Oscillategate Moves To The Forensic Analysis Stage

Before we get to the photos of Tiger's BMW ball move sent in by a reader, we have more analysis from a variety of corners.

Ewan Murray in The Guardian:

There are those who remain quick to denigrate both the game of golf and Woods himself at any available opportunity. Golf is treated as a chummy closed shop by its' critics and Woods's public profile will never recover from the misdemeanours which wrecked both his marriage and place in American sporting hearts. Yet even through that, his integrity when at his place of work was never subject to question.

Woods famously insisted he didn't "get to play by different rules" in 2010 in relation to his personal life. In the context of his golfing life, it is safe to say 2013 has now been overshadowed by a clutch of instances in which the finest player of a golfing generation should have known better.

Jim Furyk and Steve Stricker were more sympathetic, reports Ryan Lavner who quotes Furyk as saying he "didn’t realize that ball moved" and this from Stricker:

“The rules are tough,” Steve Stricker said, “and there’s always a fine line between oscillating and moving. A player can see it as one thing and the camera is going to obviously pick it up differently. … It’s unfortunate that he’s been at the center of this about three times this year. I don’t know why, if it’s just because all the TV is on him or what.”

And while many of us struggled to see the move in the first version, the zoom-in by Golf Channel was more clear and this screen grab by a reader who asked to remain anonymous does show the ball moving, not oscillating. The reader writes:

Even in this pixillated version from the original video you posted the ball clearly settled relative to the stick in front of it from this perspective, by at least one dimple in both the full-screen and blow-ups after Tiger moved piece of leaf litter or whatever he touched..  That is well within the visual resolution of any golfer and is why Tiger stopped.  He had to see it.  Had the ball oscillated, the left and center pieces of mud on the ball would have moved or rocked back up.  They didn’t.

Click on the image to enlarge:

Update on 2013-09-17 06:20 by Geoff

**The Art Department offers an even better version and it shows the ball moving, but every so slightly.

Brandel: "I’m also critical, because I stood next to him and I watched the greatest golf swing the game has ever seen."

Ed Sherman interviewed Brandel Chamblee about a number of topics and naturally as these things are prone to do, the talk went back to Tiger criticism. He tells Sherman that Tiger would have 25 majors by now if he'd stuck with Butch Harmon.

I found this interesting:

Tiger always was going somewhere with his golf game. Now he’s going somewhere with his golf swing.

That’s where I’m critical of him. He was in the middle of this one, long flawless note and he stopped or he was interrupted, whichever one you want to choose. And he’s trying to recreate it again.

I’m also critical, because I stood next to him and I watched the greatest golf swing the game has ever seen.

The greatest stretch of golf the world has ever seen. And he willfully dismantled it. That’s the craziest thing in the history of sports. Not golf. All of sports. There’s no equivalent to it, but if you’re a sports fan, it’s literally the ’27 Yankees starting with a new roster in 1928.

The full interview.

Brandel Says Tiger's Driver "Might as well be a dead mackerel wrapped in newspaper at the moment."

Alex Myers on all of the things Golf Channel's Brandel Chamblee had to say about Tiger's swing and approach in a recent conference call to promote the final two Reset Cup events.

Wow...

"It's a very complicated golf swing that he's trying to work on, that much fold, shaft lean, the down and the up that he has, the excessive down, the excessive up; you know, his driver might as well be a dead mackerel wrapped in newspaper at the moment. It's just awful watching him hit that golf club, just awful. It's really fun to watch guys like (Graham) DeLaet and (Henrik) Stenson and Adam Scott drive the golf ball. So yes, I definitely think Tiger Woods is overcoached."

And such nice use of the Sicillian message imagery.

He goes on to lament seeing Tiger warming up with a glove under his arm at the PGA, just a week after dominating at Firestone. Though this isn't unusual, as I've noted in Golf World the last two years seeing him do this in his pre-final round Open Championship preparation.

More interesting to me is Chamblee's point about how different Woods' game seems to be week to week. Like I said yesterday, a pairing with the far more natural-swinging and playing Jordan Spieth at the Presidents Cup might do wonders for Woods.

