OT: Open and Tiger

[zls44]

I'm a tiger guy but lefty shooting a 66 on Sunday? .

 

[mauconnfan]

I'm a tiger guy but lefty shooting a 66 on Sunday? .

Really impressive coming from Phil.......I know he's capable but over the pond never showed it......good for him, not a fan but he played sensational golf. The key was the up and down on the par 3, pulling that off kept his momentum for sure after hitting an iron flush only to see it come off the green by about 30 yards........great show!!

 

[Mots010]

One of the great final rounds in Open history, and certainly the best of Mickleson's career. Down 5 and win by 3 on a course playing that difficult. After the US Open even he was thinking that was his last shot.

I like Phil's line, "If six 2nd's counted, I'd have four of them"

 

[BigErnMcCracken]

Shocker Tiger misses short putt on 8 and Westwood makes long save.

Tiger is irrelevant on weekends at majors, he should have skipped this to place the Quad Cities

The only thing I can think of is that one of those skanks was your sister. It's irrational to be this angry otherwise. You sound like a lunatic.

 

[husky91]

Niece! Oh, not funny.

But thanks for the compliments. I wish I could pick stocks and lotto numbers as well as I can predict Tiger's irrelevance in majors on the weekends.

Elin is still smiling I'm guessing.

The only thing I can think of is that one of those skanks was your sister. It's irrational to be this angry otherwise. You sound like a lunatic.

 

[bear]

Niece! Oh, not funny.

But thanks for the compliments. I wish I could pick stocks and lotto numbers as well as I can predict Tiger's irrelevance in majors on the weekends.

Elin is still smiling I'm guessing.

It must be tiring being so negative towards a person you've never met.

 

[mauconnfan]

Some thoughts:

Lee Westwood - This was a huge chance for him, seemed to be in very good control all the way through the front today......crazy thing is it wasn't his putter which killed him just some approached he didn't trust and left them in bad bunkers......may still win a major but this one slipped big time.

Tiger Woods - Hit the ball as well as anyone for 3 days but only putted well on Thursday. Never made anything and contrary to Kreskin / husky91 it wasn't just the weekend he couldn't putt, he never looked comfortable and three 3 putts on the front Friday morning was the beginning. He was in it but you have to make putts.........he'll win a few more!!

Hunter Mahan - If husky91 didn't hate Tiger so much he may have someone to really pick on.....can't get it done on Sunday but will eventually for sure. Too good a ball striker not to.......

Adam Scott - Also seemed to have momentum but this course eventually grabbed EVERYONE by the balls late in the game and then kicked their sack too.......proven to be ready to be a major player at the majors!

Phil - What's to say? As good a final round as you'll ever see in an Open. He hit tremendous shots down the stretch and looked really at ease with himself and his game unlike the look on so many other faces. Picked a great time to make one of his best runs ever!! Congrats to Phil..........

 

[mauconnfan]

The only thing I can think of is that one of those skanks was your sister. It's irrational to be this angry otherwise. You sound like a lunatic.

Hey Crack, AO didn't bang my skank sister so what's my problem? LOL..........

 

[whaler11]

Mickelson deserves it, can't stand the guy but he deserves it.

I don't get why some people don't like Phil. I love the guy. I was excited early that it might be a 6 guy horserace but Phil took all the drama out in a performance for the ages.

 

[mauconnfan]

I don't get why some people don't like Phil. I love the guy. I was excited early that it might be a 6 guy horserace but Phil took all the drama out in a performance for the ages.

Phil has changed his image....he was like a spoiled rich kid on the tour for a long time. Many fellow pro's thought he was a fake and said so in interviews but it would seem he has changed. Maybe the reality of his wife's scare and the family made him a better man. I'm still not sold on all of it being real but he seems like an okay dude! No matter he's a tremendous golfer and thanks to a couple major wins will no longer wear the "choker" sign but when he throws one away it's now because he was too aggressive and took too many chances. He deserves that now!

 

[mauconnfan]

Did everyone see Tiger and Steve have a little love fest after this last round? They talked for a few and then the handshake was real and Stevie looked like the weight of a gorilla was off of him, seriously watch the replay. He went back and hit Tiger again and looked very happy something was done and over!!!

 

[Chin Diesel]

I don't get why some people don't like Phil. I love the guy. I was excited early that it might be a 6 guy horserace but Phil took all the drama out in a performance for the ages.

Phil has changed his image....he was like a spoiled rich kid on the tour for a long time. Many fellow pro's thought he was a fake and said so in interviews but it would seem he has changed. Maybe the reality of his wife's scare and the family made him a better man. I'm still not sold on all of it being real but he seems like an okay dude! No matter he's a tremendous golfer and thanks to a couple major wins will no longer wear the "choker" sign but when he throws one away it's now because he was too aggressive and took too many chances. He deserves that now!

