246 replies to this topic

[Number45forever]

As far as I'm concerned the 2011 PGA Tour begins in earnest this week with the season debut of Phil and Tiger. Through two days at Torrey Pines we have an awesome leaderboard featuring Bill Haas (won multiple times last year), Bubba Watson, JOHN EFFING DALY, Rickie Fowler, Anthony Kim, David Duval - and the aforementioned Phil and Tiger. Get a comfy seat on the couch and watch some golf this weekend. Some of the storylines this week:

- Season debut of Tiger and Phil

- Tiger returns to Torrey Pines for the first time since the 2008 US Open (and he played with Rocco the first two days)

- John Daly's continued rise from the ashes. The new slimmer Daly has played occasional good golf in the last couple years. Can he keep it up?

- Amy Mickelson is back on the course following Phil step by step for the first time in almost two years. Her recovery from breast cancer is obviously going well.

- Young guns vs. old guard as Fowler, Haas, Watson continue to outplay Phil and Tiger.

I can feel summer coming already!

[RedOctober3829]

As far as I'm concerned the 2011 PGA Tour begins in earnest this week with the season debut of Phil and Tiger. Through two days at Torrey Pines we have an awesome leaderboard featuring Bill Haas (won multiple times last year), Bubba Watson, JOHN EFFING DALY, Rickie Fowler, Anthony Kim, David Duval - and the aforementioned Phil and Tiger. Get a comfy seat on the couch and watch some golf this weekend. Some of the storylines this week:

- Season debut of Tiger and Phil

- Tiger returns to Torrey Pines for the first time since the 2008 US Open (and he played with Rocco the first two days)

- John Daly's continued rise from the ashes. The new slimmer Daly has played occasional good golf in the last couple years. Can he keep it up?

- Amy Mickelson is back on the course following Phil step by step for the first time in almost two years. Her recovery from breast cancer is obviously going well.

- Young guns vs. old guard as Fowler, Haas, Watson continue to outplay Phil and Tiger.

I can feel summer coming already!

Keegan Bradley, originally of Woodstock, VT, has been in contention the past two weeks as well.

[Clears Cleaver]

tiger's new swing is hideous to look at. and i am not sure he can move the ball from left to right with it, which was his bread and butter before. I remain short Tiger, his game tee to green is not anywhere near elite right now and his putter was just above average last year

[PaulinMyrBch]

I see Dustin is playing pretty well considering his mini turmoil at home the last few weeks....

[radsoxfan]

A couple years ago, who would have thought that Tony Romo and John Daly would play golf in the 2011 Pebble Pro-Am, and Romo would be the fatter guy?

Jesus, Romo looks like shit. Broken collarbone or not, no excuse for that. Can't imagine Jerry Jones is happy if he's watching.

[Lupe Whalewatch]

Great start for Fred Couples in the final round of the Northern Trust at Riviera... birdie, birdie, birdie to take a one shot lead. Would love to see him pull this off

[radsoxfan]

Great start for Fred Couples in the final round of the Northern Trust at Riviera... birdie, birdie, birdie to take a one shot lead. Would love to see him pull this off

Yeah...I would too. He will have to keep being aggressive though. Greens are soft after overnight rain and the winds look pretty calm. The rough is virtually non-existent as well, so there will be some very low scores today. Course can't possibly play any easier than it is right now.

[radsoxfan]

Uh oh. Freddie losing it a bit here.

The rough is non-existent, but the Barranca certainly is not in some places. Absolutely cannot miss right on 7 like he just did. Looking at double bogey here

[Carbo Loading]

nm

Edited by Carbo Loading, 20 February 2011 - 05:30 PM.

[Clears Cleaver]

the accenture match play is on...cink just beat poulter in 19 holes. Tiger's bracket has every huge hitter...Dustin Johnson, watson, Holmes...awesome. its on the golf channel

edit: tiger down one to Bjorn on 18. Tiger has not hit the ball great, but his putter has been even worse. I said it earlier, his swing now is very one dimensional (think Tom Lehman) and I'm not sure he is good enough to win anymore. Maybe it will click in, but he is not there yet and the masters is only six weeks away.

Bjorn gaffes and hits simple approach into bunker and Tiger has 12 feet for birdie. not over yet

Edited by Clears Cleaver, 23 February 2011 - 06:30 PM.

