Tiger wins

[JustOne]

Re: He's back

Those last two holes should be of great concern to the rest of the players. Johnson was in pole position and playing first hit two great shots into 17 & 18 to really put the pressure on and Tiger stuck it inside him and then made the putts. Tiger will get so much confidence from that and not only does he now know he can trust his swing - the rest of golf knows he can trust it

Great post Hawkeye, I totally agree, it was rivetting.... one down standing on the 17th and Zach stuffs it to 12ft, practically game over.... up steps Tiger and wasn't it just two awesome shots under pressure???

In the first instance I thought he'd be lucky to hit the green but when he dropped the putt for birdie you could feel the hairs on your neck stand up.

Same on the 18th, to play that iron into 6ft after Zach was at 10ft was awesome.... the rest is history.


Top marks to Zach Johnson for his reaction, he played pretty solid and it took 3 under par to beat him.

 

[Dodger]

Re: He's back

You don't like him that's obvious but lets get the facts straight. He doesn't automatically qualify, he is host yes, but that doesn't mean he plays. And he doesn't personally invite the players. The official invite list is the four major winners, the top 11 available in the world rankings, the defending champion and two sponsors invites who have to be in the world top 50. Woods played on a sponsors invite as he was 49th in the world at the time entry closed. If he'd slipped to 51 he wouldn't have played.



As for the ranking points, that's not Tiger's decision either. Any of those 18 could have won but they didn't, Tiger did and will donate every penny of the prize money to the associated charities making it nearly $10M he has donated from winnings in this tournament alone.

Hate him if you want, wish him ill if you want but don't let that blind you from the facts. Tiger has been and maybe still is a bit of a tit but he is great to watch when on top of his game and does a lot of good for under priveleged kids so he's not all bad

Great post......don't let the facts get in the way of an ill informed rant.

 

[Wildrover]

Re: He's back

Personally I'm not sure Tiger is back, his driver was terrible and I don't think he would get it round a tougher venue as well. It was a limited field, unofficial event that means little.

I also hope that he doesn't get back to what he was, I didn't like him or his arrogance before the revelations so I'm hoping he comes back with a new attitude, cuts out the spitting and cussing and plays with a bit more respect for the game and his fellow competitors, like he said he would when he got caught out. I'm hoping for this but I seriously doubt it will happen and he will be as big a chopper as he was before, if not bigger. I will also stop watching the US coverage on sky when he plays as I find the American coverage tedious at the best of times but when it is blanket coverage of everything Tiger does from when he arrives at the course to when he leaves it is just horrendous.

 

[Dodger]

Re: He's back

When has Tiger ever been a good driver of the golf ball?

Never,he has always been wayward from the tee.

Last night it seemed that there was a lot of doubt in his mind but he got the job done with a B game.The event may have been small but this is a huge huge win for him.

He's back.

 

[Wildrover]

Re: He's back

Lets also not forget that everyone else in the field had played a full schedule this season and probably ready for a break whereas Tiger is very lightly raced to say the least. Lets not forget he couldn't win the Aussie Open a couple of weeks ago against a very weak field when compared to an average US tour event, so this for me is definately not him back, it might be the start of a return but he is most definately not back yet.

 

[rickg]

Re: He's back

You don't like him that's obvious but lets get the facts straight. He doesn't automatically qualify, he is host yes, but that doesn't mean he plays. And he doesn't personally invite the players. The official invite list is the four major winners, the top 11 available in the world rankings, the defending champion and two sponsors invites who have to be in the world top 50. Woods played on a sponsors invite as he was 49th in the world at the time entry closed. If he'd slipped to 51 he wouldn't have played.

As for the ranking points, that's not Tiger's decision either. Any of those 18 could have won but they didn't, Tiger did and will donate every penny of the prize money to the associated charities making it nearly $10M he has donated from winnings in this tournament alone.

Hate him if you want, wish him ill if you want but don't let that blind you from the facts. Tiger has been and maybe still is a bit of a tit but he is great to watch when on top of his game and does a lot of good for under priveleged kids so he's not all bad

Spot on!!! Great post...

 

[HawkeyeMS]

Re: He's back

Lets also not forget that everyone else in the field had played a full schedule this season and probably ready for a break whereas Tiger is very lightly raced to say the least. Lets not forget he couldn't win the Aussie Open a couple of weeks ago against a very weak field when compared to an average US tour event, so this for me is definately not him back, it might be the start of a return but he is most definately not back yet.

lets also not forget to try to find some other way to belittle the achievement. Donald has played more this year than probably any other player in the world but it didn't stop him winning at Disney to top the money list.

 

[Deleted member 1418]

Re: He's back

Personally I don't really care!

 

[CMAC]

Re: He's back

Loved the finish, exciting golf as it should be.

