Say What? AP's Dahlberg Says Tiger Collapsed, Misfired, Flinched And Is A Nostalgia Act

It's been a while since I've read a total misfire of a column. Even more surprising, it came from one of the best in the business in AP's Tim Dahlberg. 

But after watching most of Tiger's golf over the weekend at Carnoustie, I disagree with Dahlberg's assessment that Woods is the player he describes. No, Tiger is not back to 2000 or 2005 standards nor will he ever be that unbelievably dominant again, but some of Dahlberg's statements are ludicrous given that Woods had a one-stroke lead with nine holes to go on a golf course where the slightest miscalculations by many of the world's best were magnified.

A few of the more excessive lines:

But what felt like old times for a brief moment ended up as just another collapse story, like the ones Woods' fans have seen more recently.

Collapse? Jean van de Velde collapsed. Tiger merely didn't get the job done after putting himself in position to win.

Woods flinched when it mattered most, the nerves of a 42-year-old on display for all to see. Just when he took the lead and everyone's imagination began to swirl about what might be, he kicked away his best chance of breaking a decade-long drought in major championships.

Let's assess where the nerves got to Woods. He stepped on the 11th tee facing a stiff wind, where both he and Molinari missed the fairway. Woods drew a difficult lie, the club face turned and he luckily hit a spectator. On the wedge recovery, Woods definitely got too cute instead of just wedging to 15-or-so-feet past the hole and making bogey at the worst.

A strategic mistake in hindsight when he walked away with double bogey, yes. Nerves getting to him? We'll never know.

Woods had the tournament in his hands after hitting a brilliant fairway bunker shot to make par on No. 10. He walked to the next tee with a one-shot lead.

Brilliant shot it was, but the tournament in his hand with a one-stroke lead, 20-25 m.p.h. winds and so many incredible players right behind him on a firey links? Wow.

Then his tee shot went right, and his second shot veered way left. Woods got a break by hitting someone in the gallery, but then left his pitch hanging precariously on the side of a pot bunker.

When he missed an 8-footer to make double bogey he was out of the lead. Another bogey on the next hole, and he was basically out of the tournament.

It used to be that Woods was steely and superhuman, and no one dared get in his way. Now he's more of a nostalgia act teasing fans with sparks of his past greatness.

Nostalgia act seems like a wildly short-sighted thing to say given how far Woods has come since January. Remember when folks used to debate his swing mechanics, his short game or whether he'd finish a round. Or if we'd ever see him play again?  Now he's written off after taking a small lead with nine to go!

It wasn't like the course wasn't gettable.

Wasn't gettable? Did I miss the part where all of the leaders shot 65 and declared Carnoustie vulnerable?

Final round scores of the top 11: 69, 69, 70, 74, 74, 67, 71, 73, 71, 72, 76.

Also, the 67 by Eddie Pepperell was low round of the day and posted well before the leaders.

And finally...

Another major would have validated years of struggles. A tie for sixth means nothing.

Three strokes is the difference between validation and a meaningless week? 

Golf at this level, played with the intensity, difficulty, consistency and precision that was on display at Carnoustie is so much more complicated than the sport Dahlberg describes. 

Yes, Woods did not finish off this major the way he or many hoped. I'd argue that the quality of his play under major pressure and after everything else that's happened was not only his greatest career performance without registering a win, but suggests incredible things are to come if he can remain healthy.

A nostalgia act, Tiger Woods most certainly is not. 

U.S. Open V. The Open: Green Speeds Make The Difference

After playing his first Open, Luke List is wishing the USGA mimic the R&A in setup philosophy, reports Tony Jimenez for Reuters.

A similar refrain was repeated many times by players, observers and fans who enjoyed the tough-but-fair and noticeably faster golf, though as I note in this assessment of Carnoustie for Golfweek, the issue is layered but also incredibly simple: green speeds made the difference between complimenting Carnoustie's architecture, and ruining it.

Pace of play was noticeably better and as a "product," The Open proved infinitely more pleasurable to watching without having to spend so much time watching players grind over short putts for four days.

While professional golfers are praising the R&A coming off the U.S. Open setup issues, there were more than a handful of silly hole locations saved only by green speeds in the high 9s when leaders reached them.  Had the USGA slowed greens at Shinnecock down to the high 9's, there would have been softer and bumpier conditions that today's spoiled-by-bent-grass players would loathe. But on a seaside links with a blend of poa, fescue and bent, with a links mindset, the players are more accepting of a bumpiness.

And really, the ball goes too far.

On another day we can continue to lament how much course setup manipulation must take place to mask regulatory mistakes and debate how vital it is for golf to slow greens down.

