11/17/24
June 16, 2008
An Instant Classic: - Single link YouTube post. "Unbelievable. I knew he'd hole it."
I'm sorry, is this some new usage of the word "awesome" I wasn't previously aware of? It's a good putt, but "instant classic"? "Awesome"? Is it me? Or did it just get hyperbolic in here?
posted by Drood at 04:24 AM on June 16, 2008
The shot itself wasn't so much amazing as the overall U.S. Open Performance was amazing. In fact, I would argue that Tiger's story this week, as interesting as it was, should be overshadowed by Rocco Mediate's amazing week. In a million years, I never thought I would see a Woods v Mediate playoff. Not Tiger's best tournament ever, but probably Rocco's. I love me some Tiger Woods, but I've got to be rooting for Rocco tomorrow.
posted by Joey Michaels at 05:11 AM on June 16, 2008
It was up there with Seve's putt to win the Open in 1984 at St Andrews. It never looked like it was going to drop, but at the death it just caught enough of the hole and went in. Jedi mind putt. Did it just get hyperbolic? Check the archives, Drood. It's been hyperbolic for YEARS in here.
posted by JJ at 06:24 AM on June 16, 2008
Golf shots tend to be more parabolic than hyperbolic. But that could be the math major in me talking.
posted by TheQatarian at 07:28 AM on June 16, 2008
A hyperbolic putt would be very impressive indeed.
posted by Ying Yang Mafia at 07:37 AM on June 16, 2008
This one looked pretty hyperbolic right to the end when it just caught the lip and dropped. Tiger by five in the playoff I reckon. He was never failed to convert a three-round lead in a major, and he has won 14 of 15 tournament and championship playoffs. And Rocco Intermediate's no Billy Mayfair.
posted by JJ at 07:38 AM on June 16, 2008
I'm sometimes given to hyperbole after I miss.
posted by JJ at 09:06 AM on June 16, 2008
Is it me? Or did it just get hyperbolic in here? It's you. I was watching every single hole of this game and while it looked for a moment that there was going to be a 3 way playoff between Tiger, Rocco and Lee Westwood, Westwood couldn't come up with a clutch 15' birdie and Tiger was just...well, he was Tiger. This is the same guy that missed 2 months of golf because of surgery on his left knee and to come to Torrey Pines and play this well in the US Open, no words can describe how incredible Tiger's play was. Commentator, Johnny Miller described it as a Nascar race and Tiger driving his car with a flat tire the whole race and still having a great chance of winning. I swear, Tiger playing with excruciating pain coming from his knee reminds me so much of when Michael Jordan played with the flu and still, somehow, finding a way to outplay just about everybody out there with sheer will. If Tiger wins today, this will go down as one of the all-time greatest wins that's ever been, so to call what happened yesterday an instant classic, I have to agree regardless if Tiger wins today or not. For him just to be out there 2 months later after surgery and picking up where he left off makes him an instant classic.
posted by BornIcon at 09:15 AM on June 16, 2008
Tiger's Golfing Career Check List win first tournament win first major win major by more than 10 strokes world ranking : #1 win career grand slam win four majors in a row win a major with a significant injury win a major while diffusing a nuclear bomb and saving the country win 19th major achieve enlightenment, heal the world His pen is poised...
posted by grum@work at 09:30 AM on June 16, 2008
grum@work's Check List post on SpoFi learn the difference between defuse and diffuse
posted by grum@work at 09:53 AM on June 16, 2008
win a major while diffusing a nuclear bomb and saving the country <Comic Book Guy> Excuse me, but that would be known as, "pulling a McGuyver." And only McGuyver can do that! </Comic Book Guy>
posted by NoMich at 09:58 AM on June 16, 2008
Yeah, there's going to be so much feel-good on the course today, I'm going to have to brush, floss, gargle and take an insulin shot after the front nine, and again after 18. Both Tiger and Rocco are full value for winning this tournament, and neither is going to have anyone cheering against them with any kind of real gusto. And if it was a one-hole playoff I'd give Rocco a puncher's chance, but unless Tiger's leg falls off and rolls down into one of those ravines, I don't see him losing it today. But they play the matches for a reason. You never know.
