[Michael Whitaker]

Tiger played great at the Masters (obviously  ) but, he was unbelievably lucky as well.

• His tee shots on 14 into the trees that two days in a row didn't block him from the green.
• His tee shots on 11 on Saturday and Sunday way right into the trees that got to the other side and offered a clear opening to the green.
• His Sunday tee shot on 13 that passed through the trees and finished in a open lie with an unobstructed shot to the green.

These are just a few that come to mind. If any one of these shots wind up behind a tree he probably doesn't win the tournament.

I remember when he was in his prime he seemed to always get the lucky bounce. Maybe Tiger really is back!

[Mark Fedeli]

Now list everyone else’s lucky bounces : )


But seriously, some of those, like the tee shots on 14, seemed less like luck and more like him having the guts to aim at an incredibly small window in the trees and pulling off the shot.


I wonder if the narrative that Tiger is exceptionally lucky is more to do with all of his shots being shown, as well as unmatched recovery skills.

[ward peyronnin]

Mike I absolutely agree but that is just another argument that this was his weekend. He was meant to win that tournament. Molinari is solid as a rock until the back nine etc etc. Overall a good thing for golf and hopefully he will continue to mature and develop into something like the gentleman we all wished he could have been when he was on top before

Remember how unlucky Tom Watson was to lose the Open so it works both ways

[JLahrman]

Don't complain about your bad bounces. Then you don't have to apologize for your good ones.

[Mark Chaplin]

On 13 on Saturday he hit it into the trees left, my mate who has played the course 30 times immediately said it’s a potential lost ball. He didn’t lose it, wasn’t in the creek, pitched out and got up and down for birdie. That was a potential 6 or 7 avoided.

[Paul Rudovsky]

One year when he won the Open Championship (I think '72 at Muirfield), Trevino had given up lying 3 over the green on the 71st hole (par 5).  without any practice stroke, he chipped in for birdie...Tony Jacklin proceeded to 3 putt from about 20', and Trevino ended up winning.


In the press tent after, Trevino was asked if he got lucky on that chip and his reply was classic and answered the question posed here..."funny thing about this game...the more I practice, the luckier I get".  Truer words never spoken, case closed!

[Ian Mackenzie]

It all evens out.
Just "ask" Payne Stewart about the US Open in 1998. Two of the worst breaks in major championship history.


- hits into a sand-filled divot on 16.
- his first putt on 18 went past the hole then returned riht to his feet.


Then he wins in 1999.


Tiger has had 11 years of bad breaks. He had a huge "credit" in his "Kharma account".


While youre "waxing hypothetical", if Brooks Koepka jarred his 10-footer on 18, it's a playoff.

[Alex Miller]

It all evens out.
Just "ask" Payne Stewart about the US Open in 1998. Two of the worst breaks in major championship history.


- hits into a sand-filled divot on 16.
- his first putt on 18 went past the hole then returned riht to his feet.


Then he wins in 1999.


Tiger has had 11 years of bad breaks. He had a huge "credit" in his "Kharma account".


While youre "waxing hypothetical", if Brooks Koepka jarred his 10-footer on 18, it's a playoff.

Most clear in my mind is the ball of the flagstick into the water on 15 and then the penalty drop issues that ensued.


Tiger also did a good job of taking luck out of the equation when possible this week. He played to spots he knew and executed tremendously well. No doubt luck was involved, but he seemed to play through the good luck and not force things into situations that could've broken the wrong way. At least less than others.

[Steve Kline]

It all evens out.
Just "ask" Payne Stewart about the US Open in 1998. Two of the worst breaks in major championship history.


- hits into a sand-filled divot on 16.
- his first putt on 18 went past the hole then returned riht to his feet.


Then he wins in 1999.


Tiger has had 11 years of bad breaks. He had a huge "credit" in his "Kharma account".


While youre "waxing hypothetical", if Brooks Koepka jarred his 10-footer on 18, it's a playoff.

Or Tiger doesn’t play for bogey on 18.

[jeffwarne]

It all evens out.
Just "ask" Payne Stewart about the US Open in 1998. Two of the worst breaks in major championship history.


- hits into a sand-filled divot on 16.
- his first putt on 18 went past the hole then returned riht to his feet.


Then he wins in 1999.


Tiger has had 11 years of bad breaks. He had a huge "credit" in his "Kharma account".


While youre "waxing hypothetical", if Brooks Koepka jarred his 10-footer on 18, it's a playoff.

Or Tiger doesn’t play for bogey on 18.

Finally someone said it

[Niall C]

I think when you assess a golfer you look at the whole package, both the good and the bad. Woods in his pomp was possibly the best putter there has ever been but he was never the surest off the tee, at least that is my recollection. When he did/does put himself into trouble he was/is very good at regrouping and making the most of any luck that comes his way. As I said on another thread, luck only counts if you make the most of it and Woods generally does.

That said, he clearly didn't hit a good tee shot on the 18th and his second didn't look like a deliberate lay-up to me. His 3rd was as safe as he could play and while not playing for the bogey it looked to me he was making sure he didn't do any worse than bogey. All in all a bit of a stumble over the line but I bet Jean Van de Velde wishes he'd had the same presence of mind at Carnoustie back in 1999 as Woods showed in playing his 3rd shot.