In the meantime, I'd prefer to celebrate a magnificent week at Carnoustie made special by Mother Nature baking out an outstanding course. As I note in the Golfweek piece, Carnoustie has had a troubled relationship with the rota at times, but brilliant maintenance management by Craig Boath's team, mostly great work by the R&A and a hot, dry summer allowed the links to remind people of its great strategic character.

ShackHouse 72: 2018 Open Championship Wrap: Francesco, Tiger, Rory, Rose, Jordan

It was a thriller at Carnoustie! Maybe not quite one that will be mentioned with Hogan in '53 and Van de Velde in '99, but the 2018 Open Championship was a good, solid test of skill with brilliant performances from a wide array of players. I hope the theater at home was as splendid as the in-person viewing.

House and I discuss it all, plus a shocking fashion rant from my co-host! 

Carnoustie 2018: Ingredients In Place To Have Finish For The Ages

I present five scenarios for today's potentially epic final day at Carnoustie. Keep an Open mind.

Not surprisingly Jordan gets nearly half your votes, but interesting to see how much respect the voters have for Xander Schauffele and Tiger Woods. 

In The Telegraph, James Corrigan's game story leads with Woods over the three co-leaders. Same with Ewan Murray at The Guardian, noting that Saturday will be a moving day we never forget. 

Speaking of Tiger, he captivated Carnoustie Saturday and no matter what happens, many fans here went home very happy getting to enjoy some Tiger roars as he topped a major leaderboard for the first time in years. Dan Kilbridge on Tiger's strong 66 that leaves him four back of Jordan Spieth.

Ian O'Connor gives us all permission to root for Tiger, even sportswriters who are not supposed to. I certainly didn't fight the goosebumps yesterday seeing the reaction and thrills he provided in playing like the 14-time major winner most remember.

Jordan's haircut is all the buzz.

A win by Spieth would quickly erase what has been a frustrating year, Brian Wacker writes in setting up the final round.

Rory McIlroy, four back, intends to attack Sunday, writes Eamon Lynch.

Kevin Chappell's resurgence can be attributed to a change in teachers, now with Sean Foley who is helping him take pressure off his back, writes The Forecaddie.

Final round tee times and hole locations from Golfweek.

Most spectators will arrive here by train and leave, after a long line, by train. Christopher Clarey for the New York Times on the history of Open Championships and trains (thanks reader John). 

Enjoy the final round! Full coverage and analysis to follow at Golfweek.com and ShackHouse.

2018 Open Championship Ratings: Round 1 Up 27%, Round 2 Up 4%

Tiger played Thursday afternoon and Friday morning, likely explaining round one's big increase on Golf Channel.

For Immediate Release:

MOST-WATCHED ROUND 1 OF THE OPEN ON GOLF CHANNEL EVER:

Golf Channel’s Round 1 coverage of The Open posted a Total Audience Delivery (TAD: Live Linear + Streaming) of 1.024 average viewers, up 27% vs. 2017 and the most-watched Round 1 at The Open in its three years on Golf Channel (8:01 a.m. – 4 p.m. ET).

It also became Golf Channel’s most-watched Thursday ever, and the fifth-best Total Day on record (2006-2018). Golf Channel was the No. 1 cable sports network for Total Day by 9%. And from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. ET, Golf Channel was No. 1 cable sports network by 314%, and third for all 114 Nielsen measured cable networks.

And Friday:

MOST-WATCHED EARLY ROUND TELECAST OF THE OPEN EVER ON GOLF CHANNEL:

Golf Channel’s Round 2 coverage of The Open (8 a.m. – 3:58 p.m. ET) posted a Total Audience Delivery (TAD: Live Linear + Streaming) of 1.141 million average viewers, up 4% vs. 2017 and the most-watched Early Round telecast at The Open in its three years on Golf Channel. Friday’s Round 2 TAD was up 11% vs. Thursday’s Round 1 (1.024 million average viewers) and became Golf Channel’s most-watched weekday telecast since the 2016 Ryder Cup Friday coverage (1.3 million).

Poll: Who Will Win The 2018 Open Championship?

It's a simple question! Here is the leaderboard in case you have questions. Spieth, Schauffele, Kisner lead at -9, while Chappell is two back, Molinari three back and Woods and friends four back. Winds are forecasted to be up and from the west. Cheers!

Who will win the 2018 Open Championship?

Jordan Spieth

Xander Schauffele

Kevin Kisner

Kevin Chappell

Francesco Molinari

Tiger Woods

Alex Noren

Rory McIlroy

Someone Else

 

pollcode.com free polls

ShackHouse 71: 2018 Open Championship First Round Pop-Up

About what we hoped for on day one, though the R&A's decision to go all final round on us with the hole locations probably prevented even better scoring. However, with the weather forecast turning a bit nastier for Sunday, they may have been saving a few more reasonable locations should the wind really blow. 

House and I kick around a lively day one at Carnoustie!

