The Players Championship 2019 - #5thMajor

[bobmac]

Verstappen didn't win and Rory did, all in all a good day

 

[need_my_wedge]

Hmm, I am so glad that I am in China, and missed out on this completely. Ditto the rugby. If Arsenal had been playing I would have been on a hatrick.

I haven't been at work since Thursday evening, so my weekend started then. The Arsenal win on Thursday evening is all part of a great weekend, which included the Taff's winning on Saturday and Rory winning last night

 

[Bxm Foxy]

Not a Rory fan in the slightest, but an excellent win, and bodes well for the Masters.

 

[HomerJSimpson]

One of those great nights of golf viewing. So many people in with a chance and so many twists. Well done to Rory for getting a win at last. I totally understand how competitive it is now at the very top of the game but surely a year between wins is too long for someone of McIlroy's ability. Hopefully it'll be a catalyst and he can peak in Augusta

 

[Orikoru]

So chief-bottler Rory was out-bottled this time by two other bottlejobs in Tommy and Rahm. Shame Furyk bottled that three-footer, or Rory could have bottled in a play-off instead.

 

[IanM]

So chief-bottler Rory was out-bottled this time by two other bottlejobs in Tommy and Rahm. Shame Furyk bottled that three-footer, or Rory could have bottled in a play-off instead.

I reckon those words will really hurt him as he sips his drink on the private jet home!

 

[mister v]

It was great to see so many different people in with a shout, Im a rory fan and backed him at 14/1 a month ago, he's 7/1 to win at Augusta right now....... im backing fowler and dustin in the masters
Furyk played some great stuff for an old war horse and he comes across as a top bloke

 

[Grant85]

Enjoyed it. Love this stretch of Rory playing well.

Sure, he's had his issues shooting a great score in the final round - and didn't exactly go really low yesterday - but I'm sure if he finds himself needing to hit some great shots in the closing holes at Augusta, he can call upon 7 great swings he made in a row from his approach to the 15th through to closing out at 18.

I think all too often Rory has found himself in this position and felt he has to take everything on, play perfect golf and flag every appraoch - inevitably leading to unrealistic expectations and some poor shot selections. But generally, on the Sunday, Rory has done his scoring and all he has to do is keep it error free and make a few two putt birdies at the par 5s.

 

[rksquire]

Not a stellar round by Rory by any stretch, but a fantastic win against the deepest / strongest field - of course it's not a major, but it is prestigious and it is minimum reward for consistency shown so far this year. McIlroy in particular seems to polarize peoples opinions like he's a one man Football team (Anyone But McIlroy!)!. That said, he displayed a great level of maturity in the closing holes and not being in the final group helped him - he got himself in a position where he forced Tommy and Rahm to aggressively take on the 17th and take themselves out of the running.

Also,

* loved Furyk and delighted for him and Fluff - he's a true gentleman and a class act, a great final round.
* McIlroys fist bump to Fleetwood in Saturday after the latters birdie to try and get himself back on track
* Sunday leaderboard and frequency it changed. Who said golfs not exciting (apart from my wife).
* Golf is in good hands; Tiger is back and that's exposure; but unlike the Tiger era there is genuine competition at the top (DJ, JT, RM, BK with a healthy supplement of guys just a bracket down including JR, TF, XS, BDcB, not to mention Molinari, Fowler, Spieth (who will come again) etc.)

 

[Grant85]

It's certainly strange how people are quick to criticise players who get themselves into contention and don't get over the line, but give the dozens of top players a free pass who don't even get into contention - or who win the week they are playing well, but do very little many other weeks. Rory has obviously been hugely consistent and basically in contention every tournament he played - yet got plenty of criticism for 'not closing'.

Yes - Tiger is back, but I wouldn't be surprised if this is how we are going to see him. In the middle of the pack and not really all that close to winning.

He is certainly getting a free pass, albeit age and injuries are relevant. But surely at some point, people are going to get fed up / frustrated with him finishing well in the pack and not even getting a sniff of a final group.

Clearly he is going to be absolutely focused on the majors but there is very little in his form to suggest he can beat 90 to 150 of the top players over a 72 hole major championship (where no one is taking a pass, just there for the cash, working on something etc).

in 2019 he has gone...
T20
T15
T10
T30

Main positive you can take from that is that his worst of the 16 rounds was a 72 at Genesis, but mostly he is shooting 70 or 71.
In reality he is 8 to 10 shots away from winning anything.

 

[PaulyMcK]

Didn't watch it last night, but managed to catch the full round replay today without finding the result first. Delighted for Rory, hopefully we don't have to wait another 12 months for his next win. Also shout out to Eddie Pepperell, nice purse for him after finishing joint 3rd.

 

[Jimbop90]

Yes - Tiger is back, but I wouldn't be surprised if this is how we are going to see him. In the middle of the pack and not really all that close to winning.

He is certainly getting a free pass, albeit age and injuries are relevant. But surely at some point, people are going to get fed up / frustrated with him finishing well in the pack and not even getting a sniff of a final group.

