Where's Privacy When You Need It Files: Some Poor Hotel Manager Spent Friday Night Running Around Trying To Get Tiger A Firmer Mattress

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Tiger docked his yacht at Kiawah for the PGA but didn't have Privacy shipped up to New York for this week's event at Bethpage, even though he had it there for the '09 U.S. Open and--even more startling--this is the Playoffs(C)! He's getting careless in his old age.

Hank Gola on Tiger's wrenched back caused by a soft mattress.

“There’s a difference between being in pain and injured,” Woods said afterward when asked about ’08. “This is just a little bit of pain. That was an injury.”

Woods blamed the soft bed in his hotel room — he said he’d be sleeping on the floor Friday night — for his back woes.

“Must have slept funny on it,” he said. “Woke up this morning with it stiff. You know, as I warmed up, it got progressively worse, and then you saw what happened on the golf course. It hurt all day.”

Actually, Wood played his best golf after the back got worse. He began with back-to-back bogeys but made three out of four birdies beginning on No. 4 and added another on the back nine on No. 14. That came just a hole after the hill got him as he walked into the bunker on the 13th.

Jim McCabe found the performance impressive in light of his ballstriking stats.

Time after time, Woods was shown wincing, though the agony didn’t translate into misery. Woods matched his Round 1 stats – 9 of 14 fairways and 13 greens in regulation – and played bogey-free for the final 16 holes.

One of his biggest winces came at the par-4 10th. The pain was so bad that he walked slowly into a tent next to the tee where players can collect snacks, fruits and drinks. Woods stayed there for nearly a minute before proceeding to walk to his drive some 322 yards away.

That’s right. In pain, he unloaded it 322 yards, one hole after driving it 310, and a few holes before toasting it out there at 311 and 315.

Bamberger: "At Kiawah, Woods dabbled in some new material, and it was kind of weird, experimental and New Agey."

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Michael Bamberger isn't knocking Tiger's "too relaxed" suggestion because he wants to "encourage his artistic growth" but it also means he isn't buying the 2012 PGA postmortem.

Some odd thing was going on as he played on Saturday. He did seem to be ­approaching the round in an uncharacteristic way. He looked almost detached. Now and again he stared out at the churning ocean. He stayed last week on his yacht, Privacy, and he clearly did come to shore on Saturday with some sort of different approach. But not relaxed.

The guy must get sick of hearing the word major. Major, major, major. But it’s a conversation of his own making. He set the bar higher than anyone ever has. Big Jack had 18 majors, and Tiger was going to first match and then pass. He has been stuck at 14 for four years and two months.

It will only get harder and more intense.

"So at least we don't have to play this golf course with this much wind with balata balls. That would have been interesting."

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Some of us get frustrated with Tiger press conferences because he either intentionally holds back his golf knowledge or doesn't make the effort to take a question and use it to show off his insights. And of course, some insights he obviously must keep to himself to retain an advantage.
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Foley Says Kostis Mangled Tiger Swing Analysis

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Pete McDaniel talks to instructor Sean Foley, who explains how CBS on-course reporter Peter Kostis got it wrong in breaking down Tiger's swing last weekend when he described Tiger's clubface as being "toed-in'' when it really was the opposite.

Foley went on to explain that the shot was actually executed with an open clubface. Through body rotation Tiger imparted right-to-left spin on the ball and that's what made it curve.

"His clubface was open say three degrees and his body rotation amounted to four degrees. That's what produced the draw.''

Hank On Tiger Catching Jack: Odds "Probably" Not Favoring Woods

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Robert Lusetich on Tiger's presser today and his former coach's assessment of catching or surpassing Jack Nicklaus' 18 major wins.

“Remember, Jack won only four majors after the age of 36,” Haney says.

“The last one at 46 — the 1986 Masters — was a miracle even to Jack, so it seems like giving Tiger 40 more chances is generous.

“You also have to assume that Tiger is able to stay healthy and avoid any other kind of personal turmoil that could derail his pursuit of Jack's record.”

Ryan Lavner with the highlights from Tiger's press conference Tuesday at Kiawah, including compliments for Pete Dye and this about joining Phil Mickelson as a pro sports team owner:

• On whether he would consider becoming a co-owner of his favorite sports team in the future: “Absolutely. I just need a lot more money. My teams are the Lakers, Dodgers and Raiders, so I’ve got to play really well.”

The video:

Monty Blasts Tiger's Austerity Approach

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Jim Black reports on Colin Montgomerie's critical account of Tiger's play at Lytham in the wake of Andy Murray's aggressive play in the Olympic tennis.

As usual, Monty almost got it right.

"The Olympic title isn't a grand slam event but, at the same time, for Murray to go back to the court where he lost to Federer a month before and produce such an amazing win took a lot of doing. He tried to attack in their previous match, but Federer forced him on to the defence, while Woods always looked like he was playing for a place in the Open and third is what he got. You've got to bring out the driver and attack at some point, not constantly hit 3-irons and end up two-putting from 40 feet. Using your driver is part of the game, surely.

"I don't think Tiger is confident using his driver, having watched him spend two and a half minutes deciding which club to hit on the 11th tee at Lytham and, when he did make up his mind, he almost lost his ball.

"Murray showed that the way to win is by being aggressive and attacking. He beat the two best players in the world, Federer and Djokovic, to prove that he is as good as anyone in the game."