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

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.

Brandon Stone Takes His Hickories To The Old Course

The perks of being the Scottish Open winner and kicking off the 2018 Open at Carnoustie with a 68: Brandon Stone breaking in his hickories at the Home Of Golf:

AM: Shoots 68 in The Open at Carnoustie

PM: Plays Old Course, St Andrews with his new hickory clubs @BrandonMStone is the envy of golfers everywhere. #TheOpen pic.twitter.com/omWgOh33yt

— The European Tour (@EuropeanTour) July 19, 2018

USGA, R&A To Take The Teeth Out Of Green Reading Books Starting In 2019

While the exact wording as to how green reading books will be defanged is set to come in the coming weeks, I report for Golfweek on the USGA and R&A having agreed to new language that will take the teeth out of green reading books starting January 1, 2019.

As noted in the Golfweek exclusive, the restrictions on presentation and information allowed will be made to protect the art of green reading. But there are also slow play considerations as players have begun to study the books on all parts of the course. Hole locations are calculated for players the night prior, which has never exactly exuded a sense that golfers are playing the course as they find it. 

The move is fascinating in the context of other issues facing the governing bodies on distance and de-skilling. By going after a technological advance that they view as de-skilling the game, the stage is set to consider an array of factors that have led to major distance increases. Could this lead to considering a reduction of driver head size or some other restriction to restore skill?

While I've never been offended by players using the books from a play perspective, the books become are offensive when players are not penalized for taking longer than 40 seconds.  

For the sport, defanging green reading books will impact only elite players and college golfers, but will certainly lay the groundwork for future discussions on the de-skilling topic.

Video: Carnoustie's Fairways Stimping 9.5!

Great work by the Live From crew, Nobilo and the local maintenance team to do a Stimpmeter reading of the Carnoustie fairways:

R&A Chief Slumbers Says They're In Listening Mode On Distance And Touts "Collaborative" Relationship With Players

Alistair Tait of Golfweek sums up R&A Chief Martin Slumbers' explanation of driver testing conducted at Carnoustie and notes that the random effort looks like it's part of a more proactive approach.

The R&A has had capabilities at previous Opens to test drivers for COR (coefficient of restitution) and CT “characteristic time.” In laymen’s terms, the spring-like effect of driver faces. But the governing body is becoming more proactive this year.

“We’ve always had an equipment test capability down on the range, certainly since I’ve been involved in the Open,” Slumbers said. “It’s been an option for players or the manufacturers to take their equipment in and have it tested. We felt it was an appropriate next step to more actively seek to test players’ drivers straight out of the bag.”

And from the transcript, it's worth noting that Slumbers sees the players as having a positive impression of the R&A. Whether that means in contrast to the USGA or in general, I'm not sure.

It was a request to players, and I think many of you underestimate, we have a very good relationship with our players, and it's a very collaborative relationship, and we had absolutely no problems with the players coming and were interested in what we're doing. A lot of them actually wanted to know how does the test work, and what is it really testing for?

I'm sure they loved giving up their drivers and their caddies to go find out if their club is conforming! 

Video: Wood And Greller Relive The 2017 Open

I'm restricted from rewatching this one online here in the UK, but if you missed this from last night's Vantage Point with Mike Tirico, check out Michael Greller and John Wood talking to Bones Mackay about the 2017 Open at Royal Birkdale.

Video: The Legend Of Carnoustie's Name

From last night's Vantage Point with Mike Tirico. Who knew how Carnoustie got its name! And now that explains the logo...

Roundup: What To Make Of Carnoustie, Who To Pick

It's yellow, then it's green.

The fairways run, the putting surfaces hold. 

The forecast is fairly benign, with spells of wind. 

What does it all mean fellow prognosticating degenerates? 

The Forecaddie says expect some good scoring thanks to benign rough and holding greens. Think under on the over/under. Or is it under? Take the lower scoring barrier.

As for picks, Alistair Tait says look for longshots and consider other factors in an interesting deep dive on how Carnoustie is playing.

Golfweek's fantasy experts, including yours truly, chime in with picks, sleepers, Draft Kings bargains, etc...

My ten to watch filed for Golfweek's print issue. 

Ryan Herrington takes on the sleeper angle, with names like Casey, Dufner, etc... out there with good games right now and not much attention.

ESPN.com's team makes their predictions. 

G.C. Digital with the latest weather reports for GolfChannel.com.

For those tracking at home, Ladbrokes will be getting my each-way win bets on Fowler and Noren, some missed cut bets on...oh let's not go there...and a winning score bet, several small shots at first round leaders favoring early players Thursday (Willett, Pieters, Hatton, Fowler, Stone, Pepperell). Oh and a Bernhard Langer top 20 at 14-1 too. Just trying to help the local economy!