Assessing Tiger's Memorial Week & A New Nike Contract?

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Strong analysis of Tiger Woods' Memorial week--in case you were suddenly down on the lad's chances at Merion--starting with this from Robert Lusetich.

Yet at Memorial Woods hit 46 of 56 fairways — good for fifth in the field — and drove it not just straight but long.

It reflected the work Woods has put in to his driving game given the importance of tee shots at Merion, a tight course where the winner won’t have played from the long rough.

In Ohio, his short irons were inconsistent, his short game bad and his putting was abysmal.
That’s a cause for concern, but those facets of his game have been strong points all year.
And then there’s the fact that it wasn’t a slow bleed.

Woods made 15 birdies — and missed countless other chances — but uncharacteristically blew up, making three double bogeys and two triples, something he hasn’t done in a tournament in 16 years.

Gene Wojciechowski went to the top for advice on Tiger.

And just to make the point, Nicklaus told a story.

"I'll give you this one," he said, smiling. "Last U.S. Open I won I shot 72-79 the week before. I missed the cut. Atlanta. OK, how's that? And then I broke the Open record.

"So I wouldn't read too much into that."

Nicklaus got most of the facts right.

He did miss the cut at the 1980 Atlanta Classic at the Atlanta Athletic Club, but he shot 78-67. And sure enough, he went to Baltusrol and broke his own U.S. Open record for total score (272) -- a record that stood until McIlroy's performance at Congressional in 2011.

I'm with Nicklaus. I wouldn't read too much into what Woods did here. He has won big here and he's stunk it up big here too.

Three of his worst 22 finishes as a pro have come at Memorial. It happens.

Meanwhile those sleepless nights for many of you can end now that agent Mark Steinberg reveals to Bob Harig that Tiger is just about ready to sign a new deal and that he hopes it's viewed as a "bold statement." The deal will be done as soon as Steiny stops yapping to the press about it and gets the paperwork in front of Tiger, Tiger says.

This was interesting:

Earlier this year, Golf Digest, as part of an annual report on golfer's incomes, put Woods' earnings at $77-million off the course in 2012. It did not break down what he received from Nike, although the figure is believed to be more than $20 million per year. Sports Illustrated, however, as part of a recent compilation called "The Fortunate 50," pegged his total compensation at closer to $40 million annually.

Steinberg would not confirm specifics of those reports, saying only that "those numbers are traditionally low."

Traditionally low?

Ageless: Captain Couples Edges Tiger & 14 Y. O. Guan Almost Does

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Tiger said his red-hot putter was undermined by a couple of bad reads but an overall decent ball striking afternoon, even if his Presidents Cup Captain and Hall of Fame geezer Fred Couples beat him in their (requested) head-to-head pairing. By no means is this a setback in his quest to win an amazing 6th Memorial or to get his game ready for Merion (unlike McIlroy's 78 in the benign morning conditions).

Dave Shedloski reports on the Woods, Couples, Bradley pairing.

"I won't lie to you, I asked to see if I could get paired [with Woods]; it probably might be my last time playing with Tiger," said Couples, who withdrew from last week's Senior PGA Championship because his bad back flared up. "Maybe at Augusta I might get paired with him. If he can be leading after two rounds again, maybe I'll get a shot at him. So I was blessed to play with him. And my goal when I play with him always is to try to hit it solid and stay out of his way. And today was a good one. I did beat him."

The 14 year-old Tianlang Guan missed a short putt on the last to post a still-impressive 72 in the afternoon when unpredictable breezes created headaches for the last few groups.  Doug Ferguson's assortment of notes covers Guan's late round and also includes an item on how fast the course is playing, another on Rory and a look at the cell phone task force at work.

Ashleigh Ignelzi and I talk about the opening round from the Nationwide Digital House, which is led by Charl Schwartzel (65), followed by Scott Piercy (66).

"Imagine if Woods and Phil Mickelson did something like that today."

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Great job by Doug Ferguson to remind the gentleman's game types bemoaning all of the controversy of late as an aberration that is not good for the sport.

This isn't the first time golf has gone way beyond birdies and bogeys.

There was the lawsuit involving Ping and the square grooves in the 1980s. There was Arnold Palmer and Jack Nicklaus, leading the breakaway from the PGA of America to start what is now the PGA Tour at the end of the 1960s. Imagine if Woods and Phil Mickelson did something like that today.

''It's not a perfect game,'' Curtis Strange said. ''Some people believe there's no such thing as bad press, but it seems like we're still having growing issues. We're learning how to handle doping issues, although nobody has learned to do that yet. I'm been reading about Lance Armstrong all day.''

And Ferguson also notes...

And it's not anything Finchem can make go away with a wave of his hand. Considering that golf is a niche sport, maybe that's not the worst thing.

Speaking of the racial dust-up from last week, Tiger was asked about it Wednesday and he continues to handle a tricky situation quite well.