Stevie: All's Well With Tiger (*&^%$ Ass) And Phil ($%&^*)

If you were looking for a good laugh to break the withering playoff tension bound to envelop Friday and Saturday's Tiger-Phil-Adam pairing at the Deutsche Bank Championship, Robert Lusetich has the story of Adam Scott looper Stevie Williams, new pal of Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson.

Or so he says.

You may recall Stevie used a less than flattering bit of imagery while suggesting that he would like to insert something into Tiger. And with Phil he just went with the more succinct "prick" description.

The Stevie-Tiger make-up story started at Merion where Stevie says he sensed that his presence made Tiger "uncomfortable," so feeling the pain and concern for his former mate, decided at Muirfield during the final round--and what better time to chum it up than during a major final round--Stevie talked auto racing with Tiger on the 8th hole. Voila! They've been exchanging loving glances ever since.

“When I used to caddie for him I’d watch it at (their rented home) and after a while he started watching with me and getting into it.”

They engaged in small talk; as often is the case in such situations, the subject wasn’t important.

“He asked me how the family was and I did the same. We just talked, you know,” Williams said.

“At some point in time, I just felt we had to break the ice."

As for Phil, all Stevie said is they are "all good."

Call me skeptical...

Tiger In '12: Major Wins Make For A "Great" Year

For those wondering if Tiger changed his assessment of a "great" year last week to include one with no major wins, Doug Ferguson's notes column says you are correct.

And it was just a year ago that Woods made his case.

It was at The Barclays in 2012 that he was asked about three PGA Tour wins and whether he saw it as a good year or some other description.

''Well, I see it as absolutely it's a good year,'' Woods said a year ago. ''But I think winning a major puts it into a 'great year' category. I've said that countless times prior.''

Or he used to, anyway.

The Shark On The Shark: "It's amazing being the living icon"

Charlie Rose asks Greg Norman if he would give up some of his money for more major wins and the Great White Shark says "not at all," then cites the outcrying of support he's had over the years over his losses has made him the businessman he is today.

There are several other questions about the empire that is Norman and a nice graphic and, well, it's a bit of an infomercial for no apparent reason other than giving him a chance to talk about his brand building genius. As always Norman is engaging, defends Tiger's soft mattress-induced back issues, and talks briefly about Tiger losing his intimidation factor.

“I think the longer the time goes by with him not doing it, the harder it's going to be,” Norman said.

Robert Lusetich noted Norman's repeat of previous comments in this account of Tiger's opening round at The Barclays which took only 11 hours to complete thanks to weather delays.

Haas On Tiger Talk: "His lack of winning a major is the only thing talked about, which I think is sad"

Bailey Mosier with Bill Haas's remarks on the eve of the Barclays, addressing those questioning the state of Tiger's game by a season in which he didn't win a major.

"His lack of winning a major is the only thing talked about, which I think is sad," Haas said. "I think it's ignorant."

Tiger's Event Lands Title Sponsor

Granted, it's a one-year deal, but a bit overdue as the annual World Challenge at Sherwood is a sweet deal for a sponsor: nice ratings, nice field, well-attended, great pro-am and for much less than a regular tour event.

It's also $4 million Tiger won't be spending this year.

For Immediate Release:

NORTHWESTERN MUTUAL ASSUMES ROLE OF TITLE SPONSOR OF THE 15TH ANNUAL WORLD CHALLENGE  DEC. 2-8 AT SHERWOOD COUNTRY CLUB
 
Tickets for the Northwestern Mutual World Challenge are now on sale at www.worldchallengegolf.com
 
THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. (August 14, 2013) – The Tiger Woods Foundation welcomes Northwestern Mutual, a leading financial security company, as the title sponsor of the 15th annual World Challenge. The Northwestern Mutual World Challenge, held Dec. 2 – 8, 2013 at Sherwood Country Club in Thousand Oaks, Calif., will again welcome host Tiger Woods along with 17 of the TOUR’s best players to compete for the $1 million top prize. The tournament, co-sponsored by the PGA TOUR, benefits the college-access programs of the Tiger Woods Foundation.
 
“Northwestern Mutual has been an excellent partner over the years, and we are excited they will be the title sponsor of the World Challenge,” Woods said. “I’m really looking forward to competing this year. This event welcomes a fantastic field, and it’s always fun to come home and play in front of the Southern California fans.”