OT: PGA Championship This Week

[jleves]

Only thing I agree on is that he may not be in form and hasn't played much. Those stats can be thrown out of the window since he has hardly played, only 4 events in 2020, and he's the best at figuring out how to win.

Nobody will ever match what he did, but his skill/talent has left, just his body has changed. Him with a fused back playing at the best of his ability is still going to beat any player in the world at their best. 10-20 players, that made me laugh out loud.

I'm not saying this as like a diehard Tiger fan, he's not my favorite. I played this game in college and professionally for 3 years, and am friends with a few guys out there. Any tour player that is in the tournament is good enough to win and saying otherwise is silly is all I am saying, especially Tiger Woods. Never count out the GOAT.

Don't really want to get into a pissing match about this. I am a diehard Tiger fan, but his best days are long behind him. I have a hard time not claiming Jack isn't the GOAT even though I like Tiger more and we was more in my generation.

Bottom line, if he's so great, why is he no longer winning and rarely competing for win?

Top players no longer fear Tiger.

I'll give you 10 to 1 odds that he never wins another major.

 

[BrysonDeMan]

i think Koepka's knee is a little too banged up .... same with DJ's back
i think it'll be among these 3: Webb Simpson,Sungjae Im or Rory.
Bryson and Finau will be close but no cigar.

 

[Chin Diesel]

Traditionally PGA has been held on big courses with tons of room to bomb and then figure out what to do with second shot.
Harding is a tighter course and you need to control ball left to right and right to left off the tee. Rough can be death since there won't be 30k fans trampling down grass on errant shots.

I like the California guys for knowing how to put on poa annua.

Outside of them, DJ?

 

[uconnfan68]

Traditionally PGA has been held on big courses with tons of room to bomb and then figure out what to do with second shot.
Harding is a tighter course and you need to control ball left to right and right to left off the tee. Rough can be death since there won't be 30k fans trampling down grass on errant shots.

I like the California guys for knowing how to put on poa annua.

Outside of them, DJ?

No one knows how to putt poa. Some get luckier.

 

[Chin Diesel]

No one knows how to putt poa. Some get luckier.

They get luckier but they also know not to lose confidence in their stroke when putts get kicked offline. Especially later on the afternoon when the grass gets more wiry.

It took me a while to believe the "horses for courses" on poa but I'm a convert.

Going more generic, whomever wins this week will already have multiple wins on these types of greens.

 

[LIuconn]

The greens are bent grass.

 

[uconn1999]

In 2014 the greens were converted to bent grass. Six yrs later, the greens are a combination of bent and poa. Can’t keep that stuff out.

 

[alphasigko]

Here is the PGA webpage that provides access to a flyover vid of each hole:

TPC Harding Park

Set against the cypress tree-lined Lake Merced, TPC Harding Park in San Francisco, California played host to the 2020 PGA Championship

www.pgachampionship.com

 

[NJHusky]

Here is the PGA webpage that provides access to a flyover vid of each hole:

TPC Harding Park

Set against the cypress tree-lined Lake Merced, TPC Harding Park in San Francisco, California played host to the 2020 PGA Championship

www.pgachampionship.com

Thx for the link. The back looks more difficult than the front IMO. With all the parallel fairways (typical on muni courses) on the front, really bad tee shots might still be in play. I think the length of the rough will play a big factor in scoring. If it’s not draconian long hitters will have a big advantage imo.

 

[Deuce]

Only thing I agree on is that he may not be in form and hasn't played much. Those stats can be thrown out of the window since he has hardly played, only 4 events in 2020, and he's the best at figuring out how to win.

Nobody will ever match what he did, but his skill/talent hasn’t left, just his body has changed. Him with a fused back playing at the best of his ability is still going to beat any player in the world at their best. 10-20 players, that made me laugh out loud.

I'm not saying this as like a diehard Tiger fan, he's not my favorite. I played this game in college and professionally for 3 years, and am friends with a few guys out there. Any tour player that is in the tournament is good enough to win and saying otherwise is silly is all I am saying, especially Tiger Woods. Never count out the GOAT.

The one thing I think you’re discounting is although I think these kids admire and respect TW none of them are one bit scared or intimidated like guys were decades ago. Lifetime tour pros would routinely roll over and play dead to Tiger anytime he was in contention. This kids come out on tour now fully equipped mentally and physically to win your events...from day 1. That aura of invincibility around him does not exist with these kids imo. Tiger used to curb stomp anyone in contention mentally by his mere presence.

 

[donyell34]

If tiger is still there come the weekend who know's, but his glory days and intimidation are gone. Going with the young guys and picking JT. Love watching the majors and how the drama unfolds on Sunday.

 

[HuskyFich]

 

[HuskyFich]

And just cause...

 

[huskyfan224]

The one thing I think you’re discounting is although I think these kids admire and respect TW none of them are one bit scared or intimidated like guys were decades ago. Lifetime tour pros would routinely roll over and play dead to Tiger anytime he was in contention. This kids come out on tour now fully equipped mentally and physically to win your events...from day 1. That aura of invincibility around him does not exist with these kids imo. Tiger used to curb stomp anyone in contention mentally by his mere presence.

