Tiger At Carnoustie: "This is how the game should be played."

/
Screen Shot 2018-07-20 at 10.34.33 AM.png

Tiger's opening 71 at Carnoustie would have looked at lot better had he taken advantage of 8-irons into both par-5s, but with afternoon conditions turning fierce and fast, Woods displayed many positive signs. 

And while he's not the first player to say this in the history of golf, it's still great to read:

I haven't played this championship for a few years now, and I've always loved playing over here. This is -- to me, this is where I got introduced to links golf. I played here in '95, and then follow that up with St. Andrews. That was my introduction to links golf. It doesn't get much better than that.

And I've always loved playing this championship. I've been able to win it a few times. I've just always enjoyed -- this is how the game should be played. It should be creative. It should be played on the ground. You can utilize the ground as an ally. When we play home in the States, that's not the case. Everything is going straight up in the air, but this is very different. It's amazing the shot -- the creativity. I mean, you can roll the ball 100 yards if you wanted to, or you can throw it straight up in the air. I like having those shot options.

Tiger Admits His Open Prospects Are Best Over The Long Term

/
Screen Shot 2018-07-17 at 5.03.15 PM.png

Reading between the lines, I was not surprised to hear Tiger suggest The Open is his best major opportunity over the next few years. I was, however, surprised to hear that a player averaging 304 off the tee this year can see the day coming where Augusta is too long for him. 

My Golfweek item on Tiger's pre-2018 Open Championship press conference.

Tiger: Carnoustie's Fairways Faster Than The Greens

/

Some fun stuff from Bob Harig's Carnoustie account for ESPN.com of Tiger's first practice round for the 2018 Open.

The course is already rife with examples of players finding the ball going extraordinary distances, whether it be due to the wind or the firm and fast conditions. For example, Woods hit a 7-iron off the No. 4 tee to position himself short of bunkers; it went 215 yards. His normal distance with that club is 180.

"Right now the fairways are faster than the greens," he said. "I am sure they will probably speed the greens up a touch, but I'm sure this will be one of those weeks where the fairways are a little quicker than the greens."

Also interesting on the narrowness factor:

As for adjusting to the links style of play and learning how far to hit shots on each hole, Woods said: "It is mainly trajectory. You can get the same numbers [yardages] with different trajectories. That's what is going to be important, how hot you want the ball coming into the fairways. You can really make the ball roll 60, 70, 80 yards. Is it really worth it or not? Some of the holes, can you carry bunkers? It is a risk/reward golf course, and the way it is set up right now, it is going to play very narrow because it is so fast."

Poll: What Would You Pay To View A Woods-Mickelson Match For $10 Million?

/
Screen Shot 2018-07-07 at 10.25.04 PM.png

Alan Shipnuck reveals for Golf.com that Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson have been plotting a $10 million, winner-takes-all (right!) match with major sponsors and television. It sounds like the concept is a burgeoning franchise in the vein of All-Star Golf and Challenge Golf matches from the past (Google it precious generation).

An initial match in Las Vegas — Shadow Creek is the likely venue — is just the beginning of their shared vision.  Mickelson says he and Woods hope to play a couple exhibitions a year, around the world. Sometimes they could partner up — depending on how the Ryder Cup goes, it's easy to envision Tiger and Phil taking on two top Europeans (a match with Rory McIlroy and Ian Poulter as the opposition could be particularly juicy). Woods and Mickelson are both shrewd businessmen, and they are trying to set up this new venture so they essentially own the matches and thus will get a chunk of the TV revenue, merchandising, and sponsorship dough.

That sounds like a pay-per-view model to me.

The value has decreased a bit with the whole kumbaya, bonding-over-hating-Tom-Watson, cart-driving mania. But, maybe the lovebirds can create some dramatic tension with the winner-takes-all approach even if we don't really believe it.

Tiger could bring his tailer to the first tell to help Phil get a better-fitting Mizzen & Main shirt.

Phil could replace brother Tim with Stevie Williams.

Anyway, we have time to work on theatrics.

So...assuming this is a pay-per-view model, what would you pay?

How much would you pay to watch a Phil v. Tiger winner-takes-all $10 million match?
 
pollcode.com free polls

Tiger Effect: Quicken Loans Ratings Up Big, All But One PGA Tour Event He's Played Showing Big Gains

/
Screen Shot 2018-07-05 at 9.50.33 AM.png

Paulsen at Sports Media Watch has a nice breakdown and chart following a strong 2.3 final round rating for the Quicken Loans National. That's up 92% over last year and 28% from 2016. The third round was up 143% and lead-in coverage on Golf Channel was up 147% Sunday, 129% Saturday. 

