Andrew Rice Golf

Posts Tagged ‘tiger’

Iconic Magnolia Drive

The cream of the crop always rises in golf’s major championships and nowhere is this more true than at Augusta National for the Masters.  Here are a few interesting notes to help get you prepared for the event:

If you, like me, are filling out a Masters pool keep the following in mind:

• Phil Mickelson has only finished outside the top 10 in twice in the last 13 years
• Graeme McDowell, outside his tie for 17th in 2009, has missed the cut in his other three Masters starts
• Martin Kaymer is 0-for-4 in getting to the weekend at the Masters (despite his Monday hole in one) and Louis Oosthuizen is 0-3 in cuts made
• Geoff Ogilvy has six Masters starts, has never missed a cut, and counts three top-16 finishes, including a T4 last year
• Ian Poulter’s T27 in 2011 was his worst showing in the last five years. He tied for 10th in 2010
• Justin Rose has never missed the cut in six starts at Augusta. He tied for fifth in 2007, was T11 a year ago, and rolls in with a good dose of confidence
• David Toms has bounced back with three top-24 finishes in his last four starts
• Lee Westwood has three top-11 finishes in his last four Masters starts, his best showing being a solo runner-up two years ago
• Remember what Rory McIlroy did through the first 63 holes last year…and how he recovered from that final nine at Congressional
• Tiger Woods has won one green jacket in the last 10 years. Yet, dating to his last Masters victory in 2005, he has not finished worse than T6.

If I could pick any three golfers I’d have to go with (in this order) Rory, Phil and Tiger (yes, I know I’m going way out on a limb here)! My sleepers would be Cabrera, Ogilvy and KJ…

The Slender 18th

I am surprised and disappointed that the Augusta powers have failed to extend an invitation to Ernie Els. Ernie is currently playing beautifully, having finished outside the top 20 only once in his last 5 events. He is 34th in the Fedex Cup and ranked 58th in the world. Not to mention that he has often (albeit, not often enough) contended for the green jacket.  Is Ryo Ishikawa really better than the Big Easy? Or does he just command a greater Japanese television audience?

That being said here is the FIELD and how they qualified.

The Stunning 16th

As always the premium at Augusta is on the shortgame. Here is Geoff Ogilvy talking about the two toughest chips that almost all golfers will face during the week:

One of the toughest chips you can face on the course is from right of the 11th green, a spot where it seems at least one player in every group is playing from during the tournament. Bailing out away from the water is very tempting but no bargain. It is almost impossible to land a chip short on that green with any confidence; you just don’t know what the ball is going to do after it pitches. Then when it does get on the green it invariably races away. It’s such a subtle test, but one that gives the course much of its character.

The same is true behind the 15th green. It is so difficult to judge how much forward momentum the ball will have after it bounces and how fast it needs to be moving once it gets onto the sloping putting surface. And again, it is a shot that tends to come up a lot over the course of the tournament. Go for that green in two every day and you are likely to finish over the back at least twice.

Having had the opportunity to play both of these chip shots I can second his thoughts. I would almost always go for the front portion of the green at 11 rather than bail out right – water or not. Very tough approach from the right side there.

Here are a few sites that do a fantastic job covering the event:

GolfDigest.com

GeoffShackelford.com

Golf.com

Golfweek.com

To see unique photographs from a few of my previous visits to Augusta National click HERE and HERE

Have a fantastic week and enjoy the golf!

Here is Tiger Woods from the Chevron event last week answering questions about Trackman and what it has meant for his game.

The Deserving Champion

Here are a few of my thoughts after witnessing the PGA Championship:

• Martin Kaymer played like a champion and he thoroughly deserved the title. Don’t forget the up and down on the 72nd hole he had, not to mention the stunning two he made at 17 in the playoff. I love to see talented, hard working youngsters breaking through. Well done Martin, Louis and Graeme!
• You would think the PGA of America could have one of their 28,000 members to follow the final group so as to avoid what happened on the 72nd hole. I do not blame anybody for the incident and it is certainly Dustin Johnson’s responsibility to know where he is playing from, but let’s have a little foresight here….

See the bunker....?

