"They're not making it public yet, but they're done. And you can tell by the way he's swinging the golf club." **

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Based on the improved look of Tiger's swing and an inside source, Steve Eubanks blogs that Tiger Woods and Hank Haney have split up.

Before the start of the second round of the Tour Championship, Butch Harmon nudged Adam Scott in the ribs and said, "It's pretty sweet that Tiger's trying to swing like you now."

In fact, there have been some noticeable changes in Tiger's swing of late. Gone are the exaggerated follow-throughs, the long, flat backswings, and the flat left wrist. The Tiger of today looks remarkably similar to the Tiger of 2001, a time when everyone said Scott's swing looked just like Tiger's. According to those in a position to know such things, there might be a good reason for Tiger's new look. According to sources close to the situation, Tiger and Hank Haney are, in a word, done. As one source put it, "They're not making it public yet, but they're done. And you can tell by the way he's swinging the golf club."

If true, this has been coming for some time. As early as April, when Tiger finished second at Augusta after hitting tee shots in every direction, he was observed making some curt comments to his instructor. At one point, the number-one player in the world turned to Haney on the driving range and said, "Get the f--- away from me."

Then in August, Haney signed on as the new director of the International Junior Golf Academy on Hilton Head, Island, a move that had many people wondering how Tiger's coach planned to balance his instructor duties with the demands of running a full-time school.

The final clue came this week when Haney was nowhere to be seen during The Tour Championship. With $10 million on the line, most coaches would have at least made a cursory appearance.

While no one in either camp would confirm the rumors at this time, evidence is mounting of a split. Stay tuned.

 

''If this is going to be our playoffs, I'd get three better venues that are a little bit tougher that might wean out some [players].''

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Jeff Shain looks at the low scoring at the playoff venues, and based on Woody Austin's remarks, this must be stopped because there was just way too much cheering, excitement and a fun viewing to be had! It MUST be stopped!

The notion that playoff tests are supposed to be stiffer is taking a beating during the PGA Tour's version. The average score at all four FedEx Cup events has come in below par.

Despite tougher conditions Sunday, East Lake GC ranks as the tour's second-easiest venue in 2007 at 1.68 strokes below par. Part of that stems from greens recently babied out of intensive care.

That wasn't a factor at the first three events, all of which ranked among the upper third of the PGA Tour's easiest layouts. Last week's BMW Championship was third, The Barclays 11th and the Deutsche Bank Championship 14th.
''If this is going to be our playoffs,'' Woody Austin said, ``I'd get three better venues that are a little bit tougher that might wean out some [players].''
If you are going to be Mr. Quotable Woody, let's crack open a dictionary before we use those big words like wean. And despite all of those birdies, somehow the playoffs managed to produce the best player ever as a winner.

Speaking of Woody, I thought it was peculiar no one (at least that I can find) wrote about his hiccup during Saturday's third round. They're bickering about it over on the NBCSports.com message board, and the clip is even up on YouTube.

 

Colt Knost Unswayed By Masters Pairing With Just A Midwestern Guy From Cedar Rapids; Decides To Turn Pro In Time For Fall Finish

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Love this comment to Art Stricklin:

"I will make my announcement this week, but I've been told to stay quiet until then," Knost said. "It's been very hard. Do I take a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to play in the Masters as an amateur? Or do I end my career as the No. 1 amateur in the world having won the U.S. Amateur and the Walker Cup with my team? I've been going back and forth."

 

Tiger's Super Bowl Win Ushers In Avalanche Of Not Particularly Flattering Football Analogies

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sept16_woodstrophy_426x600.jpgDoug Ferguson's Tour Championship/FedEx Cup finale game story features so much, well, cynicism. There's hope for the AP yet!

The FedEx Cup didn't change anything but Tiger Woods' bank account.

The PGA Tour's "new era in golf" came to a familiar conclusion Sunday when Woods captured the Tour Championship in record-setting fashion, closing with a 4-under 66 for an eight-shot victory at East Lake and his seventh title of the season.

The only difference?

This was the first time Woods walked away from one tournament with two trophies.

Along with winning the Tour Championship and its $1.26 million prize, Woods was a runaway winner of the FedEx Cup and the $10 million that goes into his retirement account.