Seems to mesh with a story a read about 7-10 years ago that Phil's nickname amongst tour players was FIGJAM.

F---
I'm
Good
Just
Ask
Me.

And yes his image has gone through a steady makeover. Tiger's transgressions definitely helped Phil out. After all the crap Tiger did, people were left with realizing Phil's a good family guy, plays damn good entertaining golf and is an occasional assswipe. After a while people can learn to live with that.

 

[Chin Diesel]

Did everyone see Tiger and Steve have a little love fest after this last round? They talked for a few and then the handshake was real and Stevie looked like the weight of a gorilla was off of him, seriously watch the replay. He went back and hit Tiger again and looked very happy something was done and over!!!

Biggest thing I took away from the whole cumbaya, was that tiger needs a haircut. His head is a mess. He's losing hair on both sides and on the back.

Time to face aging El Tigre. Keep that hair trimmed tight.

And the final thing I have to say about Tiger is that there's a realistic chance that a really hot Olympic Gold Medal Skier is blowing him right now somewhere over the Atlantic at 35K feet. Nice consolation.

 

[whaler11]

Biggest thing I took away from the whole cumbaya, was that tiger needs a haircut. His head is a mess. He's losing hair on both sides and on the back.

Time to face aging El Tigre. Keep that hair trimmed tight.

And the final thing I have to say about Tiger is that there's a realistic chance that a really hot Olympic Gold Medal Skier is blowing him right now somewhere over the Atlantic at 35K feet. Nice consolation.

I've never liked Tiger but it would have been nice if he showed up today and made the back 9 more dramatic.

 

[mauconnfan]

That's so true Chin, funny . His hair is awful, all that money and no one telling you to keep your hat on? Shave the fuzz man...........

Then again he could be a red Sox fan and look at Napoli, Gomes, Pedroia and think "look at how ugly they are shaving their heads with beards!!" That would scare anyone!!

 

[Chin Diesel]

That's so true Chin, funny . His hair is awful, all that money and no one telling you to keep your hat on? Shave the fuzz man...........

Then again he could be a red Sox fan and look at Napoli, Gomes, Pedroia and think "look at how ugly they are shaving their heads with beards!!" That would scare anyone!!

Those Sawx players with the shaved head and beard combos look like they should be a bad wrestling six man tag team from the 80's. There's a whole bunch of bad lumberjack, outdoorsman, Nordic, names they could be called. They'd do the old school stuff where they would randomly switch out during matches when the ref isn't looking and then the new guy in the ring miraculously gets better and wins.

Not sure how an Open Championship thread devolved in to bad wrestling gimmicks, but this is the Boneyard and it's July.

 

[mauconnfan]

Those Sawx players with the shaved head and beard combos look like they should be a bad wrestling six man tag team from the 80's. There's a whole bunch of bad lumberjack, outdoorsman, Nordic, names they could be called. They'd do the old school stuff where they would randomly switch out during matches when the ref isn't looking and then the new guy in the ring miraculously gets better and wins.

Not sure how an Open Championship thread devolved in to bad wrestling gimmicks, but this is the Boneyard and it's July.

It's Tigers fault, he took his hat off!

 

[hthusky74]

LOL @ the Tiger hater.

This course has played impossibly hard. He hit two bad shots all day. The one on 17 cost him.

Hope he does the one thing that he hasn't accomplished and comes from behind tomorrow to win a major. Then everyone can shut up and stop hating on him (similarly to Lebron finally winning a title and now two).

He's one of the best athletes of our generation (regardless of how you feel about him or the sport of golf) and should be appreciated. The hate on him is ridiculous.

A lot of the hate on him has to do with him cheating on his wife with a succession of slease bags. The rest of it has to do with the disgust people feel when they try to read about what is going on in a golf tournament and have to go through at least 6 column inches (and sometimes to the next page) before they find out who the actual leader is, because they have to explain why Tiger is in 35 place first. I understand that it is the medias' fault, but it is projected onto him. He deserves no Mulligans based on his off course behavior. I was really glad to see Lefty win today although I would have been happy if Westwood held on.

 

[hthusky74]

I guess I've been all over the map on this - but here's what I think: 50% chance Tiger wins. 30% chance Westwood. 15% chance Phil and 5% someone else.

What odds are you giving now?

 

[Gurleyman]

I've never liked Tiger but it would have been nice if he showed up today and made the back 9 more dramatic.

So much of golf comes down to just breaks of the bounce or roll, and then of course what you do with them.