That entrance to the 18th was tiny, Tiger played an iron, Zach pulled out the driver...now that's guts, taking on that narrow entrance when your level with Tiger woods who has just split the fairway with one hole to go and you haven't won a tournament in a long time, awesome Zach, just awesome. Plus I loved how he just smiled to his caddy as Tiger holed yet again with a knowing look of "yup, expected that"
Got a whole new respect for you Mr Johnson (or is it Joaquin Phoenix)

 

[BTatHome]

Re: He's back

That entrance to the 18th was tiny, Tiger played an iron, Zach pulled out the driver...now that's guts,

He did get very lucky with the drive though. clattering through the trees to bounce out the other side, and onto the fairway

.... a bit like McDowell did last year

 

[bluewolf]

Re: He's back

well done Eldrick. Im not your biggest fan, and the performance wasn't top drawer yet. But the mental strength looks like its back. and that should frighten a lot of people (and cocktail waitresses)..2012 looks like its going to be a cracker of a year, and we'll find out just how good some of the young breed really are..

 

[HawkeyeMS]

Re: He's back

Was it guts taking the driver or stupidity? He didn't need to hit driver there and got lucky.

Having said that, I like Johnson, maybe not the best player but has a great short game, is a good putter and is a real gutsy player. Also when he gets a sniff of a win you know he's not gonna give it away, if he loses, it's because he is beaten not because he blows it

 

[HomerJSimpson]

Re: He's back

You can't really argue with birdie, birdie to close the event out. That putt at the last was never anywhere else and I am sure it will do more for Woods comeback than hundreds of hours on the range. He knows he can pitch up with some pretty decent players and still produce it at the death. If he'd gone par, par and lost by one everyone would have said he had choked but he found a way to get it done.

He's never been a good driver and has been trying to play with a game that was C- at best and you can't score from where he was hitting it. He's probably B- now and the bad shots are becoming easier to find (a good start) and play from. If he can get the driver to behave for four rounds the rest of his game will soon slot back and he'll contend. I don't know if I truely believe he has another major in him but it'll sure be fun watching him try.

 

[triple_bogey]

Re: He's back

That stinger shot of his, is a thing of pure beauty. His tee off on the 18th with an iron went further than Zach's driver...lol.

 

[HawkeyeMS]

Re: He's back

Johnson's drive did hit a tree though

 

[richart]

Re: He's back

I always enjoy a tournament more when Tiger is contending on the last day. Not a fan of him personally, and there are certainly a lot more likeable characters on the tour, but he is box office. My worry for him is not his long game, always been long and wild. His mid and short irons look good, it is his short game and in particular his putting. I heard a stat that he was 170 odd in sand saves. I don't believe he has suddenly become a poor sand player, I believe it is that he is not holing nearly as many putts inside 10 feet.

A lot of players struggle with the putter as they get older, especially the players that were very aggresive when young, such as Tom Watson. Suddenly the three and four footers back are not so easy. Tiger must be in his mid 30's now, and his nerves may not be quite what they were two or three years ago. The two putts he holed on the last two holes were great, but it was noticeable that he was changing his putting grip during the tournament, so he is obviously not happy with it.

I will reserve judgement on whether he is really back until his putting stands up to the pressures of a major.

 

[Piece]

Re: He's back

But his swing?

Nasty. He has no idea where his driver is going, and only really seems comfortable off the tee hitting his stinger 2i. His shorter irons look pretty tidy, but any club he tries to give some welly is a disaster waiting to happen. He should at least know if it is going to go left or right at his level.

This two plane swing thing does not work for me either.

He is still dipping into the shot.

Not nice.

Oh, and it is really not his fault that the cameras would rather follow him round the practice green than show someone else out on the course.

Sorry, don't agree with this at all. I thought his swing was looking more solid than for a long time. Tiger has never been a great driver of the ball, but it actually wasn't that wild...certainly no more than i saw from others! His 3 wood was excellent, able to move it both ways. And that's the key for him at the moment as last year he could only move it one way. Also the high cut shot is back on form. Lastly, he's always dipped to some degree.

 

[pbrown7582]

Re: He's back

Despite all the other stuff you can't argue with his golf good to see his form returning.

Form is temporary
Class is permanent

 

[Region3]

Re: He's back

I know they say that in matchplay it's best to get your shot in first to put some pressure on, but I wonder if Johnson took driver to try to make Woods hit to the green first.
If he hadn't have hit the tree he'd have been further than Woods.

 

[USER1999]

Re: He's back

Sorry, don't agree with this at all. I thought his swing was looking more solid than for a long time. Tiger has never been a great driver of the ball, but it actually wasn't that wild...certainly no more than i saw from others! His 3 wood was excellent, able to move it both ways. And that's the key for him at the moment as last year he could only move it one way. Also the high cut shot is back on form. Lastly, he's always dipped to some degree.

Big hook on 1, massive block on 2. Solid stuff.

He was never the best driver of a ball, but to me he looks worse than ever.

His latest swing with a driver makes Milka singhs look tidy. Not good.

Iron play, fine.