Tiger's Frys.com Presser Roundup

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Yet another Tiger press conference, another comeback and plenty of takes on his performance as he prepares to tee off in the Frys.com Open (I'll be tweeting from the course...you've been warned.)

My take on Wednesday's presser and what this week means in the Tiger era.

GolfDigest.com's slideshow of Tigerisms included a few that were repeated Wednesday.

Doug Ferguson noted this about one of Tiger's playing partners Thursday.

He will play the opening two rounds with UCLA sophomore Patrick Cantlay, the low amateur at the U.S. Open who shot a 60 at the Travelers Championship a week later and was leading going into the weekend.

Cantlay at least met Woods on Tuesday when they played together in an outing at The Institute, the course where Fry's Electronics wants to eventually take its tournament.

''He was real cordial and real nice, and we joked around a little bit out there and had a good time,'' Cantlay said.

Steve DiMeglio sums up the highlights (it's the reps!) and notes this impact Tiger has had on the tournament:

And this is the first start for Woods in a Fall Series event, which has triggered an energetic response in this neck of the Golden State. Ticket sales are expected to more than double from 30,000 last year to 70,000. Media credentials tripled — from 100 to 300. Other increases included those in parking spaces (doubled), shuttle buses, security and corporate packages. And advertising and marketing — giant billboards featuring defending champion Rocco Mediate and Woods are towering over nearby Interstate 101 — were bumped significantly.

Steve Elling says with Tiger's pronouncements Wednesday, the expectations are high for round one.

But now that he pronounced himself healthier than he's been in years, and had time to dial in his game with eight to 10 hours of daily work, we should get a telling glimpse this week into whether he's still got the goods.

"Basically the lead leg is better than it's been at least three years," Foley said. "What he's able to do is put the reps in. People go, 'Oh the reps thing again.' Listen to any human-motion expert. The reps is the reps.

"When you have so many starts and stops because you're injured and there is a lack of continuity, it's very easy for the brain to go back to its most familiar pattern. There's no way around that."

Bob Harig is not sure the "reps" will translate to the golf course.

Whether that translates to tournament golf is another matter. Woods will never relent from his mantra that he enters to win, but the truth is he's completed just six rounds of competitive golf since the Masters. There's got to be some competitive rust to deal with. Although the Frys.com Open field is not of the high caliber he is used to competing against (even though Woods has dropped to 51st in the world, he's the fourth-highest ranked player here this week), Woods should not be expected to have his way.

Tournament officials say ticket sales have increased by 40 percent over last year's event won by Rocco Mediate and media interest required some juggling at CordeValle. October golf tournaments following the Tour Championship don't get much attention, but Woods has changed all that.

Harig also talks to Joe LaCava, who talks about the move to Tiger's bag from Dustin Johnson's.

"[Johnson] is a great player and a great kid. He was fantastic to me. He couldn't have been any nicer. He played great. The guy won a tournament, finished second, finished fourth in four months. The kid can play. There's no comparison between the two as far as that, it's just that it's Tiger Woods.''

And finally, Jeff Rude sums it all up:

Talk is one thing. Action is another. We’ve seen this over and over in golf, with Woods and other major champions whose careers hit major bumps. Despite optimism, you’re never sure exactly what you’re going to get.

Video Views From Cordevalle

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I went out to the 16th and 17th holes this morning and tweeted some video takes on what appear to be the two best holes on the course. No wonder the finish was so wild last year...

16th Hole video (Twitter downscaled it so just hit the full screen box to see it larger)

17th tee video (same deal, mysteriously uploaded in smaller format)

17th fairway view video

 

"What is an amateur doing in the same group as major champions?"

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Doug Ferguson explains how the unusual Tiger Woods pairing for this week's Frys.com Open came about. (He's playing with amateur Patrick Cantlay and 2010 Open Champion Louis Oosthuizen.)

The PGA Tour has been tweaking a few groupings this year to help make it more appealing for TV viewers. It starts with eight groups of three players - four groups in the morning draw, four in the afternoon draw. Twenty players are taken alternately from the world ranking and the FedEx Cup standings. The other four come from the winner’s category.

However, the tour now can have one “wild card” to swap out from the four players in the winner’s category. This week, Cantlay was chosen, and then put in the same group as Woods.

"With golf pros in town, host is set to unveil grand plan for Frys.com Open"

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Click on image to enlargeMark Purdy of the San Jose Mercury News says the Frys.com Open has two more years at Cordevalle before a long-planned move to The Institute, an ultra-private and, at least on Google Earth, an ultra-horrible looking golf course, owned by Frys founder John Fry. (Check out the hole I screen captured...giggles guranteed!)
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Turns Out, Obama-Boehner Golf Summit Was Productive!

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It seems ESPN dropped the infamous Hank Williams Jr. opening song for Monday Night Football telecasts following comments made by the singer-songwriter on Fox and Friends.

From USA Today's Michael Hiestand:

Says ESPN, in a statement: "While Hank Williams Jr. is not an ESPN employee, we recognize he is closely linked to our company through the opening to Monday Night Football. We are extremely disappointed with his comments, and as a result have decided to pull the open from tonight's telecast."

Williams, perhaps best known for his "are you ready for some football?" lead-in to ESPN's Monday Night Football, Monday compared this summer's so-called golf summit between Obama and House Speaker John Boehner as "one of the biggest political mistakes ever."

As Williams put it on Fox News' Fox & Friends: "It would be like Hitler playing golf with (Israeli leader) Benjamin Netanyahu."

Faced with no longer earning royalties, Williams clarified his comments to TMZ (taking the high road!) and naturally, blamed golf.

Williams Jr. adds, "Every time the media brings up the tea party it’s painted as racist and extremists – but there’s never a backlash – no outrage to those comparisons… Working class people are hurting – and it doesn’t seem like anybody cares. When both sides are high-fiving it on the ninth hole when everybody else is without a job – it makes a whole lot of us angry. Something has to change. The policies have to change.”