Mavs Euro Tour Weekly - Abu Dhabi Championship
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Mavs Euro Tour Weekly - Abu Dhabi Championship
First topic message reminder :
Firstly congratulations to last week’s winner Brandon Grace; wait didn’t I say that last week. Young Brandon certainly makes me feels a touch of De JA Vu with his 2nd win in as many weeks.
So to this week Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship.
-Tigers back! Well he’s been given more than a million dollars to play to be more accurate. Even admitting in his pre event press conference appearance fees are the major factor in building his tournament schedule
-The marquee group of Tiger, Rory and Luuuuuke are out there the first 3 days, can only imagine the point of this was to see what past, present and possibly future world No1’s look like playing together
- Luke has sought the advice of the great golden bear Jack Nicklaus on the keys to becoming great, he’s basically told Luke he has it all but the key is good driving, so that’s Luke’s aim starting here to drive the ball better
-Martin Kaymer is going for the threepeat (Americanism creeping in there) this course clearly suits Kaymer when you consider he has won the last 2 here.
-McIlroy stating this year he wants a fast start to gain as many OGWR points as he can to close the gap on Luke
Can’t talk of this event without mentioning the ridiculous clubhouse; keep your peepers peeled for the Falcon…. Designed to resemble the bird of prey itself, can’t work out if I’m impressed or find it laughable.
So to the news:
Ryder Cup: Captain Olly has done the sensible thing and made the decision to name the team a day later than scheduled, so team will now be named on the 27th August instead of the 26th this allows the players in the US the chance to finish the event their playing in. This will then prevent the Monty moment where players like Rose and Casey found out whilst still on the course that they didn’t make the team.
Talking of Monty moments, the great Scot has come out (not literally despite his boob size)and said he cannot wait for the masters and having had a chat will El Tigre at Abu Dhabi that he feels Tiger WILL win 2 majors minimum this year. Bold call from Monty, so based on that I will predict Red Rum WILL win the National, what no oh maybe worth a punt!!!
McIlroys 6 iron to the par 3, 10th hole in the final round of his US Open win, has won shot of the year.
So to Move on:
Challenge Tour
Gets underway this week out in India with the Gujurat Kensville Challenge. This is a big week for Chubby Chandlers latest prodigy, Peter Uihlein officially plays his first pro event out in India and the former US AM champ is hoping Europe proves to be the springboard to the big time it has been for so many recent major winners.
Little annoyed at comments coming out of the Matt Haynes camp this week, stating how travelling to India bored him, and how this event seemingly does have any meaning to him but instead of focusing on the event is looking more forward to getting back to the US to play as he has friends out there.
All that really leaves now is for me to mention the Seniors Tour, the hugely depleted seniors tour is currently in Q school mode, so we’ll see a fresh batch of guys playing this year or not as the coverage is generally poor.
Thanks for reading
Mav
Firstly congratulations to last week’s winner Brandon Grace; wait didn’t I say that last week. Young Brandon certainly makes me feels a touch of De JA Vu with his 2nd win in as many weeks.
So to this week Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship.
-Tigers back! Well he’s been given more than a million dollars to play to be more accurate. Even admitting in his pre event press conference appearance fees are the major factor in building his tournament schedule
-The marquee group of Tiger, Rory and Luuuuuke are out there the first 3 days, can only imagine the point of this was to see what past, present and possibly future world No1’s look like playing together
- Luke has sought the advice of the great golden bear Jack Nicklaus on the keys to becoming great, he’s basically told Luke he has it all but the key is good driving, so that’s Luke’s aim starting here to drive the ball better
-Martin Kaymer is going for the threepeat (Americanism creeping in there) this course clearly suits Kaymer when you consider he has won the last 2 here.
-McIlroy stating this year he wants a fast start to gain as many OGWR points as he can to close the gap on Luke
Can’t talk of this event without mentioning the ridiculous clubhouse; keep your peepers peeled for the Falcon…. Designed to resemble the bird of prey itself, can’t work out if I’m impressed or find it laughable.
So to the news:
Ryder Cup: Captain Olly has done the sensible thing and made the decision to name the team a day later than scheduled, so team will now be named on the 27th August instead of the 26th this allows the players in the US the chance to finish the event their playing in. This will then prevent the Monty moment where players like Rose and Casey found out whilst still on the course that they didn’t make the team.
Talking of Monty moments, the great Scot has come out (not literally despite his boob size)and said he cannot wait for the masters and having had a chat will El Tigre at Abu Dhabi that he feels Tiger WILL win 2 majors minimum this year. Bold call from Monty, so based on that I will predict Red Rum WILL win the National, what no oh maybe worth a punt!!!
McIlroys 6 iron to the par 3, 10th hole in the final round of his US Open win, has won shot of the year.