If this was supposed to be the "Super Bowl" of golf, Woods spent most of the final round running out the clock.
It did seem like the worst case scenario was a Tour Championship battle in the final group whle another battle for the Cup took place in the early groups. Actually, a Tiger rout was much worse.

This is beautiful:
PGA Tour commissioner Tim Finchem first presented Woods with the crystal trophy from the Tour Championship. Before handing him the FedEx Cup trophy, Finchem alluded to the tour's promotion of the FedEx Cup by noting it had never been kissed.

And it still hasn't.

Woods simply held it aloft as the thousands around 18th green cheered.

Meanwhile, Steve Elling's football-inspired lede:

As it ultimately turned out, Tiger Woods could have taken a knee in the PGA Tour's so-called playoff finale and still won the biggest bonus in sports history.

But this is far more interesting:

None of the four players who had a mathematical chance of passing him this week earned enough points to eclipse what Woods had when he arrived at East Lake. So in addition to skipping the FedEx opener at Westchester, he could have taken a siesta this week, too.

Ric Clarson, one of the FedEx architects, seemed slightly taken aback when that fact was relayed during the final round. "That'll be a hard stat for us to look at, that he still could have won while only playing two," he said.

Gary D'Amato explores that angle a bit more in this piece and shares these astounding numbers, with-you guessed it-a football tie-in.

He breezed through 12 playoff rounds in a mind-blowing 59-under par. Throw out a "warm-up" 72 in his first playoff round and these are his scores: 64-67-67-67-67-65-63-64-63-64-66. That's not golf, it's the jersey numbers of the Green Bay Packers' offensive line.

Woods' adjusted scoring average this year is 67.79, which exactly matches his record average in 2000.

Meanwhile, Rob Matre posts final round images to go along some of his other fine work from the week, as does golf.com.

"Well, I think that overall the FedExCup was a success."

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A few highlights from Tiger's post-Tour Championship final round sitdown with the slingers.

Q. Kind of along those lines, aside from winning the TOUR Championship and the bonus, the FedExCup, how would you assess winning the first FedExCup?

TIGER WOODS: Well, I think that overall the FedExCup was a success. I think that there need to be tweaks, yes, there needs to be some tweaks, but I think overall it provided a lot of drama towards the end of the season, especially post-PGA when most of the guys shut it down. You know, post-PGA it's either Presidents Cup or Ryder Cup and that's basically all anyone ever talks about, now that the Bridgestone has moved to the week before the PGA especially.
I think we now know what they'll be wallpapering Tour headquarters with. 
Q. You talked about tweaks. Do you have any comments on what tweaks you would consider to make the tournament better? And what's it like, the final tournament for you this year, to go out with such a big bang?

TIGER WOODS: Well, I think -- what I described earlier to Fergie here, a couple days ago, I think that when you have 125 exempt players on TOUR and your first event is 144 guys, I thought a playoff was play all year for a smaller field, you're supposed to narrow it up, not have more players. Especially when we have limited field events, invitationals that have smaller fields, more elite, and I just think that the playoffs should be that many players. I think the playoffs you narrow the field down, and when you have 10 percent over what you do on the exempt player list starting off the first event, I think that's too many.

Consider it done!

Q. Have you ever considered playing the latest Jack Nicklaus course in Dominican Republic designed by Jack Nicklaus, 18 holes in the Caribbean with the capacity to receive the championship?

Huh? Oh sorry, Tiger...

TIGER WOODS: Say that again.

Q. Have you ever considered playing the latest course designed by Jack Nicklaus in Cap Cana, Dominican Republic, the only Jack Nicklaus designed 18 holes in the Caribbean with the capacity to hold a championship?

TIGER WOODS: I've heard about the golf course. I haven't been down there yet. I've always wanted to go. I haven't been down there yet.

Anyone have the slightest idea what that line of questioning was about? Television reporter/rally killer? Or are there actual rumors of the event moving to the Carribean?

"I'm concerned that, if you were in a sinking ship with Finchem and there was only one lifeboat, you wouldn't get that lifeboat. He'd have it, and you'd go down with the ship."

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John Huggan tries to understand Tim Finchem's buckets and mostly lets Peter Alliss consider the impact of the FedEx Cup on European golf:

While it is easy to make fun of the verbally-manipulative Finchem, the danger he presents to golf in the wider sense should not be underestimated. He thinks "outward looking" means anywhere inside the US. Hence his utter indifference when it was pointed out to him the damage the Fed-Ex Cup would almost certainly do to, for example, a suddenly star-starved European Tour.