Bob Harig with the lowdown on Woods' press conference that touched on the Sergio row, Merion and other topics.

"Well, I live it," he said. "It's happened my entire life, and it's happened my entire career. So that doesn't surprise me. It exists all around the world, not just in the sport of golf. It exists everywhere. I know that a lot of people are trying to make a difference and trying to make it more fair for all of us."

When asked about the abundance of outside-the-ropes news in golf this year -- the anchoring ban, Vijay Singh's lawsuit against the PGA Tour, the Garcia flap -- Woods simply said, "Well, I've won four times (on the PGA Tour)."

State Of The Game Podcast 22: Anchoring, Race Issues & Rio

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We cover a broad spectrum on the latest issue, including the ramifications of the anchoring ban, the recent racial insensitivity and my visit to Rio to see the Olympic course under construction.

Rod Morri hosts Mike Clayton and myself this week. As always, you can subscribe or listen on itunes, or below:



Steiny Gives Garcia Clearance To Move Forward With His Life

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From Ewan Murray's Guardian game story at the BMW PGA.

Sergio talking after his round about his call with Tiger ten-percenter Mark Steinberg:

"I talked to [Woods's agent] Mark Steinberg and he said to move forward," Garcia said. "But hopefully I will get the chance to talk to Tiger in person and, if not, I hope to see him at the US Open and we can talk face to face there."

"The only thing the Spaniard has achieved in the last 24 hours was to make a sympathetic character out of Woods"

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Tom English with a super assessment of the Sergio Garcia mea culpa.

By the time he had finished his mea culpa you almost started to feel some pity for him. Woods is not only trouncing him on the golf course but he’s also trouncing him off it. Woods has the career that Garcia always wanted. At one time, many years ago now, these two looked like they were going to form the rivalry of 
the age but Garcia has been a profound disappointment on that score.

The only thing the Spaniard has achieved in the last 24 hours was to make a sympathetic character out of Woods – a hell of a feat beyond the ken of so many who are paid to do it, but now achieved, ironically, by the man who dislikes him more than most.

John Huggan reminds us that there are others who have made mistaken comments who still populate the airwaves.

An off-the-cuff comment regarding fried chicken -- while brainless almost beyond belief -- wasn't as damaging or hurtful as Golf Channel's Kelly Tilghman saying Woods' nearest pursuers should "lynch him in a back alley." And, last time I looked, Ms. Tilghman was still on the air.

While Garcia is clearly guilty of crass stupidity, to condemn and categorize him solely on the basis of a single phrase uttered during an adrenaline-charged interview alongside his 2012 Ryder Cup teammates would be wrong. Just as no sensible assessment of a golfer's worth can be made after only one shot or one round or one tournament, the same criteria must surely apply to any assessment of a man's character.

And the Daily Mail's Derek Lawrenson suggests that Sergio's £5 million-a-year deal with
TaylorMade may be in jeopardy.  Even better is the photo that ran with it of Tim Finchem doing his best somber executive look.

Tiger Responds: "It was wrong, hurtful and clearly inappropriate..."

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Steve DiMeglio with Tiger's Twitter rebuttal to Sergio's fried chicken remark. There's a sentence circa 2005 that would have gotten me sent to the funny farm.

The Tweets:

 


 

Sergio's impromptu press conference, aired on Golf Channel and courtesy of them. Love that he was caught off guard by the question from Steve Sands.

And Taylor Made has distanced itself from Sergio.

“Sergio Garcia’s recent comment was offensive and in no way aligns with TaylorMade-adidas Golf’s values and corporate culture,” the company said in a statement. “We have spoken with Sergio directly and he clearly has regret for his statement and we believe he is sincere. We discussed with Sergio that his comments are clearly out of bounds and we are continuing to review the matter.”

Sergio Nibbles Back: We Don't Make A Difference To Each Other!

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If you didn't know they were grown men who whap a ball around manicured grounds and get paid lavishly to do so, you'd definitely have to wonder what happened on the first date with Sergio and Tiger. Actually we know, it was at Bighorn and it's been all downhill since.

Paul Mahoney with the full backstory in case you've been in a coma and Sergio's retort to Tiger's succinct "no" on any potential hatchet-burying. Someone please pair these two jilted golfers with Vijay, chop, chop!

"First of all, I don't have his number. And secondly, I did nothing wrong and don't have anything to say to him. And he wouldn't pick up the phone anyway. But that's OK; I don't need him as a friend. I don't need him in my life to be happy and that's fine. It's as simple as that. Like I have always said, I try to be as truthful as possible," Garcia said. "That's why I think sometimes most of the people love me and some hate me. I understand that but I'm not going to change. That's what makes me who I am and that's what makes me happy. And that's what makes the people I care about happy because they know they can trust me. Tiger doesn't make a difference to my life. And I know that I don't make a difference to his life."