2023 PGA Tour
- Thread starter cshea
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Not that long ago, I thought that he and Hoge were the same person. His recent career arc has been impressive as hell.
In retrospect definitely should have hit a wedge long and let it roll back to 10 feet or so, though he ended up with bogey which was the most common outcome anyway given the tee shot.
The putting options are also not quite as bad as it seems given the slope of the green, can almost always get it to 15 feet regardless of where the pin and ball are.
Obviously putting into the bunker is still highly suboptimal, doubt he will do that again
I am loving this Homa surge as well.
I always liked rooting for him but thought he would be that random top 30-40 guy that would pop his head at the top of the leaderboard occasionally. Win a few tourneys.
Being the best player in the world wasn’t on my radar.
I always liked rooting for him but thought he would be that random top 30-40 guy that would pop his head at the top of the leaderboard occasionally. Win a few tourneys.
Being the best player in the world wasn’t on my radar.
Right now there are 69 at +1, so that should get him into the weekend, barring a lot of movement in the next hour or so (top 65 and ties).
Thanks.
I saw the early broadcast and they made it sound like he had to par 18 (9) to make the cut but was skeptical.
Schauffele Eagles 17 from 173 yards out. Directly into the cup. He's now inside the cut line at +1
Agreed.
Field at Riv this year is great, and if we’ve seen the last of the big names moving over to Liv, don’t see them getting the tour rivalry they’re looking for.
Agreed, these are a lot of fun. It's really unfortunate we have to watch Golf on traditional TV channels tho because this would be a lot better if you had the entire field mic'd up and could switch between players on different holes at-will. The massively parallel nature of a golf tournament is hamstrung by the serial nature of TV broadcast.
I haven’t. He’s playing great and is still quite a ways off the lead. And it’s not yet clear that he can get through four rounds in good shape. He’s only partway through three so far.
He’s got a fused back and a titanium leg and has played 3 tournaments in 2 years. His first tournament back, a designated event, and he’s in the top 20 at the end of the 3rd round.
The golf is there if the body lets him. That’s really it.
I get it. He’s also TEN shots off the lead. I’m not saying I’m not rooting for him because I am. I just need to see more before I say with confidence that he can/will win again. He’s doing great. That’s a great sign. He’s a LONG way from winning.
Nobody said he will win again. He definitely looks like he can win again if you don't think so you're setting the bar way too high.
His putter has not been his friend this week and it has hurt him a bunch.
To each his or her own. I’m just saying that *I* need to see more before I can say with any confidence that he can win again. If you all think you’ve seen enough, ok. I’m not there yet.
I mean, this is basically the first game of the preseason after missing 2 seasons and he’s beating 100 of the best players in the world in essentially a playoff game.
He’s shown some rust. Missed a bunch of short putts, been a little loose with the wedges. That sort of stuff is correctable if he can put the work in. That’s really the only question, if he can put the reps in.
If this is a baseline, I think he can win. It’s a matter of the body allowing him to clean up the sloppiness. That’s all I’m saying. The speed is there, the iron play is pretty good. If his body allows him to put the work in, I don’t think it’s out of the realm of possibility that everything goes right for a week and he picks off 83z
He's T26 through 3 rounds in a very deep field with a 69, 74 (when he missed a ton of easy putts), and a 67. Plus he is still has above average clubbed speed for the tour. Being 10 back to Rahm in one tournament doesn't mean much, more importantly he is squarely "in the mix".
Honestly any pro thats able to make the cut and be where he's at right now (forget about his entire history) CAN win a pro tournament, so I think he has definitely shown enough.
Now will he win again? That's impossible to say, any day he could just retire say he can't walk 18 holes any more. Maybe he will never be able to put 4 good rounds together again.
But winning again (in my mind) is at least on the table. Pretty remarkable.
I really don't know why I'm "arguing" this point, because it's all a matter of opinion, I guess. But while I see what you're saying, I could point out that he had one good round (-2 69 in round one), one bad one (+3 74 in round two), and one terrific round (-4 in round three). He made the cut by one shot, so (while he didn't) if he had just one more putt lip out in either of the first two rounds, he's home for the weekend. Now of course he DID make the cut, so that's moot. But it's also true that he's only played three rounds. Lots of guys have played pretty well for three rounds but fell off in the fourth. We don't know what Tiger will do yet. I hope he has the stamina to finish strong; I'm rooting for him. But he's very, very far off the lead at this point, and the world is full of amazing golfers now. He'll have to play exceptionally well, and a lot of things will have to go right for him if he wants to win another tournament.