"This so-called special relationship between Great Britain and the United States in all things doesn't seem to exist in golf," says BBC commentator Peter Alliss. "As much a politician as Tim Finchem is, I'm not sure he really cares about the European Tour. If we went under, I'm not sure it would register on his radar. He's always squeezing dates. The Ryder Cup is moving farther and farther back. All it will take is a bit of mist in the morning, and they won't get the next couple played in three days.

"He doesn't really seem to care. He's always going on about playing against the rest of the world, but only on his own terms. I remember when Greg Norman was going to start a so-called world tour. Finchem killed that, then virtually copied what Greg was proposing.

"I'm concerned that, if you were in a sinking ship with Finchem and there was only one lifeboat, you wouldn't get that lifeboat. He'd have it, and you'd go down with the ship. I really don't think he gives a shit. He'd be very apologetic, but at the end of the day he'd be looking after his own."
And... 
"The US Tour is a bit like going to see The Mousetrap every week, and going across the road from the theatre to eat the same meal," Alliss, a former Ryder Cup player, observes. "No matter how good the play is or the food is, you soon get bored with it. I know the counter-argument is that Finchem is not obliged to look at the bigger picture: he is employed solely to make money for his members, something he does very well. Look at the bonus system they have for making cuts. If Tiger were to retire when he is 40, he'd get some ridiculous sum of money.

"But for Finchem, the state of the game is neither here nor there. He is responsible for providing tournaments for his members to play in. I didn't think he could continue to find sponsors willing to put up a $1m first prize every week, but he has."

What has also boosted sympathy for Finchem's latest cause is the whining from players, most notably Mickelson, whenever the unavailability of the Fed-Ex prize-money is mentioned. The pampered souls will receive the cash only when they reach the age of 45.

"Professional golf has come so far in a relatively short period of time that I wonder how much longer it can go on and on," says Alliss. "The reaction of some of the players worries me. I never thought I would say there is too much money in professional golf. But I'm beginning to think there is. The top players are seemingly not tempted by anything. The Fed-Ex is worth $10m, and it can't get them to play every week. Money just does not stir them."


"Choking freaking dogs!"

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From a reader, one of six rising up early enough to catch The Golf Channel's Solheim Cup morning play.

The first morning match sees the Europeans get back to all square at the 18th when Sherrie Steinhauer, with the U.S. dormie, misses from inside three feet. Europe makes the putt and gets the half point. Golf Channel goes to commercial and the music rolls but the commercial doesn't kick in. And in that moment of silence Dottie screams "Choking freaking dogs!"

Our observant reader also noted that at the next commercial break, "they cut out so fast that Brian Hammond almost didn't complete his sentence!"

Nearly makes me want to rise early tomorrow just to watch. Nearly. 

"I don't understand golfers one lick"

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PT-AG420_Golf1_20070914142035.jpgJohn Paul Newport profiles Pete Dye and his new course just 30 miles from Manhattan. Thanks to reader John for this.

Never formally trained as an architect, he calls excessive dependence on computer-aided design "rubbish," pointing out that all the classic courses, including nearby ones like Winged Foot and Baltusrol, were built essentially by feel. He says his primary goal is to create a pleasing and surprising variety of looks and challenges.

Why are his courses so hard? "You might as well ask why people who are members of perfectly good golf clubs fly to Scotland and Ireland to play golf in the rain for a week and never come close to breaking 90," he said. Most of his designs are for destination resorts that people will only play a handful of times a year -- and difficulty seems to be what they are after.

"I don't understand golfers one lick," he said. "Personally, if I couldn't break 90 on a course, I'd probably never want to play it again."


"Perhaps the most important round of golf on The Golf Channel all year — this was a major blunder."

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The New York Times' Richard Sandomir was not too wild about the logistics of Golf Channel's Friday Super Bowl Tour Championship coverage.

Shortly after 1 p.m. Eastern yesterday, with the second round of the Tour Championship under way, The Golf Channel came on the air with taped coverage of the morning’s rain-delayed resumption of Round 1.

Tiger Woods was midway through shooting a seven-under-par 63 in Round 2 — live, I say, live! — to propel his surge to a three-shot lead.

