OT - US Open

[Leebo]

Tiger has gone from being one of the top two golfers of all time to a player who isn't even close to making cuts.

Tiger made the cut in the previous three tournaments he played in... Masters, Players, Memorial...

Yeah, he's not playing well, but where do people get these facts from?

 

[TasteofUConn]

His physical ailments and personal life isn't unique compared to other athletes.

Just no.
His personal life is bizarre and unique and unprecedented. Heart of his career, married to gorgeous woman, beautiful kids, most dominant player in his game, ever, and it's not close, gets caught banging dog-ugly skanks and grade-D starletts, gets dumped, loses family, loses game, loses life. What other athlete's path remotely nears that?

 

[Husky25]

I love watching golf played on the West Coast. How great is it to watch the US Open Live at 9pm after the kids and wife are asleep?

 

[Kitaman]

Tiger looked to be under control with his swing on the practice tee when he was hitting long irons and driver. He can't bring it to the course now.

Funny but you just decribed perhaps most amateurs, certainly myself.

 

[storrsroars]

With all the issues players are having with Poa Ana on the greens, seems possible the Sunday afternoon leaders might be backing up to the pack come crunch time. All accounts suggest the afternoon putting is much worse than morning putting sooner after greens have been cut.

 

[Chin Diesel]

Just no.
His personal life is bizarre and unique and unprecedented. Heart of his career, married to gorgeous woman, beautiful kids, most dominant player in his game, ever, and it's not close, gets caught banging dog-ugly skanks and grade-D smut starletts, gets dumped, loses family, loses game, loses life. What other athlete's path remotely nears that?

That sounds a bit like Mike Tyson but plenty of players have gone through divorces while in the prime of their careers and that's my point. The ability to carry on within your sport while you have personal issues off of it.

Think DiMaggio didn't have some off the field issues while married to Marilyn Monroe?

Even Jason Dufner went through a major slump after winning the PGA thanks to a combination of injuries and his wife divorcing him.

 

[Robertelamin]

I love watching golf played on the West Coast. How great is it to watch the US Open Live at 9pm after the kids and wife are asleep?

Love it. Either the US Open or PGA Championship should be on the west coast every year.

 

[Fishy]

I don't think Tiger Woods' personal life is all that unique, at least in terms of the shenanigans.

Nor do I think it affects his game.

The health problems surely do - the constant tinkering doesn't seem to help, either.

But I wonder if he isn't better off starting to play golf every week like, you know, a professional golfer?

Showing up once a month doesn't seem to be working out very well.

 

[Fishy]

I love watching golf played on the West Coast. How great is it to watch the US Open Live at 9pm after the kids and wife are asleep?

It's awesome.

I'm not even a huge golf fan, but having bonus sports on television like that is great.

 

[Chin Diesel]

It's awesome.

I'm not even a huge golf fan, but having bonus sports on television like that is great.

Networks love the 5-6 hours of prime time television on normally dead weekends in the summer.

 

[Chin Diesel]

I don't think Tiger Woods' personal life is all that unique, at least in terms of the shenanigans.

Nor do I think it affects his game.

The health problems surely do - the constant tinkering doesn't seem to help, either.

But I wonder if he isn't better off starting to play golf every week like, you know, a professional golfer?

Showing up once a month doesn't seem to be working out very well.

Agree 100%. Much like hitters, you have to play through the slump. He doesn't need more time on the range, he needs more time between the ropes.

 

[gwhuskyfan]

Traveler would be a great start. Easy course for most of these pros

 

[Husky25]

Traveler would be a great start. Easy course for most of these pros

Fat chance. Tiger always takes the week after a major off. He didn't even play in Cromwell when it was sponsored by Buick.

 

[gwhuskyfan]

Fat chance. Tiger always takes the week after a major off. He didn't even play in Cromwell when it was sponsored by Buick.

Yea don't expect it. If he were smart, he'd start playing weekly until his tournament in DC. Going to be embarrassing to miss the cut shooting 80s at your own event.

 

[jleves]

Scary stuff with Jason Day. Hope he is OK but I would be surprised if he can continue.