• Whistling Straits has more bunkers than all the courses in Africa (not a true statement, but it just might!) and it needs to get pushed off the edge of Wisconsin and into the lake! In fact while they’re at it they can push another future PGA site, The Ocean Course at Kiawah into the ocean too. The last time I checked golf was meant to be fun and you couldn’t pay me enough to play those two courses in particular. They are both horrible!

• How about this picture posted at PGA.com of some kids building sand castles in a bunker! How many majors will this ever happen at? I guess that’s what happens when you have 1000 too many bunkers.

Bunker Play.....

• Poor Nick Watney – what started as such a promising day turned into a demoralizing experience. I hope he can come back from this.
• Dustin Johnson is a tough kid and I believe his 72nd hole nightmare will only steel his attitude towards greater heights. I firmly believe he will come back better than ever from this.
• I like the way Bubba played the playoff, but he simply must opt to miss long on the final hole versus a shot that has the potential to be short – especially since Kaymer had a poor lie in the rough.
• For all the focus on Tiger I don’t believe he seems to be swinging any better YET. Every time I saw him on day 4 he finished with his right shoulder high from the clubhead being trapped behind him and seemed as wild as ever. I do think his change to Sean Foley is an excellent choice and he will get better under his guidance. And no Sean Foley is not a Stack and Tilter, just an instructor who understands that all swings are unique unto the individual and everything in the swing should be directed around impact.

• A little insider info is that Tiger called up Foley right after he and Hank parted ways and asked Foley to drop all his other students (notably Mahan and O’Hair) and start teaching only him. Foley said, “Thanks, but no thanks!”
• I’m sure it’s just me, but the PGA Championship is really starting to feel like the fifth major – and there are only four! It just does not appeal to me in the unique manner each of the other three majors do. Anybody up for starting a petition for only three majors?

Mickelson is Master again! (AP)

Eighteen of the last nineteen years the winner has come from the final group out on Sunday at the Masters; Tiger has never won a major championship when coming from behind on a Sunday; Phil has three majors while Westwood only has a handful of close calls; we should have seen it all along – this was Phil’s event to win or lose and when he grabbed the event event by the scruff of the neck on the 13th hole Sunday with an emphatic six iron from the trees, he showed he had clearly opted for a courageous and thrilling victory!

While watching the broadcast I could not help but think back to the “old” days when players had legitimate shots at making eagles and birdies on the inward nine that always made for the most exciting finish in golf. The difference this year was that players seemed to have that ability on the front nine as well. I eventually lost track of all the eagles being made in my giddy stupor over how much fun this golf tournament was to watch. From the freak pine stamen event on the second green, to Tiger’s hole out on the 7th, to the most fun sand shot I have ever seen (Westwood, also at the 7th) the front nine gets my vote as the most thrilling nine holes of any major championship in recent memory.

If only the powers that be at Augusta National could comprehend how much the golf community enjoyed seeing Couples, Watson and Langer have a chance; how much we enjoyed watching the youthful passion of Anthony Kim shoot 31 on the back  to be in with a chance; and most of all some of the memorable shots that were played from the most improbable places on the golf course. This course set up, coupled with the near perfect conditions, made for a Masters of old - one where the roars replaced the groans and red replaced black on the large manually operated scoreboards. Please keep this balance between difficulty and achievability because it was so much better than what the last few years have held. Who cares what the winning score is? A week from now no one will remember. You got it right this year (with a little help from Mother Nature!).

Here are a few interesting points I noticed:

Choi and Woods were in sync all week (Tielemans/SI)

• KJ and Tiger played together all four days and matched each other on the scorecard every day. I wonder when the last time that happened was?
• The Phil Mickelson “pine stamen” incident on the 2nd green was the freakiest thing I have ever seen on a putting green – watch the footage here. Bobby Jones always spoke about destiny; what did this mean? Absolutely nothing in the end.
• Jason Dufner birdied the last three holes (16, 17 and 18) on Friday to make the cut at +3!
• When Anthony Kim gets hot lookout! I doubt if there are many players, Tiger included, who can match him shot for shot.
• Sergio Garcia scored 154 (+10) on the weekend in perfect conditions. Whaat? How can a golfer with such talent underachieve so well? It must be due to the fact he is playing against more than just the other golfers in the field each week…. Bad, bad attitude.
• It was good to see Adam Scott and Trevor Immelman hang in over the weekend and both finish in the top twenty.
• Y.E. Yang is a tough customer and never even got a glimpse or a mention – even after a solid 70 and another top ten finish in a major.
• Matteo Manassero is a name that we will be hearing for a very long time time. Not only did he post an excellent final score, but he did exceptionally well in most of the stat categories. He hit the second most fairways for the week!
• I find myself completely unable to root for Tiger Woods.