Phil had a short par putt on 14 do a 360 around the hole before falling in. A bogey there moves him to +1 and perhaps puts him in a worse place mentally - instead that was the last bad shot he hit of the day, really. Then, as Phil is closing, Tiger is four holes back. Tiger puts his approach on 14 a foot from the hole for a birdie to move to +1, right after Phil"s birdie on 17 had him -2. Then, Phil has his approach on 18 come within a foot or two of going in the greenside bunker, but gets a good bounce and roll and closes with a birdie to really wrap it up. Tiger hits a great approach on 15 but it chunks into the ground in front of the green instead of bouncing up. That bad break turns into a bogey when he chips 10 feet past the hole.

I want to say those two shots were within a few minutes of each other. Give Phil a tough lie in the bunker, and maybe he finishes -1 (although you'd have to think he saves it with a good lie). Have Tiger's ball bounce on the green to a makable putt and maybe he's E. Then his birdie butts on 17 and 18 mean something.

Of course, Phil was playing better golf and took advantage of his breaks and shrugged off his bad ones - he clearly got a bad break on 16 when his ball rolled off the green and still got his up and down. Tiger on 15 knew he was at least 3 shots back and was probably trying to hole his chip, and a bad shot ended what slim hopes he had. But he was still very much relevant on the 15th hole - and a great close made everyone irrelevant down the homestretch. If Phil just shot an excellent 69 instead of a ridiculous 66 (best final round in a major since 2000), the whole finish is dramatic - because everyone in contention was +2 to +4 on the day.

 

[Dove]

It's Tigers fault, he took his hat off!

He should give it to Ed Cooley.

 

[mauconnfan]

A lot of the hate on him has to do with him cheating on his wife with a succession of slease bags. The rest of it has to do with the disgust people feel when they try to read about what is going on in a golf tournament and have to go through at least 6 column inches (and sometimes to the next page) before they find out who the actual leader is, because they have to explain why Tiger is in 35 place first. I understand that it is the medias' fault, but it is projected onto him. He deserves no Mulligans based on his off course behavior. I was really glad to see Lefty win today although I would have been happy if Westwood held on.

Reading about Tiger in columns and seeing too much of him on TV is not his fault it's the media. Cheating on his wife with multiple "sleaze" bags is his fault no doubt, he can't take that back. The purses in golf are also his "fault" not Phil's, Rory's, Ernie's, Vijay's, Jack's, Arnie's or anyone else. They all had a hand in on it but golf is at the height it is now because of Tiger, it is that simple! Hate him all you want not as many people watching when he ain't playing or contending!

 

[AZHuskiePop]

I know Phil was not popular on tour with the veteran players 10-15 years ago. His galleries were large and obnoxious. He was full of himself.
I wasn't exactly a Phil fan myself until the press conference after a bad Rider Cup loss. Hunter Mayhan
lost a tough final match to lose the cup. The press was pushing a very heartbroken Hunter to tears. Phil understanding the situation jumped right in deflecting blame for the loss were it belonged on the team. I always though that act of empathy was a class move. I have respected him ever since. I Understand he is a lot more popular with younger players on tour. Maybe he matured and understood his status required him to set an example for the next generation.
My hope for Tiger is that he undergoes a simalar change as he ages.
I want to see him enjoy the game and really appreciate the gifts he was given and honed. If he left today he is one of the top two golfers of all time. Does one or two really matter.


Sent from my Kindle Fire using Tapatalk 2

 

[hthusky74]

Reading about Tiger in columns and seeing too much of him on TV is not his fault it's the media. Cheating on his wife with multiple "sleaze" bags is his fault no doubt, he can't take that back. The purses in golf are also his "fault" not Phil's, Rory's, Ernie's, Vijay's, Jack's, Arnie's or anyone else. They all had a hand in on it but golf is at the height it is now because of Tiger, it is that simple! Hate him all you want not as many people watching when he ain't playing or contending!

Which really means Tiger has not increased interest in golf. Tiger, and the media, have increased interest in Tiger. You have effectively said it yourself. There are "not as many people watching when he ain't playing or contending". Perhaps they should just cancel the rest of a tournament if he misses a cut or falls too many strokes behind? He had, and I used the past tense intentionally, turned golf into a one horse race. Let's see how things go in the future. Golf is kind of like tennis. Most people don't follow it too closely because the media focuses on a handful of players. So there is a vicious cycle where the tendency of the media to hype their darling at the expense of the hundreds of other people in the sport, and ergo, the sport itself.

 

[Gurleyman]

Honestly, Tiger had that Masters in 1997 where he lapped the field and it looked like "holy crap, this guy is going to own golf for decades" and then he kinda sucked for the next three years, but interest was already up - he became a polarizing figure then. Was he really the future of golf? Or did he just catch lightning in a bottle once and was overhyped and overrated?

