This Week In Golf Channel Ratings: Big Break NFL Beats FedExCup Action...Again

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Just like last week, the Big Break NFL beat out the start of the PGA Tour season where crucial FedExCup points are on the line until they fall victim of next summer's reset.

For the week of October 14-20, the Not Justin Timberlake in Las Vegas was beaten in the battle of the .1's, but at least the Vegas stop crossed the 200,000 mark in viewers, a barrier the PGA Tour season-opening Frys.com Open was unable to break.

Also note the healthy ratings for the Long Drive Championship, which beat Thursday's PGA Tour coverage and Sunday's conclusion of the European Tour event.

Son of the Bronx posts the numbers.

Jaime Diaz's State Of Tiger Woods, 2013

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The Golf World editor and Golf Digest contributor's annual Golf Digest look at Tiger Woods has not included quotes from Tiger his ownself in some time, but an all-star cast weighs in on all things Woods and his pursuit of history.

A few of the items that stood out for me, starting with this on dings:

The specter of injury also diminishes Woods' chances. The frequency of his "dings" went up in 2013 compared to 2012, the most consequential being the left-elbow pain he said began at the Players Championship and bothered him at the Memorial and the U.S. Open. At the Barclays, he announced early in the week that he woke with a stiff back from a soft mattress; by Sunday, spasms literally brought him to his knees. His surgically repaired left knee held up, but it will always be a worry.

Tiger's always been prone to dings, but you do wonder if he's giving new thought to his strength regimin as he nears the big 4-0 so that he can recover better?

In my viewing of his rounds this year, distance was an issue more than accuracy. For him it's as much of a mental boost as a strategic aid in overpowering a course. Once able to call on a huge drive when he needed to, Tiger is average off the tee in today's game.

Woods' weakest club continues to be the driver. He has gotten statistically straighter off the tee (though he hits proportionally more 3-woods and 5-woods than ever), but he has dropped from the first rank of the game's power players, almost certainly for good. As of early September, his measured clubhead speed of 118.68 miles per hour ranked 26th on the PGA Tour, his ball speed 24th. He was 32nd in going for reachable holes, and 56th in driving distance (292.7 yards).

As for his attitude, I don't get Paul Azinger's comment below since Tiger's always exuded something other than intense calmness, often to the chagrin of observers.

"I no longer see in Tiger that intense calmness you sense in a confident man," says Paul Azinger. "When you act edgy and irritable, you're exposing your lack of confidence. For a long time he seemed to be the most disciplined golfer in the world, and that was a big part of his intimidation."

Hasn't he always had days where he's edgy and irritable on the course? Isn't that just his way?

Stat Dude: "Long game is more important than short game."

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The inevitable re-interpretation of the amazing ShotLink treasure trove is about to start becoming a major topic in the game as Tim Rosaforte recently noted.

Jason Sobel delves into Mark Broadie's view on golf stats and mentions Broadie's upcoming book, “Every Shot Counts.” His message: "Long game is more important than short game."

“When I compare the top players on the PGA Tour, I find that the long game contributes about two-thirds to their success while the short game and putting contributes about one-third,” Broadie said. “Initially I was surprised, so I analyzed the data in different ways and found that all roads led to the same conclusion.”

For example, in any given year if you looked at the scoring average of the top 10 on the money list compared with those ranking 116-125, the scoring average differential would be about two strokes. Based on Broadie’s comparative analysis, about 1.4 of those strokes gained would come from the long game, while only 0.6 would be attributable to short game and putting.

Larry Dorman also takes a look at Broadie's book and offers a similarly positive review, though he focuses on several different elements, including this about Tiger's putting prowess getting too much love:

As the author points out, “applying math to settled wisdom,” putting accounted for an average of 28 percent of the strokes Woods gained in his 24 victories.

“This is significantly less than the winners overall average of 35 percent,” Broadie writes. “In his victories, Tiger gained 1.14 putts per round on the field, but he gained 2.94 strokes per round with his tee-to-green play.”

Reminder: Asia-Pacific Amateur On ESPN2 Starting Thursday

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A spot in the Masters is on the line and last year for the golfer named Tianlang Guan or Guan Tianlang captured the title.

All four rounds of the Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship will be carried by ESPN2 starting Thursday. All times ET:
 

Thursday, Oct. 24  2:30 a.m.  First Round  ESPN2, WatchESPN

Sunday, Oct. 27 4 a.m. Final Round ESPN2, WatchESPN

4:30 p.m. Final Round Highlights ESPN2, WatchESPN

Friday, Oct. 25 2:30 a.m. Second Round  ESPN2, WatchESPN

Saturday, Oct. 26 4 a.m. Third Round ESPN2, WatchESPN

Nanshan International Golf Club in China hosts the 2013 Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship, and in 2014 Royal Melbourne is the host.