Clearly he is going to be absolutely focused on the majors but there is very little in his form to suggest he can beat 90 to 150 of the top players over a 72 hole major championship (where no one is taking a pass, just there for the cash, working on something etc).

in 2019 he has gone...
T20
T15
T10
T30

Main positive you can take from that is that his worst of the 16 rounds was a 72 at Genesis, but mostly he is shooting 70 or 71.
In reality he is 8 to 10 shots away from winning anything.

You know 58 yr old Jim Furyk who hits it (in relative terms) nowhere almost won last night right? Tiger isn't going to dominate anymore (5+ wins a season) but to say middle of the pack and not really close to winning is way off the mark. He'll be right up there in multiple events each season and I'd expect at least 1 win a year for the next few years if he stays fit.

Those comments are like he's turning into someone who's happy to play for a cheque each week. He'd retire if he thought that's all he could achieve.

 

[PJ87]

It's certainly strange how people are quick to criticise players who get themselves into contention and don't get over the line, but give the dozens of top players a free pass who don't even get into contention - or who win the week they are playing well, but do very little many other weeks. Rory has obviously been hugely consistent and basically in contention every tournament he played - yet got plenty of criticism for 'not closing'.

Yes - Tiger is back, but I wouldn't be surprised if this is how we are going to see him. In the middle of the pack and not really all that close to winning.

He is certainly getting a free pass, albeit age and injuries are relevant. But surely at some point, people are going to get fed up / frustrated with him finishing well in the pack and not even getting a sniff of a final group.

Clearly he is going to be absolutely focused on the majors but there is very little in his form to suggest he can beat 90 to 150 of the top players over a 72 hole major championship (where no one is taking a pass, just there for the cash, working on something etc).

in 2019 he has gone...
T20
T15
T10
T30

Main positive you can take from that is that his worst of the 16 rounds was a 72 at Genesis, but mostly he is shooting 70 or 71.
In reality he is 8 to 10 shots away from winning anything.

Tiger did alright over the weekend, if wasn’t for that horror at 17 on Friday he would be what 4 shots better off so 6 shots off the lead

Ironically he apparently could have taken a drop on the island for his first

What a mistake

 

[Dan2501]

It's certainly strange how people are quick to criticise players who get themselves into contention and don't get over the line, but give the dozens of top players a free pass who don't even get into contention - or who win the week they are playing well, but do very little many other weeks. Rory has obviously been hugely consistent and basically in contention every tournament he played - yet got plenty of criticism for 'not closing'.

Yes - Tiger is back, but I wouldn't be surprised if this is how we are going to see him. In the middle of the pack and not really all that close to winning.

He is certainly getting a free pass, albeit age and injuries are relevant. But surely at some point, people are going to get fed up / frustrated with him finishing well in the pack and not even getting a sniff of a final group.

Clearly he is going to be absolutely focused on the majors but there is very little in his form to suggest he can beat 90 to 150 of the top players over a 72 hole major championship (where no one is taking a pass, just there for the cash, working on something etc).

in 2019 he has gone...
T20
T15
T10
T30

Main positive you can take from that is that his worst of the 16 rounds was a 72 at Genesis, but mostly he is shooting 70 or 71.
In reality he is 8 to 10 shots away from winning anything.

He only won 6 starts ago, in one of the biggest tournaments of last year. He's missed just 2 cuts since he came back from having his spine fused. I'd say he's doing alright, and has already proven since coming back he's good enough to win. I'm confident he'll win again this year, just needs a week where he makes his fair share of putts.

 

[pokerjoke]

I’ve just read Rory saying his caddie is now up there with the best caddies in the world,if not the best.
Now that’s delusion.

 

[HomerJSimpson]

I’ve just read Rory saying his caddie is now up there with the best caddies in the world,if not the best.
Now that’s delusion.

Not sure I'd call it delusional but I'd agree with your sentiment that his caddy is a long way from being one of the top bag men.

 

[Papas1982]

I’ve just read Rory saying his caddie is now up there with the best caddies in the world,if not the best.
Now that’s delusion.

Ive seen a few bits on fb saying the same. Having watched it yet. If he worded it as best caddie in world for him I could agree.

 

[Imurg]

So what can you use to judge how good a caddy is?
Some are an integral part of the "team", some just have to keep up and shut up.
You can only really judge a caddy on the results his player achieves.....results this year would lean towards Rory being right.

 

[Orikoru]

So what can you use to judge how good a caddy is?
Some are an integral part of the "team", some just have to keep up and shut up.
You can only really judge a caddy on the results his player achieves.....results this year would lean towards Rory being right.

I think for someone to be called the best caddy in the world, they'd have to win events with multiple golfers. Otherwise it's horses for courses, a caddy might be perfect for their particularly golfer but be useless for a different one.

 

[Pin-seeker]

Maybe the comment was more of a confidence thing.
Like when football managers say that one of his players are the best in the world,when clearly they aren’t.