I agree with that somewhat, they definitely benefitted from watching him and are more fearless. However, if Tiger is leading he will not lose. If he’s close, I like his chances..he’s just still that good. What will suck though is no fans, that adds so much to the game.

These stats are insane

Tiger Turns 44: Woods' 44 Greatest Statistics - 15th Club

Tiger Woods turns 44 years old on December 30. This is the first birthday for Woods as the reigning Masters champion since…

www.15thclub.com

 

[Deepster]

The one thing I think you’re discounting is although I think these kids admire and respect TW none of them are one bit scared or intimidated like guys were decades ago. Lifetime tour pros would routinely roll over and play dead to Tiger anytime he was in contention. This kids come out on tour now fully equipped mentally and physically to win your events...from day 1. That aura of invincibility around him does not exist with these kids imo. Tiger used to curb stomp anyone in contention mentally by his mere presence.

I would argue this only by saying, none of those kids (regardless of how mentally tough they think they are) have ever dealt with a Sunday major crowd with Tiger charging towards a win on the back 9. They've never heard a roar like they'd hear then.



He might not win. But after watching that video and wondering how many more majors he has? I'd rather go into this hoping for the best instead of shoveling dirt on his grave.

 

[LIuconn]

Tiger's best chance, based solely on course setup will be British and Augusta. Gotta shape the ball and have creativity around the greens. PGAs and US Opens are more straightforward - narrow fairways & 60* wedges around the greens. This plays into the modern tour golfer's game. Tiger is more artist than a straight-ball basher like a JT, Bryson, Brooks, Dustin etc.

 

[jleves]

Some interesting threesomes for Thursday/Friday.
Koepka, Woodland, Lowry
Spieth, Dustin, Rose
Tiger, McIlroy, Thomas
Fowler, Bryson, Scott
Rahm, Phil, Sergio

 

[LIuconn]

Thursday afternoon looks very windy right now. If you have action, maybe stick to golfers in the early Thurs/late Fri wave.

 

[Chin Diesel]

Some interesting threesomes for Thursday/Friday.
Koepka, Woodland, Lowry
Spieth, Dustin, Rose
Tiger, McIlroy, Thomas
Fowler, Bryson, Scott
Rahm, Phil, Sergio

That's some good viewing for morning and afternoons on Thurs/Fri.

Koepka, Woodland and Lowry- Not too much emotion out of those three. Watching Koepka and Woodland to see who can hit further may be fun.

Spieth, DJ and Rose- meh. DJ should clown both those two, but he is so mellow, I don't know what to expect. I will be irritated hearing Spieth talk with his caddy ad naseum over every shot. Shut up and swing.

Tiger, McIlroy and JT- This is tasty. Tiger has a ton of experience on the course, JT has none. Could see Tiger going the route of the old sage of laying back (not that he has a choice) and throwing darts for long irons at the greens.

Fowler, Bryson and Scott- Won't care about anyone here.

Rahm, Phil and Sergio- I can see Sergio fouling up this group. Phil and Rahm are more go with the flow, hit it hard and figure it out when you get to the ball. Sergio's crap attitude could sink this ship. Heard a story about Phil making money off Rahm while Rahm was still in college. Phil bet some middle of the road pro that Rahm would be world top 10 within 2 years of getting on tour. Phil won the money.

 

[WhereistheDove?]

Some interesting threesomes for Thursday/Friday.
Koepka, Woodland, Lowry
Spieth, Dustin, Rose
Tiger, McIlroy, Thomas
Fowler, Bryson, Scott
Rahm, Phil, Sergio

We want Bryson and Koepka together!!!

 

[uconngb]

We want Bryson and Koepka together!!!

They are afraid to pair them, but that would be fantastic if they end up together. I'd like to see Koepka rip Bryson's head off.

 

[Chin Diesel]

They are afraid to pair them, but that would be fantastic if they end up together. I'd like to see Koepka rip Bryson's head off.

With as slow and methodical as Bryson is, I could see Brooks just walking ahead, putting out and going to the next tee while Bryson is still in fairway figuring out air density.

 

[Conndog]

Re Tiger- thought I read somewhere that if he wasn't in the lead after three rounds, he never came from behind to win. Am I wrong? Was that just for major tournaments? As a front runner, he was hard to catch for sure, and whoever got paired with him on Sunday usually had an awful round.

 

[storrsroars]

With as slow and methodical as Bryson is, I could see Brooks just walking ahead, putting out and going to the next tee while Bryson is still in fairway figuring out air density.

Bryson is playing faster this year and he has ditched the silly long putter.

And yet I still don't like him.

 

[HitDog]

Re Tiger- thought I read somewhere that if he wasn't in the lead after three rounds, he never came from behind to win. Am I wrong? Was that just for major tournaments? As a front runner, he was hard to catch for sure, and whoever got paired with him on Sunday usually had an awful round.

You weren’t wrong until last year’s Masters.