Stats for the top five finishers: (out of 49 players who made the cut)

Driving Distance

Mickelson 2nd / Westwood 6th / Kim 38th / Choi 42nd / Woods 19th

GIR

Mickelson 5th / Westwood 1st / Kim 10th / Choi 4th / Woods 17th

FIR

Mickelson 45th / Westwood 43rd / Kim 46th / Choi 24th / Woods 38th

Total Putts

Mickelson 13th / Westwood 36th / Kim 6th / Choi 5th / Woods 3rd

Quote of the Day goes to Phil Mickelson when asked about the difference between a great shot and a smart shot:

A great shot is one that you pull off and a smart shot is the one you hit when you don’t have the guts try it!

A Friend in Need..... (Getty)

Complete Final Leaderboard

Putt Like Phil by Dave Stockton Sr. (Phil’s new putting coach)

What’s in Lee Westwood’s bag

This Masters Week was Hard to Beat by John Steinbreder

Tiger Woods (Vuich/SI)

Here are a few impressions from the opening round at Augusta National on Thursday:

• The day was all about Tiger and judging by the golf he played – rightly so! While he received multiple fortuitous bounces (8, 9, 10, 11) he left his fair share of 8 footers out there. On Thursday he was a modern day Seve Ballesteros playing at full steam. Good to watch for sure.
• That being said, Tiger still has a long way to go in improving his reaction to less than stellar shots. I saw and heard multiple GD’s and what looked like an f-bomb.
• Shingo – what happened to the hat?
• Charl Schwartzel is the real deal! He played a fantastic opener and I look for him to still be around come Sunday. He gets my vote as the best swing in golf at the moment.
• Aaah Freddy - that swing is perhaps even smoother and freer than it has ever looked. And I love the “golf sneakers”, with no socks none the less, to go along with no glove. He looked and swung like a friend had pulled him off the couch for a quick evening 5 holes at their local track! Did you know that Fred is -77 for 12 rounds on the Champions Tour this year….! Yesterday was the lowest round he has ever had at Augusta National.

Freddy Couples (Beck/SI)

• Each time I checked the leaderboard a different Champions Tour golfer was leading – first Langer, then Watson and finally Freddy Couples. What a great day for golf!
• I can see the emergency meeting Thursday night with the superintendent: How do we get rid of these silly pine stamens? Why is there pine pollen floating on the ponds? And why are the scores so low? I’m sure every stamen you saw yesterday is already off property, but can you picture Augusta with no pine trees next year?
• What happened to Ernie and Angel on the back nine yesterday? Els played a fine round, but spoiled it with an ugly double at the closer for 71 and Cabrera had it to -3 before dropping four shots in the final four holes for 73.
• I love what Jack and Arnie did to start the tournament. Call me sentimental, I just think it adds so much to the event and it’s tradition. Gary Player where are you?
• KJ Choi is swinging and putting beautifully and I look for him to be around on Sunday. Playing with Tiger seemed to spur him on.
• Does Matt Kuchar have the flattest back swing you have ever seen?
• If you have not used the scoreboard at Masters.com I would highly recommend it. It includes video highlights for multiple shots from each player - take a look!
• It was good to see Trevor Immelman and Adam Scott have nice openers. Two young stars who have been missing for awhile.
• In the battle of the long bombers Dustin Johnson (305.50 yds) currently holds a 1 yard advantage over playing partner Alvaro Quiros (304.50 yds)
• Lookout for Phil…..lookout!

GIR Stats

FIR Stats

Putting Stats

Driving Distance Stats