positions with practice swings constantly. I believe he will win again. He's not exactly ready to take his game to the Seniors tour. I don't like this whole new swing concept for Tiger, but he will get it eventually. It's not nearly going to have the results as the last two changes. And I think everyone on planet earth can agree he'll never dominate again. Aside from all that ... he could swing better than he ever has and still have problems. He's putting terrible. That has nothing to do with swing mechanics. That to me seems to be his biggest problem. Even back in the day he used to hit it all over the lot at times. He always managed to get it up and down or make the big birdie putt to turn his round around. That's the biggest thing missing. I just don't see that IT factor he used to have. Back nine at agusta and you miss a 3 footer on 12. Then hit an unbelievable shot into 15 and miss a 4 footer for Eagle? New Tiger... yeah. Old Tiger..... not a chance in hell.
Tied for the lead on the back isn't contending? Would you say McIlroy contended? I mean, he lost by 10 shots.
Saying that Tiger won't get back to the "old Tiger" is a little unfair, if you asked me. It's like saying....."Byron Nelson was never able to repeat the brilliance he experienced, after the 1945 season". Of course, it's worth noting that Nelson won 11 tournaments in a row in 1945....and 18 times, total. He;s still regarded as one of the best golfers to play the game. All that, and his records don't sniff Tiger's. Tiger doesn't have to match the Tiger of old to be great, again. And, he won't be alone (in not matching it). IMO, there's too much disparity for anyone to dominate like he did for as long as he did. He may be the last of "them".
Ask Tiger if he thought he contended. ummm did you watch the same Masters I did? I guess you could say Martin Kaymer contended too. I mean he was tied for the lead Thursday morning. People get confused because its Tiger. Like Jeff said a lot of that is the medias fault. They amplify evertything with Tiger times 100. What if that golfer that shot 5 under on the front and shared the lead for about half a hole was someone like........ Scott Verplank (just for example). He wouldn't have hardly been talked about on the back when he slid back to mediocrity and somewhat fell out of the picture. You could sense the momentum shift and just got that feeling Tigers chances (and that whole group at -10) went down by the second. His putt at 12 you felt ... probably not happening now. Putt at 15....... there goes the last chance he's done. Like I said I'm all for Tiger and hope he can get somewhere close to where he was. I think it's great for the game and I like seeing the best of all time play their respective sport.
In all fairness to Tiger (RE: contending).....he was the leader in the clubhouse on Sunday afternoon at the Masters.
NYB, I guess I need to know what your definition of "contending" is. Did anyone of players tied at -10 half way through the day contend? Did anyone besides the winner contend? Sure, the media blows it up when Tiger is involved. He gets a different set of rules for a reason. Tiger not winning is a failure. All those others that were close at the end, it was a pretty good tournament for them. But, for every person that wants to build Tiger up, there is one that wants to tear him down. Like saying tied for the lead on the back, or being the leader in the clubhouse, is not contending. Disclaimer: I don't own a golf course, so I'm sure my opinion doesn't matter.
Not sure what that has to do with anything, but... whatever. Ok .. I concede. Tiger contended!!!! Yippy. Now what? 5 years from now is anyone going to care who finished T4 and "contended" at the 2011 Masters? What does "contending" do for you anyway? A feel good subscript? Not to anyone that's a competitor. It's for the media and fans to talk about. Again.... ask Tiger how he feels about contending at the Masters. I'm sure you'll get a real answer. All this talk about "contending", top 10's, rankings, stats, etc...... It's all crap. I've said it once and I'll say it again (no matter what anyone thinks).... second place is first loser. It's that simple. Leader in the clubhouse is fine and dandy. Be the leader after everyone leaves the clubhouse on Sunday night if you want it to mean anything.
If that's how you see it......Tiger will never be "back". It won't make him feel any better, but, neither will anyone else (be at the level he was once on).
It does nothing for me. It must mean something to you if you brought it up. I couldn't care less who wins a golf tournament. I just enjoy pointing out to know-it-alls when they are incorrect.
Know it all lol? Whatever chief.... go play in oncoming traffic And you can continue quoting things I've said.... you've proven absolutely nothing so far. Not sure exactly what you're agenda is here other than to be a ####. Or maybe that just comes natural to you.