But....if anyone in golf history could do it at his age, and with everything his body has been through, it's Tiger. I mean, the guy is amazing, no doubt.
For ME....I need to see him finish strong for all four rounds to be able to say with confidence that he can win on Tour again. We really don't know yet whether he has it in him to compete at that level for all four rounds. But clearly, IF he does have that stamina, and IF he can make his putts, and IF he can keep striking the ball like he's capable of, and do it for all four rounds, then yeah, I guess he CAN win another tournament.
But....if anyone in golf history could do it at his age, and with everything his body has been through, it's Tiger. I mean, the guy is amazing, no doubt.
For ME....I need to see him finish strong for all four rounds to be able to say with confidence that he can win on Tour again. We really don't know yet whether he has it in him to compete at that level for all four rounds. But clearly, IF he does have that stamina, and IF he can make his putts, and IF he can keep striking the ball like he's capable of, and do it for all four rounds, then yeah, I guess he CAN win another tournament.
Superficially, for someone with his track record, I think proving he can hit the ball this well (honestly surprising to me) and walk a few rounds in a row means that winning again is on the table.
Not sure how to handicap it and the OVER/UNDER on future tour wins is still likely at 0.5. But the fact that I don’t think OVER is a terrible bet anymore is cool.
Not sure how to handicap it and the OVER/UNDER on future tour wins is still likely at 0.5. But the fact that I don’t think OVER is a terrible bet anymore is cool.
The scene at Riviera: Woods continues his heroic comeback, carding 1-under for the tournament.
Coming off the 18th green, the crowd in L.A. gives Tiger a fine round of applause. And anyone who has grown up a sports fan in Boston cannot possibly understand how that crowd did not rise for a standing ovation.
Coming off the 18th green, the crowd in L.A. gives Tiger a fine round of applause. And anyone who has grown up a sports fan in Boston cannot possibly understand how that crowd did not rise for a standing ovation.
Max almost made it interesting on 18 there. That would have been an incredible shot.
Edit: Actually not that interesting. Rahm would have had to really choke to give up two there.
Edit: Actually not that interesting. Rahm would have had to really choke to give up two there.
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Jordan Spieth, Matsuyama, Justin Rose, and a whole host of other guys who I'm sure you would agree can win again, all missed the cut this week.
You can't look at the standings and make any determination as to whether or not Tiger can win again. It didn't matter if he was 1 shot back, 10 shots back, missed the cut, etc. What matters is that he was out there smashing drives 300+ very accurately for the most part, with 180+ ball speed, stuffing irons regularly and was healthy enough to make it through the 4 rounds. The things he didn't do well, wedges/putting are signs of rust that if he can put the time in, he'll work those things out.
For all we know, he may go home and need another surgery after this week and his career is over, but if instead, he continues to feel better and put in the time, he absolutely can win again. Just 3 years ago, when he played 33 rounds of competitive golf, he was arguably the most consistent player on the Tour:
https://golf.com/news/tiger-woods-strokes-gained-2019-consistent/
His body won't hold up for the long haul and Tiger won't be in the top 30 in golf ever again, but he obviously could win a tourney if everything works out perfectly. Anyone can win if they get hot enough. And lucky enough.
But even the Tiger of 3 years ago is gone. He can barely walk. And he's been brittle before he blew up his right ankle. If I had to bet with my life, I would bet Tiger never does win again. Because that is the odds on play.
Without knowing or understanding the Vegas odds on Tiger winning again, I will say if I had to bet on my life--I would say Tiger wins again.
Perhaps not a major and it appears, as you say his body is shot for any consistent rise to the top. But if Tiger can so much as get within sniffing range of a win going forward--he will close the deal. Tiger Woods makes Mariano Rivera look like an over-the-hill version of Rob Dibble. Best of the best type level.
I think Tigers greatest asset that put him in the GOAT territory was always his mental toughness within the pressures of competition. This is a skill that ages well. Jacks major record is safe but if I was Sam Snead I'd prolly be resting a little uneasy in my grave.