Tiger at 15 at the Masters vs. Phil at 18 at the Open

[John Kavanaugh]

I wonder if Zach's swing on 18 was as poor as Monty's last year at 18 on Winged Foot.  Were they both 6 irons....Did Norman really blow one into the stands one year.  I can't even imagine how that would have been possible yesterday.

[A.G._Crockett]

I wonder if Zach's swing on 18 was as poor as Monty's last year at 18 on Winged Foot.  Were they both 6 irons....Did Norman really blow one into the stands one year.  I can't even imagine how that would have been possible yesterday.

Monty's was worse, and by far.  Johnson was pin high, about 10 feet off the green, with a relatively simple chip left.  Monty was none of those things.

[archie_struthers]

 


A.G.


I said I didn't know the green like he does, but if you hit it over it's awful too. He's not going to make three, and thus should play for four.

I'm going to "channel" the Golden Bear on this one, even thought he's still alive .LOL

"Jack to Angelo, how far is it to lay up? What gets me a 95 yard shot? If I birdie two of the next three I can still win this thing."

Wasn't the chance of everyone backing up, Johnson included, better than even money ? No one finished strong, even Retief.  Wouldn't you rather see Tiger take a swing at that green if you were rooting for the other guy?  Way too many bad things could happen, and just a couple good results by going for it.

It's great that he's fearless, but this one was the wrong choice!

[Jerry Kluger]

Johnson was fortunate that his ball didn't roll another foot into the bunker - that would've been a very tough shot under that much pressure.  Don't get me wrong, the chip was great under pressure but the bunker shot would've been even tougher.

I believe I read that Tiger was leading after 3 rounds in each of his Masters wins - was that also the case with respect to his other majors?

[JR Potts]

I honestly thought Tiger would birdie 17 and 18 after his excellent drive on 17.  I was even thinking of the crap I would take for saying there have been no historical short iron shots hit in the game.  Tiger dumping the ball into the trap on 17 was either a mental mistake or a bad swing.  I would guess one of the worst shots in his life.  Can you imagine how golf might be different today if he had done something of the sort in his charges to win the three US AMs.  

What does it say about Tiger that the 5 people that I was watching the Masters with (including me) all thought that there was a real chance of him holing out on 18?

[A.G._Crockett]

I heard, but have not confirmed, that Eldrick broke his 4 iron on the tree.

I also heard that he hit a 5 iron for the shot on #15.

Do not consider this reliable info; my source is dubious.  

But assuming it's correct, I wonder if a soft 4 iron would have been the better choice, if he had had the club in his bag.  Hmmm....  

I don't know about the club selections, but I believe that the broken club had been replaced by then.

[CHrisB]

I heard, but have not confirmed, that Eldrick broke his 4 iron on the tree.

I also heard that he hit a 5 iron for the shot on #15.

Do not consider this reliable info; my source is dubious.  

But assuming it's correct, I wonder if a soft 4 iron would have been the better choice, if he had had the club in his bag.  Hmmm....  

It was a 4-iron that Tiger broke on #11, and said he needed it on #13, but instead hit a hard hooking 5-iron. Of course it rolled back to 3-4 feet for eagle.

He definitely did not hit a 5-iron on #15--he was more in the 225-yard range.

[johnk]

A subtle element to all these Tiger threads is how his IRONS were the worst part of his game!

Pretty amazing compared to late last year, where his iron play was incredible.

The number of times he claimed the "wind switched" on him must have been 4 or 5 at KEY points.  All this proves is that he didn't have control of his iron trajectory, or wasn't hitting as solid as normal.

If fact, Faldo's one trenchant comment on #6 on Sunday was that he thought the tee shot on 6 was a litmus test of your iron play.  Then tiger comes up about 2 clubs short.   Remember how he birdied that hole against Goosen in '02.  That's a big difference.

Tiger's putting was great.  His driver was more accurate than usual. But despite the idea that Augusta is all about driving, Tiger couldn't get away with poor iron shots and still win.

How many did he dump in the water this week?  4 shots at least?  All irons, I think...

The GCA aspect of it is that iron precision is incredibly important at Augusta, and people know that, but it doesn't show up in the  stats as clearly as the driver stuff or putting stats do.

[Eric Olsen]

With so many different shots being short, I found myself wondering whether he had failed to make adjustments to his club selection to reflect the cooler temperatures, muscle tightness etc.

[A.G._Crockett]

It is a tribute to how high the expectations for Tiger are at this point.  Here we are trying to find explanations for a 2 stroke loss in the Masters!

[Jerry Kluger]

The question is whether his loss is a result of his play on Thursday and Saturday or did he just not get it done on the back nine on Sunday.  We all expect him to execute when he has to and to make the right decisions - this time, there is a question as to whether he did.

Perhaps, people will not look at Phil so harshly after this.

[Kalen Braley]

I agree A.G.

If Zach had just been a good boy and melted away on the back 9, we would have had a nice playoff treat between Tiger and Retief and would have loved this Masters...

If only he just hadn't prayed that morning before his round, perhaps God would have jumped on Retief or Tigers bandwagon to win that day.  Of course with all the "G-damnits" coming out of Tigers mouth, then I guess he got his just do!!  

[Greg Tallman]

For all the talk about Tiger's missed shots, the difference on the back 9 was in putting. Tiger and Zach had very similar putts for birdie on 14 and 16. Zach made both of his. Tiger missed. Two shot difference. Zach got it done when it mattered and Tiger didn't.

Dan, with all due respect there was very little similarity in the puuts faced by Johnson and Woods at the 16th. Distance being the ONLY similarity.

One was straight and one had about a foot of break in it.

That does not diminsh Johnson's performace which was incredible but t compare the two putts is unfair... then again playing against Tiger on Sunday at Augusta is too.

[Andrew Thomson]

I don't know about the club selections, but I believe that the broken club had been replaced by then.

 

[A.G._Crockett]

I don't know about the club selections, but I believe that the broken club had been replaced by then.

 

Actually, I think I stand corrected on this.  From what I am reading, Tiger did NOT replace the broken club, though he was entitled to do so under the Rules.