So to Move on:
Challenge Tour
Gets underway this week out in India with the Gujurat Kensville Challenge. This is a big week for Chubby Chandlers latest prodigy, Peter Uihlein officially plays his first pro event out in India and the former US AM champ is hoping Europe proves to be the springboard to the big time it has been for so many recent major winners.
Little annoyed at comments coming out of the Matt Haynes camp this week, stating how travelling to India bored him, and how this event seemingly does have any meaning to him but instead of focusing on the event is looking more forward to getting back to the US to play as he has friends out there.
All that really leaves now is for me to mention the Seniors Tour, the hugely depleted seniors tour is currently in Q school mode, so we’ll see a fresh batch of guys playing this year or not as the coverage is generally poor.
Thanks for reading
Mav
Maverick- Posts : 621
Join date : 2011-12-12
Location : Right Here or maybe over there
Re: Mavs Euro Tour Weekly - Abu Dhabi Championship
Redrage, you can't separate the mental from the physical side of the game. Make all the excuses in the world for him if you want but James Corrigan's article sums up the Tiger circa 2012 best for me ...
http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/golf/jamie-corrigan-finding-the-old-tiger-is-proving-a-bit-tricky-6296544.html
There is an added dimension to Tiger's story which I believe makes it even more difficult for him to come back. Ostensibly, he has had to ditch a swing that has worked so well for him in the past. This in itself would increase any mental baggage he's carrying not to mention that he's still stuck with that little jerky thing he does coming into the impact area for which he can no longer use his left leg to compensate.
When Tiger Woods was young and set his goal to beat Jack's record, I would imagine that being forced to re-build his swing in his mid-thirties didn't feature in his plans. As a result and, to deploy an americansim, I suspect the mental side of the game has gotten way tougher than ever he thought it could be.
In short, Tiger Woods's yin has lost its yang.
http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/golf/jamie-corrigan-finding-the-old-tiger-is-proving-a-bit-tricky-6296544.html
James Corrigan - The Indedepent
The reports of Tiger Woods's resurrection are greatly exaggerated. His aura remains buried in the past and many of us believe yesterday's latest shortfall, in Abu Dhabi, will only make his return to predominance that much more demanding.
Of course, Woods used the word "progress" when it came to his second top-three performance in his last two official events. For any other golfer that would no doubt ring true, as they regain fuill fitness after labouring for so long and as a radical swing overhaul beds in. But this is not any other golfer – he's Tiger Woods. And whether he likes it or not, the rules are different for him.
"The old Tiger". It's the label one hears all the time. He must hate that image of the imperious front-runner who treated golf's fabled variables with all the respect of a billionaire crapshooter playing with fivers.
Think about it: on the first 57 occasions he either held or shared 54-hole leads he only lost six times; since the scandal surrounding his extra-curricular activity began to emerge, he has lost three times out of five when at the top of the third-round leaderboard. And one of those was in an 18-man money-fest.
Something has clearly changed and the longer he goes without a "real" victory – I'm sorry, the Chevron World Challenge is many things, but it's not a "real" victory – the tougher it will become. Remember the certainty when the man in red went marching down the first on a Sunday lunchtime? No longer. Not even when he's playing with a 34-year-old who has won just one measly title in nine years on the European Tour.
No disrespect intended to Robert Rock, a player who dared to achieve "something I had always believed was beyond me". Yet does anyone really believe he would have disposed of Woods so easily if the scandal had never broken?
By the same token, don't you think Woods's rivals will look at this display and think: "Yeah, he played OK, but he couldn't even beat the player ranked 117th in the world"?
The problem is we cannot resist allowing our minds to race back those few years to the Tiger era. Even those who know him best are guilty of it. Take Hank Haney, his former coach.
"Tiger will win tomorrow, virtually impossible for him not to make at least four or five birdies on that course and he doesn't have to hit driver," said Haney on Saturday as Woods cruised through with a 66. Well, Tiger didn't hit driver and made three birdies, which were flanked by three bogeys. From looking his old self, he started looking his new self – and the reason should be obvious. He didn't believe as much as we believed.The 36-year-old left the Arabian Desert last night maintaining the problem had been technical, physical even, but not mental. He hit his three-wood further than he thought he would, hit just two fairways as a result and, with a few poor wedges thrown in for bad measure, struggled to cope with Rock's consistency. That was what had changed on the fourth day. For some reason, which he couldn't explain, his ball travelled further.
Maybe he will arrive at the answer and find holes in his inner belief. Maybe he will put his head in these sands and cling to his declaration: "I was just a touch off."Wager on the latter scenario. After all, since this whole tawdry affair broke, since he became the laughing stock of humanity, he has never admitted to the media that his psyche has been affected by an experience with which very few superstars have had to deal.
