Roundup: Tiger Insists He's Pain Free In Painful 77

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If you stayed up to watch you know it was an uncomfortable few hours of Tiger Woods in the Dubai Desert Classic. Without a helpful putter and any fluidity to his body movement, Tiger posted 77 as the field torched an Emirates Golf Club that will have strong day two winds.

A similar body language issue was apparent last week at Torrey Pines, where Woods looked less-fluid on day one after coasting early in the pro-am and swinging freely during the back nine (as temperatures rose).

He noted the early morning issue after missing the cut at Torrey:

Q.  Tiger, just following on that, how are you physically?  How have you handled the cold weather and what do you have to do to prepare for days like this?  I'm sure it's a process that's more involved than it's ever been.

TIGER WOODS:  It is, it's a long process in the mornings trying to get ready and trying to get warmed up.  You know, the task and the tall order is to stay warm and stay loose.  That's one of the things that I hadn't dealt with.  I haven't dealt with at home and we're basically in a dome down there in south Florida.  We haven't had to deal with cold, damp conditions like this.  It was different.

But, you know, it's something we had already ‑‑ we had been planning about and thinking about what we needed to do; how to layer up properly, how to stay warm, move around, exercises I may have to do on course while playing, different things how to stay loose and I did.

Any back injury sufferer, let alone one who has been operated on multiple times, knows mornings are the toughtest. Yet even with the best physio's to help loosen up pre-round, the lack of physical freedom must be a concern.

In reading those who made the trek to Dubai, everyone in attendance sensed exactly what we watched on Golf Channel's coverage: little comfort level from Woods.

Bob Harig for ESPN noted the cautious body language from range to first tee and early on in the round.

But this is the new normal for Woods, who moves around carefully, takes his time crouching down to read putts and seemingly has difficulty getting loose for early-morning rounds.

That was the case last week at Torrey Pines and again on Thursday, where Woods has dug himself a hole and is looking at another weekend off in his second official tournament back following a 17-month layoff due to multiple back surgeries in 2015.

John Huggan for GolfDigest.com:

It wasn’t all about misdirection with the irons though. Again displaying a disquietingly cautious gait and a stiff and ungainly finish to his supposedly “pain-free” swing, Woods struggled to make any real headway on a day when he only rarely strung more than one or two good shots together. Almost every hole was marked by mistakes that turned birdie chances into pars and pars into bogeys.

Alistair Tait for Golfweek.com on the performance as it relates to Tiger's past play at Emirates.

In seven previous appearances around the Emirates course, Woods’s worst score was a 75 in the final round in 2011. He held a 68.17 stroke average through 28 rounds, and was 92 under. So 77 is actually nine shots above his personal par.

“I wasn’t in pain at all,” said Woods, dismissing suggestions he looked to be walking gingerly. “I was just trying to hit shots and I wasn’t doing a very good job.”

Tiger was in decent spirits in his post-round interview and talking about adding lead tape to his balky putter, posted here by GolfChannel.com.

And the round highlights.

Four Captain's Picks: European Tour Unveils Membership Regulation Changes Impacting On Ryder Cup, Rolex Series

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Thanks to reader ST who stumbled on this middle-of-the-night, past-deadlines European Tour posting of major membership regulation changes that will impact the Ryder Cup and many players who juggle time on multiple tours.

The key element: four (instead of five) European Tour sanctioned events outside of the majors and WGC's must be played to qualify for Ryder Cup eligibility. There is more.

Firstly, there will be a greater weighting for points earned in tournaments in the latter stages of the process to help ensure the European Team reflects those players in form nearer the time of The Ryder Cup itself.

Race to Dubai points and World Ranking points earned in these tournaments will be multiplied by 1.5 for the two respective qualification lists with the first counting event to benefit from this increased weighting in the 2018 season being the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth. 

With the 2018 schedule not as yet finalised, the last counting event in the quest to make Thomas Bjørn’s team bound for Le Golf National in Paris in September 2018 is not confirmed, but the starting point will be the D+D Real Czech Masters at the Albatross Golf Resort in Prague from August 31 – September 3, 2017.