But The Golf Channel was mired in its Round 1 videotape, although NBC Sports, which will carry Rounds 3 and 4 today and tomorrow, was feeding it live coverage. To anyone expecting live coverage of Round 2 of the final tournament in the FedEx Cup — perhaps the most important round of golf on The Golf Channel all year — this was a major blunder.
And...
The errors continued. While a network spokesman said that the channel had announced it was carrying taped coverage when it came on the air, I saw nothing until 2:11 p.m., when a small-type “Recorded Earlier” graphic appeared for three minutes on the screen. The spokesman insisted that the network had done nothing to mislead viewers because the action was being shown as it had happened. (But, unfortunately, not as it was happening.)

From about 1:13, when I began watching, until 2:11, no one from the The Golf Channel studio told viewers they were watching a Round 1 tape. Similarly, the crawl on the bottom of the screen offered no help.

The Golf Channel compounded its taped-is-better-than-live philosophy when, at 2:28, it decided that it was time to travel into the second round.

But it wasn’t live. No, sir. The Golf Channel cut from its tape of Round 1 (where Woods had just birdied No. 15 and Vijay Singh had teed off on No. 18) to its tape of Round 2, showing Woods on the fourth hole and Phil Mickelson on the fifth. And, yes, a few times, the channel broke out its “Recorded Earlier” graphic, which would have been unnecessary if the coverage were live, which it should have been.
But Sandomir gets to the heart of the matter...
If a logical reason exists for The Golf Channel spending the day in taped coverage when live action was available, it is this: for five hours, it had Woods full-time. It’s not a good reason to look foolish and shameless, but it’s a reason.

 

"We are treated to an intimate glimpse into the souls of those participating."

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John Huggan celebrates the beauty of team golf. Well, except for the ugly American antics he witnessed at the Walker Cup.

For example, two days at Newcastle told me everything I will ever need - or want - to know about the current US Amateur champion, Colt Knost. A highly talented golfer, one who already looks good enough to make the perennially hazardous transition into the professional ranks, Knost is, on the evidence of this Walker Cup, an arrogant and boorish so-and-so.

His reaction to not winning his singles match on the second day, when his opponent, Daniel Willett, holed a 20-foot putt on the final green to clinch at least a half point (Knost followed him in from perhaps a yard) was disappointing to say the least. After 'treating' Willett to one of those limp-wristed, no eye contact handshakes one always hates to see at the end of any match, Knost strutted around the putting surface for an unhealthy length of time shaking his head and staring up at the heavens. The implication was clear: How dare this obviously less gifted chopper make such an outrageous putt and deprive me of my pre-ordained victory? For Knost, his match was clearly all about himself and not about what he could do to help his teammates. Let's hope, given time, that this spoiled young man will mature to the point where his character matches his ability.
And on the beauty of team events... 

All of which - the good and the bad - is part of the inherent attraction of team golf. Win, lose or draw, we are treated to an intimate glimpse into the souls of those participating. Which is also, of course, one of the great things about match play. In a head-to-head contest it isn't possible to coast along, finish tied for sixth and pick up a nice cheque. Oh no. In match play there are winners and losers. And no one likes to be a loser. Or admit to being a loser. Somehow it's easier to start a post-mortem with, 'I came fourth' rather than, 'I lost.'

The best news is that, over the course of this month, we are going to be treated to a host of to-class team matches. This week I'm popping down to Dunbar to watch the ladies Home International matches, where the cream of the British Isles' female amateurs will be on display.

Then there is the Solheim Cup in Sweden, where Europe and the US will be going perm-to-perm in the ladies equivalent of the Ryder Cup. And less than two weeks after that, the Americans will be taking on the International squad in the Presidents Cup while, across the water, Great Britain & Ireland's professionals will be facing up to their mates from the continent of Europe for the Seve Trophy.

Okay, the Seve Trophy? In that group? Uh no. 

"Every week you hear fewer and fewer cynical comments."

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Stewart Cink writes a PGATour.com blog entry that the Ponte Vedra Blackberry brigade will surely will pass around, but I'm not sure if it's an accurate barometer for judging player reaction to the FedEx Cup.

I think what we can do is look at the tournaments that started two weeks after the PGA last year and go on those four in a row and look at the fields in those tournaments versus these four events.