Granted, he did agree that it was hard to focus on the day job with all the helicopters whirring over his house. But that's all it was – a distraction. Turn down the volume, turn down the interference, soon it would all return to normal.
It hasn't and now Woods must realise he has to repair his own concentration as well as any faults in his swing. The clock is counting down, but not quite as quickly as the time ticks down on the plausibility of his excuses. At Pebble Beach in a fortnight's time, golf will yearn for him once again to get into contention, but this time finish it off.
The Masters is only four, maybe five, tournaments away for Woods and by then he needs to prove he can produce down the stretch like he used to, like only the greats had before.
Not simply to prove to the punters, or the journalists, none of whom he cares a jot for, but to himself and, just as importantly, to his rivals. When he is sure he can do it, he will do it.
There is an added dimension to Tiger's story which I believe makes it even more difficult for him to come back. Ostensibly, he has had to ditch a swing that has worked so well for him in the past. This in itself would increase any mental baggage he's carrying not to mention that he's still stuck with that little jerky thing he does coming into the impact area for which he can no longer use his left leg to compensate.
When Tiger Woods was young and set his goal to beat Jack's record, I would imagine that being forced to re-build his swing in his mid-thirties didn't feature in his plans. As a result and, to deploy an americansim, I suspect the mental side of the game has gotten way tougher than ever he thought it could be.
In short, Tiger Woods's yin has lost its yang.
gaelgowfer- Posts : 255
Join date : 2011-12-13
Re: Mavs Euro Tour Weekly - Abu Dhabi Championship
Tiger was top of the leaderboard going into the final day, and only managed to shoot level par. You have to go all the way down to 17th place to find someone who scored worse than him on Sunday.
Why did his excellent solid golf of the first 3 days suddenly disappear when in contention on a Sunday afternoon? Did he bottle it? I'm sure people would have been saying this of Robert Rock if he had let a few shots slip by.
Why did his excellent solid golf of the first 3 days suddenly disappear when in contention on a Sunday afternoon? Did he bottle it? I'm sure people would have been saying this of Robert Rock if he had let a few shots slip by.
raycastleunited- Posts : 413
Join date : 2011-12-14
Re: Mavs Euro Tour Weekly - Abu Dhabi Championship
Winning isnt the habit for him that it used to be. But then again its hardly a habit for any of his rivals anyway in the same way it was for Woods. The stand out talent coming through is Coco and he has huge problems getting over the finishing line.
If Woods keeps contending in events, which he is now beginning to do in every event he is playing, he will pick up the wins.
In the space of a few months we have already gone from some people saying he was in terminal decline to saying well it looks like he is back but cant win the way he used to. He is moving in the right direction for sure.
If Woods keeps contending in events, which he is now beginning to do in every event he is playing, he will pick up the wins.
In the space of a few months we have already gone from some people saying he was in terminal decline to saying well it looks like he is back but cant win the way he used to. He is moving in the right direction for sure.
diggers- Posts : 944
Join date : 2011-12-12
Re: Mavs Euro Tour Weekly - Abu Dhabi Championship
Has anyone said he is in terminal decline Diggers, I think the question people legitimately had was whether he could contend to the same degree as before.
He's been consistent in his last 3 tournaments, even although one was a mid week stableford and another was against Aussie journeymen, but it still looks like he's struggling in respect of accuracy, belief and the ability to put four solid rounds together. It will probably come, but while I don't think he's in terminal decline (sadly) I don't think he's going to be all conquering again happily.
He's been consistent in his last 3 tournaments, even although one was a mid week stableford and another was against Aussie journeymen, but it still looks like he's struggling in respect of accuracy, belief and the ability to put four solid rounds together. It will probably come, but while I don't think he's in terminal decline (sadly) I don't think he's going to be all conquering again happily.
super_realist- Posts : 460
Join date : 2011-12-14
Re: Mavs Euro Tour Weekly - Abu Dhabi Championship
Its all conjecture SR, very early in the year still. Massively over analysed because its Woods. You could look at Westwood and say has he had his best years and missed the boat ? Can Donald carry on where he left off last year or will he feel the pressure. Is Coco lacking a golfing brain to be a real great, or in fact any kind of brain. And what the hell is going on with Kaymer, its either the sublime or the ridiculous with the German. And is Big Phil (who is looking very out of shape) over the hill after his shocking start to the year.
Going to be an interesting year.
Going to be an interesting year.
diggers- Posts : 944
Join date : 2011-12-12
Re: Mavs Euro Tour Weekly - Abu Dhabi Championship
Going to be a good year I think too Diggers, although I fancy someone unheralded to make a big impact. I'm not sure who, but I think someone is going to make a big mark this year and it's none of who we think it might be.
