Bay Hill

Obviously going to be a lot of Tiger debate after yesterday's result. Is he back, is he as good ...........

A couple of things stood out for me, one of which was the reduced waistline of GMac. Also it looks like GMac has changed bats again, because after a brilliant year in 2010 with Callaway, he took the money and walked to Srixon and won nothing, but Cleveland is enblazened on his bag now?

Those greens were causing all sorts of problems yesterday and couldn't believe GMac missing some 3-footers, because he would have put a lot more pressure on Tiger if they had dropped, and yes GMac rolled in a couple of big ones, but if they hadn't dropped would have seen him way past.

Ernie is finished

Tiger wasn't under any pressure, but his driving in the main was decent, and finishing 1st on the stats for GIR, Scrambling, fairways hit and putting does show signs of a big improvement. However I don't see him as anywhere near the force he once was, but he could be in the mix again at Augusta.

I think the interesting thing about Woods form is its actually been very decent for a while. He is third in the scoring average just behind Stricker but well behind Rory. Who knows how good this version of Woods will be, but it seems to be getting better and better.
I agree Els is gone, he looks all over the shop at the business end of an event now. Shame but it happens to the best of them sooner or later.

Bayhill to me looks to be a hugely overrated course with less than a handfull of decent holes. Definitely gone with the let's make the par3's as long as we can to toughen them up method instead of using contours and good design!

A couple of the Par5's would not even be difficult par4's at Tour level, facts that show in the figures, players averaging over par on Par3's between +2-+6 and well under par on the 5's upto -12 in some cases.

Back to the OP:

Tiger is back but to what degree? That can only be known after a period of sustained play so I'd say by time the RC comes round and his season results will answer the question fully. One thing that I find interesting though is yes he won 13majors under haney, but his swing under Foley looks far better, more solid and a hell of a lot more control over the big sticks in his bag. He still has the bad shot left in his bag but name a player that doesn't have a shot that is their consistent miss.

I'm actually looking forward to seeing him at Augusta and I for one would like to see him or Luke win it. I think his dominance is over as pro's these days are no longer scared of his aura, but this Woods version could be potentially better as he seems to have a greater level of control and less violent looking swing.

Els is not finished. His long game is still in decent shape, always with have a good touch around the greens and if he can just average his putting out who knows maybe top 20-30 ogwr, after all he's got as good as if not better game than Sergio and look at him come back from the putting abyss.

Woods under no pressure! Not sure about that he would have been under the microscope in his own mind, and I like how he seemingly played the final round as a matchplay scenario making sure he match Gtwat shot for shot and playing smart. After all how many times recently has he faded a little on the final day of an event.

The fact that Woods was hitting fairways and with a very aggressive swing was I think indicative of a level of confidence he's not had for a long time.

I think there will be sterner tests around the corner for him but Woods hitting fairways is always going to mean good scoring due to the control he's always had with his iron shots.

Forgot to mention, Gtwats sponsorship/new bats.

Nothing changed Doc Cleveland/Srixon are one and the same company and have been for a fair while now.

He has the cleveland classic Driver, couple of Cleveland wedges, and Srixon irons and balls, they all fall under his deal he signed with Cleveland/Srixon Golf.

The interesting thing in his bag though is he had the TM rocketballz 3wood(stupid name for a club) and Adams pro black hybrids. Now that TM have bought Adams out wonder what he gets out of that deal! But when he signed woth Cleveland/Srixon the woods in his bag were never part of the deal so he can chop and change as he likes with those, but when he cracked the face on his Callaway driver he put the Cleveland Classic in the bag and stuck with it!

I was rather surprised that his OGWR went up to 6 after this win. Considering it's 2 1/2 years since his last "W" and dropping as low as 30(?) it seems a steep rise

Davie wrote:I was rather surprised that his OGWR went up to 6 after this win. Considering it's 2 1/2 years since his last "W" and dropping as low as 30(?) it seems a steep rise

According to PD on the darkside he's got the easy points increase but will have to work hard to move higher.

Didn't watch that much but seemed a good all round performance by him and that was backed up in the stats. He looked to be playing sensible golf but wasn't under too much pressure really; no one went on a charge at him. His putting looked good and every time there seemed to be a small opening for Gtwat he holed the putt to make sure it was only a one shot gain.

