[cary lichtenstein]

I really enjoyed seeing Tiger play so well on the first 36, +1 and tied for 22nd.


82-77 he ended up dead Last, what happened?

[Michael Morandi]

Likely exhausted and it’s a tough walk. His “will” can only last so long at age 48 with a fused ankle and a rod in one leg. My question is what happened to Jon Rahm?  Maybe he isn’t used to playing 72 holes in front of a lot of people😅

[Erik J. Barzeski]

Likely exhausted and it’s a tough walk. His “will” can only last so long at age 48 with a fused ankle and a rod in one leg.

Just that, yep. Plus the conditions were worse, so it may have distracted him from his physical issues enough to play a bit better.

[Ben Hollerbach]

I really enjoyed seeing Tiger play so well on the first 36, +1 and tied for 22nd.


82-77 he ended up dead Last, what happened?

I think the better question is what did he do to play so well on the first 36?


What we saw on the weekend is sadly the expected “normal” for him today.

[Tom_Doak]

I don't think you can write off Tiger, but his best chance of contending again is on a flatter course [probably at The Open Championship].


What's happening to him is the same thing that happens to all great players as they age . . . they still have the potential for a great round, but it's more and more difficult to put four of them together.  Some of it's physical, but some of it is having the mental stamina to keep the same focus they did when they were in their prime.


Tiger spent 2+ rounds thinking he was going to win the tournament, but as soon as he realized he wasn't, his focus fell apart quickly.  A top ten finish would mean a lot to his fans, but it doesn't mean anything to him.


As for Rahm [who cost me in my Masters pool], the combination of being defending champion and taking the brunt of the questions about LIV was a bad combination and I'm sure it made it hard for him to focus on golf.  But I have no idea what his form was like going into the event, as I'm not following his new tour.

[Peter Sayegh]

I don't think you can write off Tiger, but his best chance of contending again is on a flatter course [probably at The Open Championship].

Is Troon much flatter than #2? Just asking, never played Troon.

[Steve_Roths]

Yes.  Other than the stairs up to Postage Stamp.

[Tom_Doak]

I don't think you can write off Tiger, but his best chance of contending again is on a flatter course [probably at The Open Championship].

Is Troon much flatter than #2? Just asking, never played Troon.

I don't think that any of the links on the Open rota would qualify as tough walks.  But, you are right, neither is Pinehurst #2.

[Jeff Segol]

Looked to me that the walk sapped his lower body strength. Once he was no longer able to turn his lower body out of the way, he started coming over the top, with the typical mix of pulls and slices. It's a quandary for him, in that his best chance to win topgraphically is probably in Scotland, but the cold weather is worse for him. I'd say this year he has better opportunities at Valhalla and Pinehurst, both of which I believe are flatter than Augusta.

[Cal Carlisle]

I don't think you can write off Tiger, but his best chance of contending again is on a flatter course [probably at The Open Championship].

Greg Norman made a go of it at Royal Birkdale in his early 50's. Tom Watson was closing in on 60 when he was in contention the following year at Turnberry. Yeah, The Open Championship is probably the one major that is realistically in Tiger's reach.

[David_Tepper]

The Open courses usually do not have the thick, dark-green, juicy rough that is often found on US Open and PGA Championship courses. Playing out of the rough on links courses is usually not as physically taxing, which would help Tiger over 4 rounds. 

[Niall C]

Troon might not have the elevational changes of Augusta but it still has a bit of up and down in terms of in and out of dunes, on and off tees, rumples in fairways etc. some of which can be a bit abrupt. As big an issue IMO however is the hardness of the ground. If it is bone dry then then it could be very hard walking.


Niall

[Darragh Garrahy]

It's all physical- there's only so much his badly damaged lower limb can put up . It's a miracle he can do what he is doing for 36 holes here and there.

[George Pazin]

Time heals all wounds.    Seriously, as much as Tiger is a fitness fanatic, I think time will help him more than working out.


The other overlooked factor, I believe, is lack of recent competitive experience. I don't care if you're Tiger or Jack or whoever, not playing much competitively erodes one's skills. You just aren't as sharp, for as long. Practicing a lot is still just practicing, it doesn't sharpen as pressure does.


I'm as big a fan as any, so I'm hoping Tiger can string together an occasional run at a major, but I'm certainly not expecting, just appreciating it if and when it happens.

[David Cronan]

What happened to Woods? It's a tough game that was played on a tough course. We became spoiled by his on-course exploits and now it looks as though we're being spoiled again with Scheffler.

[Sam Morrow]

What happened to Woods? It's a tough game that was played on a tough course. We became spoiled by his on-course exploits and now it looks as though we're being spoiled again with Scheffler.

Well said, golf is hard, competitive golf even harder. Considering how little he's played it's pretty awesome what he did.

[A.G._Crockett]

In elite golfer’s years, he’s old.  In ANYBODY’S years, his body is seriously damaged.  ANGC is considered to be one of, if not THE, toughest walks on Tour.  He hasn’t played more than two rounds of competitive golf in a long, long time.  Forget Saturday because of the wind. 


He played on Sunday like a tired, injured older guy who hasn’t been playing much golf.  It isn’t more complicated than that.  IMO, it is sheer force of will that has gotten him back to a point where he could make the cut at the freaking Masters.  It’ll be fascinating to see if that will can carry him any farther, but it’s pretty damn amazing already.