This is an obvious reaction to so many players not sniffing the 2016 team while playing so well, or, in the case of Thomas Pieters, requiring a captain's pick.

Secondly, following the introduction of the Rolex Series, no Ryder Cup qualification points will be available from tournaments staged anywhere in the world played in the same week as these events in both 2017 and 2018.

Pelley!

Nice move by the Chief to protect his newly-announced series of events and to offer a little more incentive. Now the bad news...

While this change takes into account the significance of the Rolex Series for the European Tour, it also recognises it will mean fewer qualification points being available globally outside of these tournaments, hence Captain Bjørn will have an extra wild card pick at his disposal for the 2018 team – the third change.

 It means the 12-man European Team for The 2018 Ryder Cup will comprise the first four players from the European Points List, followed by the leading four players from the World Points List and completed by four wild cards. 

This is the most disappointing concession to the increasingly absurd glorification of captains. It's hard to imagine after the first two improvements that many players will be heartened by better qualifying rules while one less qualifying spot is offered.

Darren Clarke reluctantly took Thomas Pieters over Luke Donald. With a fourth pick, is he taking Donald over Russell Knox? If I were betting I'd say yes.

Here's a fun little back room preventive measure for an unforeseen scenario:

Furthermore, the committee also introduced a new regulation stating that players cannot be a European Ryder Cup Captain or a Vice-Captain if they decline membership of the European Tour or fail to fulfil their minimum event obligation in any season, from 2018 onwards.

Rory's HSBC WD Will Seriously Alter Pre-Masters Plans

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Talk about a kickabout to Rory McIlroy's pre-Masters preparation plan.

While his beloved downtime activity of gym time is something Rory McIlroy credits for his ascension, his rib stress fracture was blamed on excessive club testing over the holidays. However, the gym work will be questioned after the almost-World-No.-1-again has WD'd from the HSBC Championship and perhaps other pre-Masters events.

Brian Keogh writes at the Irish Golf Desk:

The Northern Irishman underwent extensive clinical examinations on Monday after picking up the injury in South Africa last week and will now commence rehabilitation and return to golf when he is fully recovered from the stress fracture.

He said: “It’s bitterly disappointing to have to withdraw from the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship. I think everyone knows how much I love playing this tournament, which is one of the best on the European Tour thanks to the incredible support of HSBC and the Abu Dhabi Sports Council."

Last year, McIlroy discussed the injury-prevention intentions of his workout regimen, which was detailed here by Brian Wacker at PGATour.com, who sat in on the Men's Health cover shoot.

"I think from the start of 2011, the direct correlation between leading a healthier lifestyle and my performance on the course was the same.

"Obviously I'm trying to be strong, but the whole reason I started this is because I was injured."

Storm Wins On Patrick Reed Lifeline; Rory To Have MRI

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The European Tour's 2017 kicked off in wild fashion with 38-year-old Graeme Storm edging Rory McIlroy in a three-hole playoff.

As James Corrigan writes for the Telegraph, Storm thought he'd lost his card in October after a final hole bogey and by just €100, only to receive a lifeline from Patrick Reed. Now Storm's holding the SA Open trophy and all of the perks that come with winning.

But then the American Patrick Reed failed to fulfill the minimum number of events when skipping the Final Series and so Storm was handed a reprieve. And there he was, at the Glendower Country Club near Johannesburg, captilasing on his second chance in one of the most gutsy scenarios imaginable.

To win just the second title of his career – following up his French Open a decade later - and in the process ensure he retains his Tour playing privileges for at least two years was the stuff of fantasy. But to do so when going head-to-head with McIlroy, the world No 2 and winner of four majors, was, in his words, “totally unbelievable”.

The news was tempered by Rory McIlroy's upper back issues. With a chance to retake the World No. 1 spot in Abu Dhabi this week, he's headed for an MRI machine in Dubai.

“It was manageable this week with tape and a few pill, but it’s not 100 per cent.

"Part of me really wants to make this week because there is so much to play for with world No 1 on the line. But at the same time there is so much to play for over the whole season and I don’t want to jeopardise long-term goals for short-term gain. Hopefully, I’ll be good to go.”