 

[TasteofUConn]

Tiger never has come to grips with who/what he is. It's all in his head. At least it was when his wife hit him with an iron. His swing didn't change in the 24 months after it all fell apart - his mental game did. I said at the time it happened that he needed to own it, admit he was a POS, ask for forgiveness, and get on with it. Instead, he buried it, and tried to focus exclusively on golf. Did not work. Now, it's been years, his body is probably failing, his swing has gotten so far out of whack from what won for him there is no easy recovery, and he's still the same POS that he was back in whenever.
Couldn't have happened to a bigger jerk. Dad taught him to be a great player, but never taught him to be a decent human.

 

[Leebo]

How does the stuff from 2009 or whatever have anything to do with his performance now? After he left in that immediate aftermath he returned to world #1 and was the player of the year in 2013.

 

[jleves]

Fox getting the US Open sucks, the coverage has been awful. Never thought I would miss Johnny Miller, but I do.

I'm so tired of hearing them breathing into the mic. It's beyond annoying.

 

[J187Money]

I don't think Tiger Woods' personal life is all that unique, at least in terms of the shenanigans. Nor do I think it affects his game. The health problems surely do - the constant tinkering doesn't seem to help, either. But I wonder if he isn't better off starting to play golf every week like, you know, a professional golfer? Showing up once a month doesn't seem to be working out very well.

I recall Jack saying something early in Tiger's career. Something to the effect of:

"Wait till he gets married..."

Jack basically said that had he stayed single and focused 100% on golf he would have far surpassed his career total in majors.

Looks like he was right.

 

[mauconnfan]

Tiger never has come to grips with who/what he is. It's all in his head. At least it was when his wife hit him with an iron. His swing didn't change in the 24 months after it all fell apart - his mental game did. I said at the time it happened that he needed to own it, admit he was a POS, ask for forgiveness, and get on with it. Instead, he buried it, and tried to focus exclusively on golf. Did not work. Now, it's been years, his body is probably failing, his swing has gotten so far out of whack from what won for him there is no easy recovery, and he's still the same POS that he was back in whenever.
Couldn't have happened to a bigger jerk. Dad taught him to be a great player, but never taught him to be a decent human.

Read the article in Golf Digest with his old caddie Stevie and maybe he's not half as bad as some think. But there are Tiger haters and most were there well before he cheated on his wife. That just made them feel so good about their hatred. Live in his shoes you may be though of as a too! Of course non of us are close and neither is anyone else on the tour!

 

[J187Money]

Read the article in Golf Digest with his old caddie Stevie and maybe he's not half as bad as some think. But there are Tiger haters and most were there well before he cheated on his wife. That just made them feel so good about their hatred. Live in his shoes you may be though of as a too! Of course non of us are close and neither is anyone else on the tour!

The world is a complicated place. It isn't crazy to say that all of that stuff affected him without passing judgement.

 

[uconnfan68]

I don't think Tiger Woods' personal life is all that unique, at least in terms of the shenanigans.

Nor do I think it affects his game.

The health problems surely do - the constant tinkering doesn't seem to help, either.

But I wonder if he isn't better off starting to play golf every week like, you know, a professional golfer?

Showing up once a month doesn't seem to be working out very well.

The announcer that said his 80% swing looked perfect, with great results, is the guy Tiger should be listening to. And playing every week until he figured that out.

 

[Chin Diesel]

One of Tiger's problems is that for the first time in his life, practice and preparation haven't equaled results. It's easy to go on the range and practice and work on your game when you win 1/3 of the time and have the ability to lap the field. Tiger now has to go out, practice, work and play when the results aren't there. And that is a tough barrier to overcome when it happens for the first time in your life at age 35.
In short, it's mostly between his ears. Although his body positioning and torqueing on his down swing are waaaayyyy out of synch.

 

[TasteofUConn]

IDK. It just seems to me that the guy never got right in his head, for whatever reason.
In terms of him playing every week, can he even do that? I mean, what's not to say that wouldn't be too much for his body, which is a fall roster at this point.

 

[Leebo]

As someone pointed out the other day on the Golf Channel coverage, this is kind of trajectory is not unheard of among pros. Even just in recent years, there are several examples of people being near the top of the world rankings, falling sometimes hundreds of places, and climbing back up.

One such example is Henrik Stenson. Sure, no one cared much when he fell off the face of the Earth because he's never won a major, but he showed that you can be a top 10 player, fall out of the top 200, and climb back up.

So, when we know that Tiger did great even in years after the scandal, and we know that other golfers have "lost it" inexplicably (and subsequently regained it), it doesn't make sense to blame the scandal.