[JohnVDB]

The Open courses usually do not have the thick, dark-green, juicy rough that is often found on US Open and PGA Championship courses. Playing out of the rough on links courses is usually not as physically taxing, which would help Tiger over 4 rounds.

There shouldn’t be any thick rough at Pinehurst assuming the setup is the same as 2014.

[David_Tepper]

"There shouldn’t be any thick rough at Pinehurst assuming the setup is the same as 2014."

JohnVDB -

Yes, you are right about that. But do we know that Tiger is exempt from this year's US Open? I am not sure if his 2019 Masters win will get him an exemption.

Winners of the Masters the last five years (including current year) 

As I read it that would be the winners in 2020-21-22-23-24.

If it does not, has the USGA given him an invite?

DT

[Edward Glidewell]

"There shouldn’t be any thick rough at Pinehurst assuming the setup is the same as 2014."

JohnVDB -

Yes, you are right about that. But do we know that Tiger is exempt from this year's US Open? I am not sure if his 2019 Masters win will get him an exemption.

Winners of the Masters the last five years (including current year) 

As I read it that would be the winners in 2020-21-22-23-24.

If it does not, has the USGA given him an invite?

DT

I'm almost positive Tiger isn't exempt for the US Open.


I'm also almost positive that the USGA will give him an invite if he wants to play.

[jeffwarne]

I really enjoyed seeing Tiger play so well on the first 36, +1 and tied for 22nd.


82-77 he ended up dead Last, what happened?

Pretty surprised (given the lengthy recovery he needs) that they put him late-early.
Tiger IS the needle, and I'm sure he would have preferred earlyish-lateish.
Then throw in an 8pm finish and a 7:50 start due to weather(exactly as predicted) and you have a challenge for anyone, much less recovering, aging Tiger.


Tiger struck the ball very well, but throw in the adrenaline rush and the crazy schedule, as well as the incredibly fine lines from the wind and firm conditions, and the weekend poor play was at least somewhat predictable.
He was happy he could walk 72 holes, and knows the ball striking is there.


Tiger will be back-I for one don't think the weekend play was anywhere near "new normal" for him, and expect him to contend again.
Having no starts since LA didn't help.


I look for him to play well at Troon, and to contend again at Augusta, which always seem to reward aging GOATS and former champions.

[Ken Moum]

Pretty surprised (given the lengthy recovery he needs) that they put him late-early.
Tiger IS the needle, and I'm sure he would have preferred earlyish-lateish.
Then throw in an 8pm finish and a 7:50 start due to weather(exactly as predicted) and you have a challenge for anyone, much less recovering, aging Tiger.


Tiger struck the ball very well, but throw in the adrenaline rush and the crazy schedule, as well as the incredibly fine lines from the wind and firm conditions, and the weekend poor play was at least somewhat predictable.
He was happy he could walk 72 holes, and knows the ball striking is there.


Tiger will be back-I for one don't think the weekend play was anywhere near "new normal" for him, and expect him to contend again.
Having no starts since LA didn't help.


I look for him to play well at Troon, and to contend again at Augusta, which always seem to reward aging GOATS and former champions.

I'm certain you're right.  But also, the Sirius guys were saying he was having back spasms. I've had some back problems over the years, and one thing that always made the spasms flare up was more walking than I was accustomed to, was out of shape for.


Getting a tired back from 22 or 23 holes on that hilly property in difficult conditions would certainly be a recipe for spasms IMHO.

[Bill Shamleffer]

"There shouldn’t be any thick rough at Pinehurst assuming the setup is the same as 2014."

JohnVDB -

Yes, you are right about that. But do we know that Tiger is exempt from this year's US Open? I am not sure if his 2019 Masters win will get him an exemption.

Winners of the Masters the last five years (including current year) 

As I read it that would be the winners in 2020-21-22-23-24.

If it does not, has the USGA given him an invite?

DT

Tiger Woods is not currently exempt into the US Open, but is exempt into Sectional Qualifying.


https://champ-admin.usga.org/bin/champadmin/common/championship/info/download?champId=2696837

[Rob Marshall]

"There shouldn’t be any thick rough at Pinehurst assuming the setup is the same as 2014."

JohnVDB -

Yes, you are right about that. But do we know that Tiger is exempt from this year's US Open? I am not sure if his 2019 Masters win will get him an exemption.

Winners of the Masters the last five years (including current year) 

As I read it that would be the winners in 2020-21-22-23-24.

If it does not, has the USGA given him an invite?

DT

Tiger Woods is not currently exempt into the US Open, but is exempt into Sectional Qualifying.


https://champ-admin.usga.org/bin/champadmin/common/championship/info/download?champId=2696837

First time since 1996..

[Jeff Schley]

Pretty surprised (given the lengthy recovery he needs) that they put him late-early.
Tiger IS the needle, and I'm sure he would have preferred earlyish-lateish.
Then throw in an 8pm finish and a 7:50 start due to weather(exactly as predicted) and you have a challenge for anyone, much less recovering, aging Tiger.

This is what I felt as well, if you are going to take a golf trip on a very challenging walking course with a late afternoon round followed by being among the first groups out?  Throw in his medical issues and I was not shocked, but pretty close to see how well he did.
If he can walk 4 rounds without major issues moving forward, he will play well some weeks. He still was able to get his ball speed up to mid to high 170's when he wanted which is long enough. I don't agree with the talking heads who were arguing that,  "this was the best he has ever driven the ball."   No, check out 2000 I believe.  Great to see him back, if only for the big events as he is almost 50.

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