“The Tiger Effect” has consistently boosted PGA Tour ratings all season. Woods has played 20 rounds on broadcast television this season and all-but-one has posted an increase in ratings and viewership. The lone exception was the final round of the Memorial, which aired mostly on tape-delay.

 

Tiger Bullish On His Game Heading To Carnoustie

/
Screen Shot 2018-07-01 at 8.54.48 PM.png

Dan Kilbridge at Golfweek with Tiger's comments following a T4 at the steamy Quicken Loans National and an eye on Carnoustie. 

“Just trying to get efficient hitting the golf ball both ways and then getting comfortable hitting the ball down,” Woods said. “It’s a lot of different angles, so a lot of different crosswinds. I have to be able to maneuver the golf ball both ways there efficiently. You just have to hit the golf ball well there.”

And this from caddie Joe LaCava:

“He’s always played well at the British Open,” LaCava said. “As solid as he’s playing right now, and seems like he’s got his iron game pretty dialed in, I’m excited to go over there.”

Bob Harig at ESPN.com noted Woods was last in the field at TPC Potomac from inside 10 feet (making 60 of 73) yet was 7th in strokes gained putting. But also he reminded us of Tiger's solid (and long) history at Carnoustie:

To get there, Woods will need a good week at Carnoustie, one of the toughest Open venues and where he tied for seventh in 1999 and tied for 12th in 2007.

It also is where Woods, as a 19-year-old amateur, got his first taste of links golf in 1995 when he played the Scottish Open.

 

Bryson's Win, Tiger's Putting Pain: Strokes Gained Tells The Story Again

/

Mark Broadie's little stat that could has become a fun way for fans to understand how all of these talented, closely-matched players separate themselves on the PGA Tour. And the investment in ShotLink continues to help tell the stats story in a sport where the numbers do not always tell the story.

Regarding the 2018 Memorial, while it does not take a rocket surgeon* to know Bryson DeChambeau putted his way to Memorial glory and Tiger Woods putted his way out of contention, the numbers are still intriguing.  From the talented crunchers at the PGA Tour's ShotLink:

Screen Shot 2018-06-04 at 10.44.01 AM.png

Bob Harig at ESPN.com filed his assessment of Tiger's week and included this:

For 72 holes, Woods was -7.695 meaning he gave up more than 7 shots on the greens; had that number been 0, in theory he would have finished 7 strokes better and been leading or certainly in a position to chase down eventual playoff winner Bryson DeChambeau.

Mark Broadie took the comparison a bit deeper with this Tweet:

*I'm aware rockets are not operated on by surgeons, joke

Back's Tighten In Executive Suites Around The Country After Tiger Mentions Tight Back In Memorial Opening 72

/
Screen Shot 2018-05-31 at 10.37.27 PM.png

I'm not sure anyone is shocked to hear Tiger actually woke up a little tight before his 72 at Muirfield Village. Given his age and surgeries, some less-than-perfect days are to be expected. Still, gulp...we have majors to play! Ones he can win!  

Brentley Romine with the details on Woods' nice recovery after getting to four-over on his opening round at the Memorial.

Bob Harig's ESPN.com reports some quotes Woods saying it's a "days like this" situation and not the first time in his fused back era he's had tightness.

"No, I just have days like that,'' Woods said. "It's aging, and it's surgeries. It is what it is. Just got to make the adjustments. I'm able to make them now. Beginning of the year, I wasn't able to make them, because I didn't really know what to do yet.''

Tiger And Phil Issue Their First Impressions Of Shinnecock Hills 2018

/

 

Following their reconnaissance trips to Shinnecock Hills, Tiger Woods prefaced his assessment by noting the rainy weather and extreme length of the par-70 course. But as Brentley Romine reports for Golfweek, Phil Mickelson offered a rave review of the course where he finished second in 2004.

Mickelson spent Tuesday at Shinnecock. He went around with assistant pro Matt Cahill and raved at the changes, particularly the widened fairways and shaved run-off areas around the greens.

“Phenomenal,” Mickelson said. “It’s really well done. They renovated it a little bit and some of the fairways are a little bit wider, certainly the rough is as penalizing or more so than I’ve seen it, but the fairways are fair and the greens are as healthy as I’ve seen them.”

TigerJam: Bidder Pays $50,000 For Chance To Loop At Hero World Challenge

/
Screen Shot 2018-05-21 at 4.49.00 PM.png

The 20th (!) TigerJam last weekend raised big money and to introduce recent Earl Woods Scholar Desiree Sim, who is going into social work after graduating Skidmore College. So there was at least one person in Las Vegas last weekend doing something to make the world a better place!