The worst thing for a sport is to be dominated by a non-polarizing figure, without at least a rivalry to keep it fun. Call it Ivan Lendl syndrome. Perhaps Roger Federer has caused some of the same problems before Nadal came along. Phil helped golf a lot once he won a major or two, so it wasn't just "Tiger" vs "field".

 

[mauconnfan]

Which really means Tiger has not increased interest in golf. Tiger, and the media, have increased interest in Tiger. You have effectively said it yourself. There are "not as many people watching when he ain't playing or contending". Perhaps they should just cancel the rest of a tournament if he misses a cut or falls too many strokes behind? He had, and I used the past tense intentionally, turned golf into a one horse race. Let's see how things go in the future. Golf is kind of like tennis. Most people don't follow it too closely because the media focuses on a handful of players. So there is a vicious cycle where the tendency of the media to hype their darling at the expense of the hundreds of other people in the sport, and ergo, the sport itself.

I watch them all and watch the Euro a lot also.......if you don't see his impact it's because you elect not to not because you don;t like what the media does. If you hate him fine, what he has done to increase purses and fans is beyond denial.....way beyond. Oh yeah suddenly guys actually look like athletes since seeing him play but that's just coincidence too!

 

[husky91]

The Open is awesome in general. Those pot bunkers are the best feature in all of golf. And the swirling winds changing constantly is great.

Tiger has always called it his favorite tournament and Phil today said it was the biggest win of his career. I think he recognizes how important it is to his legacy and the special fraternity he joins with it.

 

[Husky68]

Tiger is a lowlife. You don't do what he did without being a lowlife. Think the press didn't know he was banging skanks and a nasty attitude guy on the links? Seems like the prediction in the start of this thread came out pretty accurate. Within a couple strokes to start Sunday, fade with tie for 48th best round on final day.
Don't even suggest Tiger isn't promoting himself to get max attention, think he's getting new Nike deal 'cause he's a good role model?
How about showing some of Matsayama, young guy on way up, ends up +2 with a penalty stroke.
Here are list of major winners since Tiger's last - 2 Phil, Rose, Scott, 2 Mcllroy, Els, Simpson, Watson, Bradley, Clarke, Schwartzel, Kaymer, Oosthuizen, McDowell, Yong-Eun Yank, Cink, Glover, Cabrara, 2 Harrington. That's 18 guys - much more interesting to me, maybe not the ESPN talking heads.

 

[bear]

Tiger is a lowlife. You don't do what he did without being a lowlife. Think the press didn't know he was banging skanks and a nasty attitude guy on the links? Seems like the prediction in the start of this thread came out pretty accurate. Within a couple strokes to start Sunday, fade with tie for 48th best round on final day.
Don't even suggest Tiger isn't promoting himself to get max attention, think he's getting new Nike deal 'cause he's a good role model?
How about showing some of Matsayama, young guy on way up, ends up +2 with a penalty stroke.
Here are list of major winners since Tiger's last - 2 Phil, Rose, Scott, 2 Mcllroy, Els, Simpson, Watson, Bradley, Clarke, Schwartzel, Kaymer, Oosthuizen, McDowell, Yong-Eun Yank, Cink, Glover, Cabrara, 2 Harrington. That's 18 guys - much more interesting to me, maybe not the ESPN talking heads.

Might be more interesting to you but you're in the minority. Ratings triple when Tiger is in a tournament. The talking heads will talk about Tiger because he what the majority wants to hear about. It's part of the reason why he's the best golfer of all time. Nobody has done more for the sport than Tiger has.

 

[husky91]

I really thought Martin Kaymer could be the next star. He's like a young Els. But hasn't done much lately in majors.

Tiger is a lowlife. You don't do what he did without being a lowlife. Think the press didn't know he was banging skanks and a nasty attitude guy on the links? Seems like the prediction in the start of this thread came out pretty accurate. Within a couple strokes to start Sunday, fade with tie for 48th best round on final day.
Don't even suggest Tiger isn't promoting himself to get max attention, think he's getting new Nike deal 'cause he's a good role model?
How about showing some of Matsayama, young guy on way up, ends up +2 with a penalty stroke.
Here are list of major winners since Tiger's last - 2 Phil, Rose, Scott, 2 Mcllroy, Els, Simpson, Watson, Bradley, Clarke, Schwartzel, Kaymer, Oosthuizen, McDowell, Yong-Eun Yank, Cink, Glover, Cabrara, 2 Harrington. That's 18 guys - much more interesting to me, maybe not the ESPN talking heads.