I like an underdog, and it was great to see Rock, who could just as easily be a member of your own club turn up and maintain his form throughout a strong field.
I like an underdog, and it was great to see Rock, who could just as easily be a member of your own club turn up and maintain his form throughout a strong field.
super_realist- Posts : 460
Join date : 2011-12-14
Re: Mavs Euro Tour Weekly - Abu Dhabi Championship
Much being made of the "what ifs" with Coco and his two shot penalty, but interesting to see GMac was only two shots off the lead and he reckoned the cracked driver on the first day cost him two shots. Still I think he'll be very pleased with a T3 and could be the start of a bit of a comeback for him also. I know GMac isn't everybody's cup of tea but I always enjoy watching him
Re: Mavs Euro Tour Weekly - Abu Dhabi Championship
Obviously far, far from being unheralded but wouldnt be suprised to see Schwartzel in the worlds top 2-3 by the end of the year and staying there for a long time.
diggers- Posts : 944
Join date : 2011-12-12
Re: Mavs Euro Tour Weekly - Abu Dhabi Championship
Brilliant performance by Rock, great to see him hold it together. I kept expecting to see him start to drop a few shots as the pressure mounted, but apart from a bit of a nervy 18th he showed great composure. I thought that his caddie earned his money there, immediately advising a penalty drop from the hazard when I was starting to fear that a 'Jean Van de velde' moment could be a possibility.
Loved his interviews afterwards and his "I'm amazed that I have been able to do that" comments. I wonder if having Peter Hanson in the same group and obviously struggling helped make Robert feel more at ease with his own situation? Maybe the pressure would have been greater and the outcome possibly different if it had been the usual last day two ball and Rock was going straight head to head with Tiger?
Loved his interviews afterwards and his "I'm amazed that I have been able to do that" comments. I wonder if having Peter Hanson in the same group and obviously struggling helped make Robert feel more at ease with his own situation? Maybe the pressure would have been greater and the outcome possibly different if it had been the usual last day two ball and Rock was going straight head to head with Tiger?
BlueCoverman- Posts : 2943
Join date : 2011-12-16
Location : Essex
Re: Mavs Euro Tour Weekly - Abu Dhabi Championship
gaelgowfer wrote:Redrage, you can't separate the mental from the physical side of the game.
You are making a mockery of your own argument here. If they can't be separated then it was neither one thing or the other that was responsible for his poor play, but a combination of technical issues affecting his mental performance. I don't agree with that assessment, he started well enough but lost his swing and it was a battle from there on in. His play is not consistent enough too merit any comparisons to his previous form, which he may or may not recover. It is really unwise to make the assertion that this will define his whole year or the rest of his career.
Redrage- Posts : 343
Join date : 2011-12-14
Re: Mavs Euro Tour Weekly - Abu Dhabi Championship
Red, I wouldn't pay Gael too much heed, she doesn't believe that there is a pshychological element, or at least nothing that she can be told about it.
super_realist- Posts : 460
Join date : 2011-12-14
Re: Mavs Euro Tour Weekly - Abu Dhabi Championship
Redrage wrote:gaelgowfer wrote:Redrage, you can't separate the mental from the physical side of the game.
You are making a mockery of your own argument here. If they can't be separated then it was neither one thing or the other that was responsible for his poor play, but a combination of technical issues affecting his mental performance. I don't agree with that assessment, he started well enough but lost his swing and it was a battle from there on in. His play is not consistent enough too merit any comparisons to his previous form, which he may or may not recover. It is really unwise to make the assertion that this will define his whole year or the rest of his career.
Good grief, I'm wondering at this moment if you're a politician because your response is right up there in the spin stakes.
I made no such assertion. I merely stated that his comeback would be more difficult.
I was merely responding to your assertion that his failure to win was down to a simple matter of swing mechanics. Surely the six inches between the ears are crucial no matter what state your game is in and I think he got rattled early on because he wasn't expecting a nobody to stay with him over those early holes. It is also entirely possible he wasn't in control of his ball as the result of a surfeit of adrenaline. He had, after all, come off the back of a superb round of golf and, given his track record when leading or sharing the lead going into a final round, it was quite understandable for him to believe he would see off not only his two playing partners in double-quick time but the rest of the field particularly after holing that ridiculous putt from off the green at the second hole.
gaelgowfer- Posts : 255
Join date : 2011-12-13
Re: Mavs Euro Tour Weekly - Abu Dhabi Championship
super_realist wrote:Red, I wouldn't pay Gael too much heed, she doesn't believe that there is a pshychological element, or at least nothing that she can be told about it.
Misplaced your shadow again, have we?
gaelgowfer- Posts : 255
Join date : 2011-12-13
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