Now I know you've all committed my Golf World story about Tiger's week at Lytham to memory, but in case you didn't read it yet, I focused on the moment at the 11th tee because I was sitting there listening to the conversation between Tiger and LaCava thanks to intimate spectator roping.

It was a key moment and he did eventually hit driver. Instead of hitting a slight draw, which was necessary to offset the left-to-right wind, Tiger did hit the slight cut he'd been hitting and the wind took it about 30 yards right of the fairway in a mashed down rough area. So Monty got part of it right. 

That said, we will find out this week if it was a confidence situation or simply his strategic approach to Lytham, which, as I wrote in the story, kept him in contention but when the time came to shake the reins and make a move at 13 and 14, he stuck to the plan. At 7,767 yards and soft, Tiger won't have a choice this week.

Tiger First Off At Kiawah, And Have You Heard, It's Bloody Hot!

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The Post Courier's Jeff Hartsell is the local man on the spot this week (Twitter link here) and reports that Tiger was first out at Kiawah this morning for the PGA Championship and besides the dying winds today, players are noticing that it's a tad warm.  (At least the T-storm chance drops to 40% starting Thursday.)

But Tiger's "start lines" are good, so we can all relax now.

“I putted well the last two days, which was good,” he said. “I made some putts. And more importantly, I hit the ball on my start lines, and that’s something I did not do the first couple days. I misread a couple, but that’s just the way it goes. But at least every putt was starting on the right line, and that’s something that I’m very excited about going into next week.”

Tiger, PGA Tour Commit To Malaysia

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Tiger has committed to play the CIMB Classic in 2012 (Oct. 25-28), but more intriguing than that news was the confirmation that starting in 2013, the stop will be an official part of the PGA Tour schedule and FedExCup.

CIMB Group also announced that beginning in 2013, the CIMB Classic will be upgraded to an Official Money Event on the PGA TOUR and will be part of the season-long FedExCup competition. The field will also be expanded to include a minimum of 78 players and will carry a total purse of $7 million.

Wow, 78 players for $7 million and FedExCup points? The rich get richer!

"The plan has always been to become a full fledged event of the PGA TOUR, so this is fantastic news for us, for Malaysia and for the region," said Nazir as he announced that CIMB had signed a new five-year deal with PGA TOUR.

PGA TOUR Commissioner Tim Finchem said, "In just two years, the CIMB Classic has become an important part of the PGA TOUR schedule and we are excited that this relationship has been extended for an additional five years. The tournament will continue to grow in stature as it becomes an official event and part of the FedExCup in our 2013-2014 season."

"Congratulations to the nation of Malaysia and the CIMB Group on this important announcement," added Finchem.

Budding Bromance: Branden Grace Unabashedly Declares For Tiger

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The quote in Randall Mell's item on Grace's third day in a row paired with Tiger reads like Grace is being held at gun point...and no I looked, he's not represented by Steiny. Yet.

“I hadn’t played with him before, but now, to have played with him three days in a row, has been unreal,” Grace said. “I've learned a hell of a lot from playing with him. The way he plays shots, the way he handles himself and things like that, has been great.  He's there because he is the best in the world. I've seen it now, and I think people really criticize him, that is wrong.  He's one hell of a guy, and he's pretty much the nicest guy I've ever played with.”

There is something wrong if Tiger is this agreeable to play with. Mercifully, they are not paired together again tomorrow.

A Closer Look At Tiger's 2012 Open Championship Week

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I had the task of tracking Tiger for Golf World and I was fascinated by his conservative approach, something detailed in my story. Reading it again after filing Monday morning I probably reported a little too much blow-by-blow of his final round, but he still had a chance to win after his unlucky triple bogey.

However, the inability to fight the wind with a draw at 11 and the stubbornness to play safe at 13 and 14 when he need to shake the reins and press the pedal, took him out of the tournament as much the triple did.

Anyway...here it is.

Tiger: "He sticks almost slavishly to his strategy of conservatism at all costs"

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John Huggan analyzes Tiger's conservative strategy of just five drivers through three rounds and comes away impressed but also points out why it might not work with Sunday's breeze.

And this week is similar. So far, the longest club in his bag has made only five appearances, as the 14-time major champion has plotted his way around a sadly soft and almost becalmed Royal Lytham.

James Lawton in the Independent was less impressed.

It was not the scoring, which saw Scott denied an eagle by the barest margin and the Tiger always giving himself too much to do to glean a birdie, but the profound difference in their strategies.

Really, it was a gulf. Scott slugged a drive with immense power and control. The Tiger once more elected to go with an iron. Scott powered his second shot beyond the pin. Woods was well short of the green. Even after the years of crisis, the convulsions in his life and the disruptions brought by injury, it did seem like another small defeat among many.

Oliver Brown's Telegraph story was headlined, "Tiger Woods' refusal to gamble leaves him struggling to reel in leader Adam Scott."

He sticks almost slavishly to his strategy of conservatism at all costs, refusing to swap his long irons for the driver as he resisted flirtation with Lytham’s 206 bunkers, but the approach succeeded only in increasing the deficit to Scott, the more enterprising Australian.

Why did he not take a few gambles? Why would he not try to intimidate Scott with his power-hitting? The questions were left hanging in the air on Saturday night, answerable only by Woods’s apparent assumption that Scott, still a flaky performer in the type of stiff winds forecast on Sunday, could yet falter. For a man five shots off the pace, though, that seems a bold supposition.