[Clears Cleaver]

Tiger makes it to go to extra holes. Tomorrow's feature match is Mickelson vs Fowler. Dustin Johnson got knocked out in 19 holes, he would have played Bubba Watson (damn)

[Greg29fan]

bye bye Tiger

[Clears Cleaver]

CHOKE...swing failed him off the tee on the 19th hole. Again missed right, but it was his chipping and putting that cost him the match

[Greg29fan]

I guess it's time, heck it's probably past time, to wonder if Tiger as we've known him is ever coming back, or even a shell of that guy. Even on a bad day, 2000s Tiger beats Bjorn 5 and 4.

Edited by Greg29fan, 23 February 2011 - 06:55 PM.

[Number45forever]

Don't give up on Tiger yet people. The difference between 2000 Tiger and now is so small comparatively to the levels of difference between say an Albert Pujols and Darnell McDonald. It doesn't take much to lose it in golf, look at people like Steve Stricker and Lee Westwood who have fallen and risen 300-400 spots in the world ranking during the last decade. Tiger is again going through a swing change and is only about six months into it. The last two swing changes he's gone through have taken at least a year to really take affect. (one win in each of 1998 and 2004 seasons)

Tiger will eventually get this new swing too, we have no reason to believe otherwise. It'll "click" at some point and Tiger will be back. The real question is weather his confidence will ever be back to the pre-scandal Tiger. Golf is 90% confidence and a total belief in yourself. Tiger was hit hard by this stuff and we've heard more stories than ever about him "quitting" during bad rounds, mailing it in, etc. Old Tiger never did this...but old Tiger was so rarely out of contention that this wasn't an issue anyway. Let's be patient and see what happens this year. Tiger is by no means done, and is by no means old for a golfer. There's every chance that he'll be back to a figment of old by the end of this season. Let's see what happens...

And ANYTHING can happen in 18 holes of match play, so please don't read too much into this week.

[FL4WL3SS]

I actually don't see too much wrong with his swing at this point - I think his problems are 1.) Mental and 2.) His short game is terrible.

The thing that always set Tiger apart was his short game. He was a always a good ball striker and sometimes a great ball striker, but he also always had issue with accuracy and consistency in that department. The difference is he could recover with his short game, which just isn't happening right now. If Tiger's short game is on, he beats Bjorn by 3 or 4 holes.

[Dave Stapleton]

He needs to go out and play every event week in and week out until he gets his rhythm back.

[Bob Montgomery's Helmet Hat]

So....these matches pretty much suck this morning. A 5-up, 2 4-ups, and a 2-up.

[Bob Montgomery's Helmet Hat]

At least Bubba is making it interesting, as J.B. is peeing down his leg...

[Lupe Whalewatch]

So....these matches pretty much suck this morning. A 5-up, 2 4-ups, and a 2-up.

Decent comebacks by Jimenez and Watson making things a little more interesting. Watson has missed 2 or 3 very makeable putts and could easily be 1 up headed to 18 instead of one down. Holmes pulls his drive way left on 18...have to wonder if Watson got under his skin a little bit by making him putt from about a foot on 17 to halve the hole. This one could go extras.

[Bob Montgomery's Helmet Hat]

Bubba really needs to win now in order to have an exciting afternoon match. He could carry his momentum right into his next match, whereas I don't see Holmes recovering and giving Kaymer much of a battle.

[Lupe Whalewatch]

JB Holmes now doing his best to make a mockery of the rules of golf.

[Bob Montgomery's Helmet Hat]

JB Holmes now doing his best to make a mockery of the rules of golf.

No shit. Five more minutes of debating and they would have let him drop it on the green

[Bob Montgomery's Helmet Hat]

And they both drive it into the desert on the 19th

[Lupe Whalewatch]

And they both drive it into the desert on the 19th

I switched to NBC...did they even show Watson's drive?

[Bob Montgomery's Helmet Hat]

I switched to NBC...did they even show Watson's drive?

Nope. Boner/bathtub commercial

[Lupe Whalewatch]

Nope. Boner/bathtub commercial

That's what I thought...nice work NBC, ive only been watching this match since 9:30am. JB Holmes looking everywhere for another sprinkler head

[Bob Montgomery's Helmet Hat]

Ben Crane is watching this and commenting on how slow Holmes is.

[cshea]

"So while JB continues to roam the desert, we go back to the 3rd!"

Holmes has been ridiculous. Bubba, on the other hand, has become a comedian.

[barbed wire Bob]

For some reason my wife has developed a strong dislike for Bubba Watson. She says "he has asshole sent straight from hell disorder." It's always fun watching golf with my wife.

[Bob Montgomery's Helmet Hat]

For some reason my wife has developed a strong dislike for Bubba Watson. She says "he has asshole sent straight from hell disorder." It's always fun watching golf with my wife.