While she was no doubt more impressive than the Elvis impersonator, I would love to know who the (undisclosed) live auction winner was of the chance to carry Tiger's bag:

The reception wrapped with a thrilling live auction, filled with luxury items such as an Advance Package Acura MDX SH and unforgettable golf experiences at Bluejack National, Diamante Cabo San Lucas and the 2018 Hero World Challenge which includes the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to caddie for Tiger Woods during his Pro-Am round at Albany, Bahamas raising $50,000 for TGR Foundation. Sugar Ray Leonard surprised the crowd as he joined Chris Harrison on stage to help auction off not one, but two packages for a one-of-a-kind experience to spend the day with the boxing legend.

Oh the questions that lucky looper must pose, or at least try to pose, right?

Maybe The Stinger Fan Club chair ponied up to ask the question we scribblers always come so close and yet so far from asking: why not more stingers? Either way, it's for a good cause.

Rare Vintage Tiger-Phil Pairing Nears, And The Talk Leading Up To It Is Just As Fun

/

Thanks to the PGA Tour making the rare move to pair Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson, accompanied by the equally rare sight of Phil Mickelson making his way into an interview room, we have some fun stories and revelations to amp up excitement for Thursday's 1:52 pm ET grouping with Rickie Fowler. 

Tiger remains upbeat and seems even more unphased by any burden to win, which I noted in this Golfweek assessment that also includes a few other fun comments from Woods' press session.

Maybe most surprising of all was Tiger's revelation that Phil offered short game help in 2015 during the chip-yip phase.

Shoot, at this pace we'll soon find out Tiger spent days Googling holistic arthritis remedies for Mickelson and that Phil offered to visit Orlando to help find Tiger's Escalade the right auto repair shop. After that, it could be the ultimate sign of a bond: sharing jet rides to tournaments. Sky's the limit!

ESPN.com's Bob Harig focuses on Phil's assertion that Tiger's peak will never be repeated by any golfer ever, and reviews the head-to-head match up, which this time around lacks some of the creative tension of past pairings.

In all, they have played in the same group just 35 times, with Woods holding a slight edge in their round-by-round scores at 16-15-4. Woods' scoring average is also slightly better, 69.60 to 69.91.

Woods won five of the tournaments in which they were grouped at some point, including the 2006 PGA Championship and the 2008 U.S. Open. Mickelson won three.

 

Brian Wacker notes at Golf World that the harmony is all the more touching giving where these two have been at times, though this is also hardly Ali-Frazier kissing and making up, either.

Tiger Can't Figure Out Quail Hollow's Greens, Heads To Players For Marquee Pairing With Phil, Rickie

/
Screen Shot 2018-05-06 at 11.33.18 PM.png

From Bob Harig's ESPN.com account of Tiger's mediocre Wells Fargo Championship appearance in advance of his return to the TPC Sawgrass, where Woods has a two wins, a runner-up and a U.S. Amateur win.

For the fourth straight day, Woods needed more than 30 putts in his round, taking 126 for the week. And after hitting 15 greens in regulation on Saturday, he managed just 10 on Sunday and hit only four fairways. He hit just 25 of 56 for the week.

As well as Woods is hitting the ball off the tee -- he averaged 313 yards from the tee -- he's not been accurate enough to give himself chances to hit it close. And when you're putting poorly, even hitting it close is no guarantee.

Statistically, it was Tiger's best ballstriking week in his return, writes Golfweek's Dan Kilbridge.

He was inside the top 20 in stokes gained: putting at Torrey Pines, PGA National and Bay Hill. He was 39th while playing Innisbrook for the first time as a professional at the Valspar Championship, but he pulled off a runner-up finish due to his superior iron play.

Woods set season highs in strokes gained: off-the-tee (2.997) and strokes gained: approach-the-green (4.530) at the Wells Fargo, which illustrates just how uncomfortable he was around the greens while finishing T-55.

Tiger Tracker's round-up of notes features a fairly blunt assessment: great distance off the tee, too many wayward drives and way too many birdies, an inability to adapt to the green speed, but great spirits after the round. 

Now The Players awaits, where Tiger is excited to be playing with Phil Mickelson and Rickie Fowler, writes GolfChannel.com's Nick Menta and Rex Hoggard. 

As for his light birdie week, including Sunday's shutout, master statistician Justin Ray offered this:

What Has Wall Street Bullish On Golf Stocks?

/

We know about the bizarre correlation between Tiger Woods' play and market bullishness, but given the recent market fluctuations Luke Kerr-Dineen understandably tries to surmise what seems to have Wall Street placing buy ratings on Callaway and Acushnet, among others.

The Tiger factor is again in play, but it may also be something as simple as this:

The growth is supported by an encouraging uptick in overall equipment sales as reported by golf research firm Golf Datatech, including a 23-percent increase in woods sales (in dollars) in March year-over-year, and a 46-percent increase in wedges.