Thanks to reader Brian for the video link to this shot during first round play at Abu Dhabi. The shot was hit from the first tee (his tenth hole) during opening round play in the 2013 HSBC Golf Championship.
**Alistair Tait was there and documents the rusty start for both Tiger and Rory. His description of the above shot for the days after the video is scrubbed.
I think we can all relate to this feeling:
Woods hit a drive that would have embarrassed many high-handicappers. He hit an inch behind the ball and watched as it fell short of the fairway. The ball traveled only about 150 yards. Woods’ fairway metal approach still came up 20 yards short, and he failed to get up-and-down for par. “My whole game plan was to hit 3-iron or 5-wood on that hole,” Woods said. “I changed my game plan and wasn’t committed to the shot. I didn’t want to hit it. I was really fighting over that tee shot and should have backed off it.”
If you are really bored you can translate this Salzburger Nachrichten story (with photos) of TigerWoods arriving in Salzburg Sunday to (A) visit Mozart's birthplace (B) continue his ongoing tour to visit all of the filming locations for The Sound of Music or (C) visit the sister of his kids' ski instructor and Olympic skiier, Lindsey Vonn.
All of the explanations work for me. I guess you could throw in the beautiful weather this time of year, too.
What doesn't work, as a Dodgers fan who was under the impression that Tiger was a devoted Dodgerphile, is the Yankees cap.
Update on 2013-01-16 20:34 by Geoff
***Ahhh…those were the days. Manny at the plate, Tiger in the owners box with the not-beloved Jamie and Frank McCourt.
Not a huge shock because it was on his website schedule, but still nice to see Tiger making the flight from Abu Dhabi for a quick turnaround at Torrey Pines and the Farmers Insurance Open.
Besides getting to play legends using swings and physiques with which we are unfamiliar, the EA press info says they allow you to "tweak" courses on this edition.
Players, fill us in. Maybe there's a way to de-FazioAugusta and Riviera? Reesnovate Torrey South? De-Dawson the Old Course?
TigerWoods.com lands the exclusive year-end wrap-up by Tiger Woods where the buried lede was the news of his Foundation taking over management of the Deutsche Bank Championship. Oh, and of course, Tiger's immense joy upon hearing the news of Tom Watson's Ryder Cup captaincy.
But the best part was Tiger's posting of the emotional Edgar Perez speech that we'd heard about during the World Challenge this year. This ought to motivate you...
But at least he lays the groundwork for Tiger to entertain the idea….
"Tiger Woods isn't the No 1 golfer in the world any more," Palmer said. "We don't want to look backwards, we want to look forwards. So why would you get Tiger Woods here? I would prefer to have Peter Senior than Tiger Woods.
"I am sure Peter Senior could beat Tiger Woods on a good day. I am sure he could.
"Tiger Woods has improved a lot but he's an emotional wreck and he's not a good example for kids, anyway."
As for McIlroy, Palmer said: "If you rang him now he would probably tell you unless it's at Palmer Coolum Resort, I won't come.
"We can be sure he won't come if it goes somewhere else."
''I'd like to congratulate Tom Watson on his selection as Ryder Cup captain,'' Woods said in a statement. ''I think he's a really good choice. Tom knows what it takes to win, and that's our ultimate goal. I hope I have the privilege of joining him on the 2014 United States team.''
"I also think Watson is the perfect captain to get the best out of Tiger Woods, something we have not seen in Ryder Cups. Tiger only plays with Steve Stricker, but Tom will get him playing with other players ahead of 2014, plus, I think Tiger respects Tom for being very straightforward and criticising him when he spat and swore on the course."
Oh yes, he just loved it. Still does, to this day!
This will add to the team room fun should Tom Watson be named 2014 Ryder Cup Captain on Thursday, as Tim Rosaforte reports. Because, after all, Watson will likely helm a squad including Tiger Woods barring an unforseen, fall 2014 flare-up in his Achilles!
“I feel that he has not carried the same stature that other great players that have come along like Jack (Nicklaus), Arnold (Palmer), Byron Nelson, the Hogans, in the sense that there was language and club throwing on the golf course,” said Watson, a playoff loser to Stewart Cink at last year’s British Open. “You can grant that of a young person that has not been out here for a while. But I think he needs to clean up his act and show the respect for the game that other people before him have shown.”
At the 2010 U.S. Open when they shared the tenth tee together. Karen Crouse wrote:
As they waited to hit, neither Watson nor Woods exchanged glances, much less niceties, their cold shoulders turning the tee into an outdoor icebox. The distance between them was accentuated when the golfer Jason Gore made his way to the hole and received a warm hello and a hug from Woods who, like Watson, has won a United States Open here. Standing between Woods and Watson like a buffer was another Stanford golfer, Joseph Bramlett, who was playing with his childhood idol, Woods, two days after going through graduation ceremonies. It was three generations of Cardinal golfing royalty sharing a moment that could have been captured only by the widest of wide-angle lenses.
“His life is a lot more complicated now. He doesn’t hear that absolute silence when he’s playing, and he mentioned when he’s playing his best he hears nothing,” the American eight-times major winner told a news conference on Wednesday. “I’m sure there are things going on in his mind that make it very difficult for him.”
Geoff Shackelford is a Senior Writer for Golfweek magazine, a weekly contributor to Golf Channel's Morning Drive, is co-host of The Ringer's ShackHouse is the author of eleven books.