So who does she actually like, because Bubba is one of the most likable guys on Tour.

[barbed wire Bob]

So who does she actually like, because Bubba is one of the most likable guys on Tour.

Nobody. She tolerates watching golf because of me.

[cshea]

Later, JB.

PGA Championship rematch in the semi's...Kaymer v. Watson.

Edited by cshea, 26 February 2011 - 02:33 PM.

[Bob Montgomery's Helmet Hat]

Later, JB.

PGA Championship rematch here in the semi's...Kaymer v. Watson.

The Robot vs Mr Personality

[cshea]

Kuchar is really hacking the ball around the golf course at the moment. Donald's in position to run away with this semi.

The Kaymer/Watson match is just about to tee off.

Edit: Also, I love match play. The PGA needs to use it more.

Edited by cshea, 26 February 2011 - 03:08 PM.

[Lupe Whalewatch]

I love watching Tiger Woods as much as the next guy, but NBC bringing us up to speed in the tourney by spending 5 minutes showing Tiger lose on Wednesday-and nothing else-is kind of a joke.

[Bob Montgomery's Helmet Hat]

And there is the beauty of match play. Bubba has fucked up this hole every way possible, and it only counts as 1. Now, however, he needs to get his head out of his ass and not count on coming back from 5-down again.

[cshea]

And there is the beauty of match play. Bubba has fucked up this hole every way possible, and it only counts as 1. Now, however, he needs to get his head out of his ass and not count on coming back from 5-down again.

Kaymer is re-paying Bubba for the first hole fuck up. Drives it into a shrub in the desert, then hacks his second shot into the middle of a cactus about 15 feet away.

As much as I like watching pro's hack around a course like I do, I would like to see some good shots by both guys at some point.

Edited by cshea, 26 February 2011 - 03:35 PM.

[Bob Montgomery's Helmet Hat]

I don't remember ever seeing a par 5 conceded after one of the players has only hit his drive.

[cshea]

Luke Donald is obliterating Matt Kuchar. 7 up through 10.

The prize fight is AS through 4, but Kaymer is back in the desert.

[cshea]

Donald advanced, 6&5.

The Kaymer/Watson match is just starting to hit it's stride. They just made the turn at AS, and it's been pretty even throughout the match. They just traded wins at 8/9, and both players are starting to make some shots.

Edited by cshea, 26 February 2011 - 05:05 PM.

[Bob Montgomery's Helmet Hat]

Bubba with a huge mistake at 10, flying the green after Kaymer hit an excellent shot from the desert onto the surface.

[Bob Montgomery's Helmet Hat]

This is the problem with Match Play as far as television coverage is concerned. With only one match going now, there is a lot of dead time. Other than the fact that the stakes are obviously higher, it's a less exciting event to watch as it progresses.

[barbed wire Bob]

Terrible drive by Bubba.

[cshea]

Neither guy can string 2 holes together. Watson just tied it on 14, and promptly sends his tee shot on 15 back into the desert. They've basically been trading holes since the 8th.

[Bob Montgomery's Helmet Hat]

Neither guy can string 2 holes together. Watson just tied it on 14, and promptly sends his tee shot on 15 back into the desert. They've basically been trading holes since the 8th.

Bubba's drive had 70 yards of slice to it. Probably 20 yards too many.

[Bob Montgomery's Helmet Hat]

Kaymer gives Bubba a huge opening on 16, and Bubba proceeds to hit an even worse shot than Kaymer. He's leaking oil.

[cshea]

Luke Donald is starting to fall apart in the Championship match. He was 3-up through 5, but Kaymer's in position to tie the match up on 9 after Donald's approach shot wound up in the desert and he needed to take an unplayable. Sloppy golf, but entertaining.

[Lupe Whalewatch]

Luke Donald is starting to fall apart in the Championship match. He was 3-up through 5, but Kaymer's in position to tie the match up on 9 after Donald's approach shot wound up in the desert and he needed to take an unplayable. Sloppy golf, but entertaining.

Yeah these guys all seem pretty drained. They have played a lot of golf the past 5 days, and its now 45 degrees with snow, hail and wind. A good move to switch the final match to 18 instead of the regular 36 holes.

[johnmd20]

Luke Donald is starting to fall apart in the Championship match. He was 3-up through 5, but Kaymer's in position to tie the match up on 9 after Donald's approach shot wound up in the desert and he needed to take an unplayable. Sloppy golf, but entertaining.

Now Kaymer is all over the place, lost 2 straight holes to Donald on 10 and 11.