12/22/24
August 09, 2009
Tiger wins for the second week in a row: Tiger Woods wins the Bridgestone Invitational. Thats two consecutive tournament wins and 5 wins out of 12 events in 2009. Can he put it all together to win the last major in 2009 to avoid being shut out of majors in '09?
posted by sgtcookzane to golf at 08:00 PM - 7 comments
The way he dominates the field is just incredible.
posted by dviking at 01:03 AM on August 10, 2009
I had a quick look at the leaderboard before I turned in last night and saw in the numbers what I'd expected to see - Tiger had turned Harrington over by seven on the day and won at a canter. The reports I've been reading this morning suggest it was a far more entertaining battle than that.
I also read somewhere last week that (in the writer's view) only a stunning Tiger victory at Hazeltine this week could salvage this year's majors which have all been (in the writer's view) really boring.
Where do they find these guys? The Masters came down to a thrilling playoff, with a win for the romantics for El Pato. The US Open almost saw Phil win under unimaginable personal pressure, almost saw Duval win having shown absolutely nothing for more than 5 years, and in the end was won by a former Walker Cup and President's Cup player who has had "unfulfilled potential" all over his CV for years.
And the Open. My god, the Open. Tom Watson, at the age of 59, with an artificial hip and in conditions that were too tough for Tiger to even make the cut, almost won a sixth Open Championship. He hit two perfect shots into the final hole, but got a horrendous bounce. Instead, Stewart Cink, who in my view has been knocking on the major door for years, won his first major.
The same article suggested those three weren't worthy winners; weren't good enough players, and that they backed into their wins. Apart from being incorrect, he need only have taken a look at the leaderboard on Saturday night in Akron - all three were tied for fourth, one behind the eventual winner (and only Lucas fell away dramatically to finish 19th).
But yeah - that swing Tiger put on that 8-iron into the 16th was like watching a clock tick. Perfection. He could win Hazeltine by ten.
posted by JJ at 10:00 AM on August 10, 2009
Triple bogey? Harrington choked.
JJ, if Tiger wins, that's exciting. If anyone else wins, it's boring. You should know that by know.
posted by bperk at 12:19 PM on August 10, 2009
Harrington choked.
I'd question that. They got put on the clock on the 16th tee, and if there's one thing you can't do on the clock it's play well from trouble. So it was a bad time to miss the fairway for sure, but not a choke. Harrington accepted the clock thing without question ("If you're asking a player two or three groups ahead of the lead to play within a certain time frame, it's unfair to give the leaders any leeway"), but Tiger seemed annoyed by it:
Bluntly asked whether he won the tournament because he'd hit the perfect 8-iron into the 16th or because a rules official put their group on the clock, Woods never hesitated. "Both," he said. "I think I hit a good shot that put a little heat on him, but then again, I think the worst he would have made would have been bogey."
Woods also said:
"Like I was telling him [Harrington] out there, I'm sorry that John got in the way of a great battle,' because it was such a great battle for 16 holes," "We're going at it, head-to-head, and unfortunately that happened. Paddy and I will definitely do it again."
Just looking at the scores, I was sure Harrington had folded, but reading what I've since read, if anything it might have given him a shot in the arm for the PGA this week.
I wonder if John Paramor had a few quid on Tiger...
posted by JJ at 02:16 PM on August 10, 2009
Would Paramor have known that Tiger would have gotten better and Harrington would have fallen apart with a time warning? Both Tiger and Harrington started out similarly on the 16th. Then Tiger had an amazing shot, and Harrington just fell apart. I'm looking forward to this week.
posted by bperk at 04:58 PM on August 10, 2009
Even I would have known Tiger can resist pressure more than almost any other golfer...
posted by Fly_Piscator at 09:24 PM on August 10, 2009
Tiger is unreal. There is no other way to say it. Here are a couple stats that will really open your eyes.
Tiger has gotten to 70 wins by the age of 33.
Jack Nicklaus did it at age 40.
Sam Snead did it at age 41.
Tiger wins at a 28+% rate. The next highest is Phil Mickelson at 9%.
Is it possible he can win 100 tournaments before he retires? At the rate he's going, he'll have that by age 40.