Looks like it is building nicely to the Masters. Time for Luke to win over a strong Tiger and shut up all those critics.

I just can’t see Luke doing the business at Augusta, I think the place is too long to suit his game…. Ideal battle would be Rory Tiger going toe to toe on Sunday with Rory coming through to win.

Think this might be Tigers year, would not bet against him at Augusta, a course he likes.

I think it is good for the game of golf, having Tiger back, lets sit back now and see who can challenge him in the Majors

It's interesting as a lot of people have said that Tiger's 'aura' has gone and i tended to agree with that. But i have always wondered if, after getting a couple of wins under his belt, how long it might take to come back, if it ever will.

It may be coincidence but there's no doubt that Charlie Wi went to bits partnering Tiger on Saturday. MacDowell, despite coming 2nd, did not play at all well partnering Tiger on Sunday and looked nervy i thought. Also others like Poulter and Els went to bits once they got anywhere near Tiger's lead.

Those are all the things that used to happen and people would put it down the 'Tiger factor'.
We won't know until we can see what happens in other tournaments where he's going well, but i wonder if that fear of Tiger isn't completely gone after all?

hogie wrote:I just can’t see Luke doing the business at Augusta, I think the place is too long to suit his game…. Ideal battle would be Rory Tiger going toe to toe on Sunday with Rory coming through to win.

Nonsense. Zach Bible Thumper Johnson and Mike Weir are not long hitters and both won. Plus Donald wasn't too far away last year.

Virtually every course is considered long these days. If it was all about long hitting then choppers like Garrigus, Watson and Dustin would win all the time, it's all about 150 yards and in which is where those guys stink relatively, Donald is the best at this aspect of the game by an absolute mile right now.

Important to remember that none of the top 5 were at Bay Hill. If they had been and one or more of them had put Woods under pressure, it would have been interesting then to see how his swing would have held up. As it was, everyone went backwards on the last day and he was able to just go out and play a pleasant bounce game with no pressure.

drive4show wrote:Important to remember that none of the top 5 were at Bay Hill. If they had been and one or more of them had put Woods under pressure, it would have been interesting then to see how his swing would have held up. As it was, everyone went backwards on the last day and he was able to just go out and play a pleasant bounce game with no pressure.

Absolutely agreed, and the fact that they weren't there certainly needs to be bourne in mind.
I'll be honest, i wouldn't mind seeing him do well at the Masters just to see if he can cope when under pressure from today's best.
I don't think Westwood, Kaymer, Donald or to be honest Stricker or Charl Snorkel, would be intimidated by him. Oddly, not sure if Rory would as he is younger but he held up ok the other week from semi pressure from Woods

I've afeeling Rory will do well this year. he should be in a different frame of mind and will want to show the world what he should have done last year. I was one of the people who actually wrote Rory off after that car crash, as I assumed the hurt would be too bad. But fair play to him as he came back in quick time with a victory in style.

Will the committee give us the 'young guns' again or will they put Rory, Luke and Tiger together. If they do I think its bad, as Tiger on paper isn't in their league. So if they carry on with selections for the media, it should be 1, 2 and 3 playing together ........

Woods and Semi's, are we talking about his private life again?

super_realist wrote:Woods and Semi's, are we talking about his private life again?

I knew someone would say that!

I think McIroy has got the confidence (arrogance?) to cope with Tiger joining him in the final group on Sunday afternoon. He probably didn't have it a year ago, but he's come a long way in the last 12 months.

Kaymer - German, nothing fazes him. Would always back him to score in a penalty shoot out as well.

Schwartzel - has that steely determination and competitive spirit. Can't see him folding under pressure. Same goes for Jason Day, a bit of a forgotten man so far this season, who I feel will come good sooner rather than later.

Donald - would be a massive test for him. He's yet to put himself in with a real chance in the majors. He always used to fade when in the spotlight but seems to have got over that (hopefully).

Westwood - had his big chance a couple of years ago but opened the door and Mickelson won. Sadly I think his opportunites are going to be few and far between. It seems as though he has stood still over the last couple of years while a load of other players have improved and overtaken him.