Despite the pain, McIlroy uncorked some stunning tee shots, including a 392-yarder to open the week. The European Tour compiled this collection of tee balls of McIlroy and his new Epic driver:

 

 

All of the three-hole playoff shots in under five minutes, courtesy of the European Tour:

 

 

Tribunal Rules European Tour Unfairly Dismissed Scott Kelly

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The Daily Mail's James Dunn reports on the ruling against the European Tour and new chief Keith Pelley on the issue of unfair dismissal, but sided with the defendant on the issue of age discrimination.

A monetary reward will be decided in a February 6 hearing.

This was interesting on the topic of age discrimination:

David Mitchell, representing Mr Kelly, said the claims were 'concocted' fabrications after the legal proceedings were started, producing transcripts of emails and meetings where Mr Pelley said he wanted to employ 'millennials' and that another senior director kept his job 'with the support of two 31-year-olds - offering fresh legs'

Presiding Judge Andrew Gumbiti-Zimuto, in a reserved judgement, said: 'The reference to retirement was not any indication of the reason why his employment was terminated but a matter of positioning it as retirement for presentation only; to preserve the claimant's dignity by avoiding people knowing that he had been dismissed.'

Kelly has been described as a key figure in securing the tour's partnership with Rolex, but how much of that involves the recently announced Rolex Series events is unclear.

Video: The Wild(life) Hazards Of Leopard Creek

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This European Tour page has a nice roundup of the various (amazing) wildlife videos shot during last week's Alfred Dunhill Championship.

With Leopard Creek Country Club on the border of Kruger National Park, the wildlife stood out as Brandon Stone took the title. In fact, Stone can be seen here taking in the majestic creatures during the final round:

Only in South Africa... #DunhillChamps 🇿🇦

A video posted by European Tour (@europeantour) on Dec 4, 2016 at 3:10am PST

 

Jon Rahm: Europe's Next Ryder Cup...Headache?

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The membership question for Europe's next Ryder Cup captain and European Tour chief Keith Pelley may include Spain's Jon Rahm, a burgeoning talent who is saying all the right things. But he has made clear he will devote himself the PGA Tour while trying to get his career established.

That means an unlikely European Tour membership, putting him in the same class as Europeans like Paul Casey and Russell Knox, writes John Huggan from the World Cup in Melbourne.

“I’ve thought about the Ryder Cup a lot,” he said, after the Spanish pair combined for an opening foursomes round of 69, three under par and one shot ahead of the United States, France and China. “I so want to play in the matches; who doesn’t? But right now I need to establish myself on the PGA Tour. Hopefully, I will do that and make it into the top 50 in the world. Once I do that, I will be able to play in the eight tournaments that count towards the PGA Tour and the European Tour -- the majors and the WGCs. That is the ideal scenario."

Guardian: Rolex Series Doesn't Bridge PGA Tour Gap

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Ewan Murray doesn't deliver a Guardian-endorsed stamp of approval to the European Tour's new Rolex Series.

He questions whether the expensive funneling of cash to events that were already stars on the ET schedule is a wise tact given the number of events in dire need of an attention infusion.

Pelley remains quite the showman but close analysis of his work continues to raise queries. What this Rolex Series will actually provide, barring more money at the elite level of the Tour and enhanced media coverage which it is hoped will make golf more accessible, is a cause for debate. The gulf in resource to the PGA Tour remains vast.

One could make a decent case for the batch of events as boosted, with the French Open being certain to follow, being strong enough in any case. What is being done for the poorly attended, unattractive stuff at the lower end? Pelley has to be careful not to pander only to the players at the top of his organisation.

Murray also touches on something that has left me confused about the Series and many of these concepts created in various tour headquarters.

There is no overall narrative to knit the seven tournaments together and no combined prize at the end of them. The European Tour already has an order of merit, which it is stressed will retain key status. This, it is feared, could add confusion; the announcement of a second money list, lost in the Rolex melee, certainly should. Golf hasn’t really grasped the concept of simplicity being king.

It's bizarre that tournament formats floated to break free of 72-hole stroke play are often branded as too complicated, yet we keep getting all of these odd money lists, points races and other algorithmatic nightmares that interest no one.