Monday, February 2, 2015

Tiger Woods is a mess and other takeaways from the Phoenix Open


The Phoenix Open felt like the first big golf event since the Ryder Cup. Here are a few things we learned over the week at TPC Scottsdale.


One of the golf's brightest young talents, the powerful Brooks Koepka won his first PGA Tour event on Sunday. But what most people will remember from this year's Phoenix Open happened two days earlier, when Tiger Woods imploded and carded a career-worst round. Here are a few quick takeaways from TPC Scottsdale:


Tiger is a Mess


I'm not even really sure how to put in words what I witnessed this week from the Big Cat. This was the most confused, tentative, and unsure I think I have ever seen Tiger Woods. He had no idea which way the ball was going off the tee. He struggled with distance control. His putter wasn't spectacular. And the chip shots. Oh my god, the chip shots.



Tiger was befuddled by straightforward shots that most amateur golfers can nail seven or eight times out of ten. Tiger was so helplessly lost from around the green that he used at least five different clubs to get the ball on the putting surface. And how did most of those attempts turn out? NOT GOOD. Long gone are the days when Tiger would effortlessly and fearlessly flop a shot onto the green and expect it to go in. We now live in a world where he closes his eyes (maybe) and hopes that bumping a four iron, eight iron, putter, or pool cue will get the ball within 20 feet.


It was a surreal train wreck, for sure. But what is the excuse this time? By all accounts, he's healthy, so that's out. Is it the new Nike clubs and balls? Maybe, but Rory McIlroy was busy in the Middle East proving that they work just fine when operated properly. It does appear that his most recent swing change has some effect, but it can't be the whole story.




Maybe the most likely answer is the one he will never talk about: his mental stability standing over those kind of shots.


Think about that sentence for a second. This is Tiger Woods. This is the guy that converted an obscene amount of 54-hole leads into Tour victories. It's the very same person that could recover like no one else and wipe the slate clean after a bad hole.


Those days are long gone. Whether his psyche was obliterated just like the front end of his Escalade in 2009 or he just has other priorities at this point in his life, it is shocking to watch the most dominant player ever -- both mentally and physically -- look so helpless.


Can he get it back? Who knows. The next two months heading into the Masters will be one of the most fascinating stretches of his career. He'll head to his happy place this week at Torrey Pines, so we won't have to wait long to see what Tiger has in his tank.


The Future is Bright


Take a quick look at the top ten for the Waste Management Phoenix Open and get used to seeing the names Spieth, Matsuyama, and Koepka in similar positions in 2015 and beyond. All three guys are under 25 and should be leaderboard staples for years to come.


Rickie Fowler and Patrick Reed both had average weeks, but rallied to respectable positions in the final round. Both Fowler and Reed should also consistently nestle in near the top of leaderboards this year.


And let's not forget about Rory McIlroy cruising to victory in Dubai. He is the best player in the world right now and it's not even close. The crop of young talent on Tour right now is the best it has been in years and should provide compelling champions and tournaments all summer long.


There's no other event like the Phoenix Open


Golf purists (looking at you, Faldo) tend to cringe at the boisterous nature of the 16th hole at TPC Scottsdale. The party environment at the WMPO is more akin to a college football game than a golf tournament and the old, get-off-my lawn crowd would like to keep it far away from and out of golf.



But this tournament is wonderful. Cheering and booing coddled pro golfers in this nature is something that should happen at least once a year. It's fun to see the personalities of Tour regulars come out a little more.




And for a tournament that lacked star power over the weekend, the main attraction became the tournament itself, which is a great thing for the Tour.



Finally, for those that are upset with the beer cans littering the 16th after Francesco Molinari's ace, yeah maybe it was a bit much, but at least it happened in a place with plenty of recycling options






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