Niall

[Ian Mackenzie]

It all evens out.
Just "ask" Payne Stewart about the US Open in 1998. Two of the worst breaks in major championship history.


- hits into a sand-filled divot on 16.
- his first putt on 18 went past the hole then returned riht to his feet.


Then he wins in 1999.


Tiger has had 11 years of bad breaks. He had a huge "credit" in his "Kharma account".


While youre "waxing hypothetical", if Brooks Koepka jarred his 10-footer on 18, it's a playoff.

Or Tiger doesn’t play for bogey on 18.

What??!!
Tiger hit a tree on his second shot on 18. Are you saying he meant to do that...?...

Tiger NEVER plays for bogie. He wanted to hit that stiff and try to birdie the hole...just because.


After an untimely bogie on 10, he made a great run through 17 while the closest 3-4 contenders all stumbled and crumbled under the intense pressure of the moment.

[archie_struthers]

 




Luck in golf seems so cyclical except for a few. Remember once hearing a tour pro that I knew say that Nicklaus could hit it in the middle of a hay field and it would find the one spot you could hit it. He did qualify it by saying that Jack would have beaten everyone anyway but the combination of skill and good fortune was really scary.


It does seem to ebb and flow and there are certain players that seem to hit it right into stuff and out it comes. But in the end the best player wins over time.

[John Blain]

It all evens out.
Just "ask" Payne Stewart about the US Open in 1998. Two of the worst breaks in major championship history.


- hits into a sand-filled divot on 16.
- his first putt on 18 went past the hole then returned riht to his feet.


Then he wins in 1999.


Tiger has had 11 years of bad breaks. He had a huge "credit" in his "Kharma account".


While youre "waxing hypothetical", if Brooks Koepka jarred his 10-footer on 18, it's a playoff.

11 years of "bad breaks?" Seriously?  How about a great majority of those so-called bad breaks were self inflicted.

[Alex Miller]

It all evens out.
Just "ask" Payne Stewart about the US Open in 1998. Two of the worst breaks in major championship history.


- hits into a sand-filled divot on 16.
- his first putt on 18 went past the hole then returned riht to his feet.


Then he wins in 1999.


Tiger has had 11 years of bad breaks. He had a huge "credit" in his "Kharma account".


While youre "waxing hypothetical", if Brooks Koepka jarred his 10-footer on 18, it's a playoff.

Or Tiger doesn’t play for bogey on 18.

What??!!
Tiger hit a tree on his second shot on 18. Are you saying he meant to do that...?...

Tiger NEVER plays for bogie. He wanted to hit that stiff and try to birdie the hole...just because.


After an untimely bogie on 10, he made a great run through 17 while the closest 3-4 contenders all stumbled and crumbled under the intense pressure of the moment.

He did not hit a tree, he said in his interviews he hit a wipe off the toe. He also said he was playing for bogey and was trying to overcut it.

[Ian Mackenzie]

It all evens out.
Just "ask" Payne Stewart about the US Open in 1998. Two of the worst breaks in major championship history.


- hits into a sand-filled divot on 16.
- his first putt on 18 went past the hole then returned riht to his feet.


Then he wins in 1999.


Tiger has had 11 years of bad breaks. He had a huge "credit" in his "Kharma account".


While youre "waxing hypothetical", if Brooks Koepka jarred his 10-footer on 18, it's a playoff.

Or Tiger doesn’t play for bogey on 18.

What??!!
Tiger hit a tree on his second shot on 18. Are you saying he meant to do that...?...

Tiger NEVER plays for bogie. He wanted to hit that stiff and try to birdie the hole...just because.


After an untimely bogie on 10, he made a great run through 17 while the closest 3-4 contenders all stumbled and crumbled under the intense pressure of the moment.

He did not hit a tree, he said in his interviews he hit a wipe off the toe. He also said he was playing for bogey and was trying to overcut it.

I stand corrected. Thanks...

[Wayne Wiggins, Jr.]

• His tee shots on 11 on Saturday and Sunday way right into the trees that got to the other side and offered a clear opening to the green.

Ironically, isn't this how this hole is designed to play, and why those trees were planted there?

[Kalen Braley]

• His tee shots on 11 on Saturday and Sunday way right into the trees that got to the other side and offered a clear opening to the green.

Ironically, isn't this how this hole is designed to play, and why those trees were planted there?

Wayne,

But one could also make the argument that they put the trees there so players would be discouraged to risk it and have to interface the pond more with the 2nd shot.  But perhaps they will plant even more over there next year as apart of TigerProofing 2.0... 


https://www.google.com/maps/place/Augusta+National+Golf+Club/@33.4960265,-82.0218664,229m/data=!3m1!1e3!4m5!3m4!1s0x88f9cd9fe8a776ed:0x519b380162b90517!8m2!3d33.5021365!4d-82.0226276

[Erik J. Barzeski]

Tiger NEVER plays for bogie. He wanted to hit that stiff and try to birdie the hole...just because.

Tiger clearly played for bogey one year at Doral. Iron, iron, iron, two putts.

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