We've got better television. The fields don't compare. We've got big purses. We've got big time golf, and all we did was move the tournaments that are in the FedExCup now from their current dates.
True. 
I think if you look at it like that, the FedExCup has been an overwhelming success. Now, we've got little nitpickers here and there, and I've got some issues of my own that I'd like to see changed, but overall I think it's been very successful. Every week you hear fewer and fewer cynical comments.

Who knew Stewart was so funny? Great player, policy board member and now stand up comedian.

By the way, I have officially given up posting all of the columns and stories critiquing what's wrong with the FedEx Cup. And the darn thing isn't even over yet. Just wait until no one has anything to write about in a few weeks!

Overall, I think the guys that framed this whole thing out did a very good job, and looking back, hindsight is really easy to use, but it would have been tough to make it any better on the first try.

Framed eh? Who knew the Tour had gone into that business too.

Meanwhile, Gary Van Sickle files yet another FedEx Cup critique and as always makes some sound points, including this biggy:

Now that we've been through it once, it looks like the playoff point system may be too limiting. Only six players really have a chance at the Cup in the current system — the four who win the playoff tournaments, and the top two seeded players. Nobody outside that group is likely to earn the title without winning twice. That suddenly makes the series seem a little less exciting, don't you think?

National Weather Service On Verge Of Declaring Tour Championship Unwatchable

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I've watched ten minutes and I can't take it anymore. The gray day, the lousy greens, the mushy conditions, the drab architecture. Brutal.

And what's with the towering spike marks? I raised that question when the story about the greens first broke, and now watching it's hard to imagine why the guys are allowed to wear spikes on greens like that.

Well, if nothing else, this gave Steve Elling a nice note to write on Steve Stricker...

With a $10 million bonus on the line, Woods' playing partner Steve Stricker committed an act of kindness that did not pass unnoticed by Woods, who is leading the FedEx Cup points race and threatening to win the tournament title as well.

As Woods waited his turn to putt, Stricker nudged his ball into the cup on the 16th green and promptly tapped down a rooster-tail-sized spike mark behind the hole. Mind you, Stricker is running second to Woods in FedEx points and stands to lose $7 million if he finishes as the runner-up in the cumulative, lucrative points chase.

According to the rulebook, players may tap down spike marks only after finishing play on a green, so Woods did not have the option of smoothing the surface himself. We'll let Woods, who was clearly impressed with the largesse of the Wisconsin native, relate the details.

"He did one of the classier things I've ever seen someone do on the 16th today," Woods said. "There was huge spike mark on the other side of the hole, and after he finished, he tapped it down.

"He just said he didn't want me to have to worry about running it a foot by the hole and face a huge spike mark. That's classy. But I was a smartass about it, and said it wasn't going to go a foot past."

Woods was making a joke, but as it turned out, he missed the 16-footer for birdie and had a putt from exactly 14 inches beyond the hole coming back.

 

Some Bearing...?

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Due to my travels, I've only had a brief chance to glance over the Tour Championship stories this week and feel like I've missed...so little.

Far more interesting for largely selfish reasons was Thomas Bonk's LA Times story on Bearing Point taking over for Nissan as host of what most of us will continue to call the L.A. Open.

Just typing out loud here, but this move would seem to have several ramifications beyond the most obvious: Phil Mickelson should become a Riviera regular since his great showing there this year and his lucrative deal with Bearing Point.

And Bonk noted in his golf column today that this virtually guarantees that Phil will not return to the Bob Hope where the rotation has been weakened and everyone's insensitivity to golf architecture has deservedly caught up to the folks running the event.  

But again, just typing out loud here, Bearing Point's sponsorship could mean a couple of more things:

- Is Phil Mickelson going to be the host of the LA Open ala Tiger at Washington D.C. and the AT&T National? It seems unlikely since the L.A. Open has been an open event since 1926 and it's hard to imagine the Junior Chamber of Commerce or a sponsor daring to impact that tradition. Then again, if the Western Open is gone, anything's possible.

- Could it be that Phil's current gripe with the Commissioner has something to do with the Bearing Point Open...oh that hurt to type...and a possible denial by Ponte Vedra of Phil serving as the "host" ala Tiger in Washington D.C.? 

- With the traffic, apparently bumpy greens, the Target World Challenge locked into Sherwood and Phil/Bearing Point dominating the scene at Riviera, have we seen the last of Tiger Woods at Riviera?

Anyway, just a few thoughts. I guess we'll find out more when the official announcement is made.