posted by chicobangs at 10:01 AM on June 16, 2008
no words can describe how incredible Tiger's play was... Now we've got ourselves some hyperbole. Johnny Miller's NASCAR analogy is eight miles wide of the target. The surgery has left pain, but not structural weakness that could lead to a collapse. Also, people in "excruciating pain" don't play in golf tournaments, they go to hospitals and beg for morphine. You want some heroic golfer winning the US Open despite some physical problems action, you have to have some Hogan (Ben, not Hulk). Sixteen months after a car crash that fractured his pelvis in two places, fractured his collar bone and his left ankle, chipped a rib and caused life-threatening blood clots, and having been told that he'd be lucky to walk again, let alone play golf, Hogan came back from two behind in the final round to force a three-way playoff at Merion, which he won by four shots. Tiger's all kinds of awesome, but let's not devalue the currency.
posted by JJ at 10:04 AM on June 16, 2008
Relax JJ, I saw that 'Legends Of The 1960 U.S. Open' special on HBO as well but am not gonna act like I'm Ben Hogan's biographer all of a sudden. You're certainly entitled to your opinion but to compare Ben Hogan's car crash to Tiger's knee surgery is like comparing apples to oranges. What Ben Hogan did and had to go thru was something that most of us would never have to deal with but with Tiger, now I have had knee surgery and I can tell you that 2 months after the fact, just having to walk around was painful enough. For this guy to play golf 2 months later and to still have a chance at winning another major is just incredible. Hogan having to come back from a near-death experiance and being able to walk, let alone play golf just shows his will to prove his doctors wrong. Tiger on the other hand is doing exactly what his dad Earl said on a Nike commercial about Tiger. Mentally, no one can challenge Tiger the way the he does to himself.
posted by BornIcon at 10:28 AM on June 16, 2008
Really, even diffusing a nuke would be a good thing. Unless it hadn't gone off yet.
posted by yerfatma at 10:47 AM on June 16, 2008
Relax JJ, I saw that 'Legends Of The 1960 U.S. Open' special on HBO as well but am not gonna act like I'm Ben Hogan's biographer all of a sudden. Allow me to retort with an old Irish expression we keep specially in reserve for occasions such as this: Fuck off, you condescending old wankfest. If comparing Woods to Hogan is comparing apples and oranges, where do we find an analogy for your comparison of your own knee to Tiger's? Tiger is fit, young, motivated and smart. He had an arthroscopic procedure to remove fluid from his ACL. He was on his feet two days later, putting after a week, and hitting balls after two. There is nothing medically incredible about him being able to play in a major two months later. Ease off the Nike commercials, Icon, they're fucking with your head. (I'm such the diffuser)
posted by JJ at 11:05 AM on June 16, 2008
What Ben Hogan did and had to go thru was something that most of us would never have to deal with but with Tiger, now I have had knee surgery and I can tell you that 2 months after the fact, just having to walk around was painful enough But does that mean Hogan had it worse or not? And why do you assume everyone has the same (or less) amount of knowledge as you? I'd think JJ had established some credibility as a golf observer beyond "subscribes to HBO", assuming they have that on SKy or whatever in the UK. Mentally, no one can challenge Tiger the way the he does to himself. What about a man with a gun?
posted by yerfatma at 12:07 PM on June 16, 2008
Never mind the golf observation credibility, I've got the knee credentials too! [warning: pictures of the inside of my knee]
posted by JJ at 12:30 PM on June 16, 2008
Tiger's all kinds of awesome, but let's not devalue the currency. Tiger said his knee wasn't bothering him anyway, so maybe the knee isn't quite so heroic. I wasn't as sure as Rocco that Tiger was going to make that last shot.
posted by bperk at 01:19 PM on June 16, 2008
What about a man with a gun? Close, but no. An entire army, maybe.
posted by brainofdtrain at 01:44 PM on June 16, 2008
Tiger's one up after 12. He is two over, Rocco is three over.
posted by hawkguy at 01:49 PM on June 16, 2008
All tied up with four to go. My credibility is screwed.
posted by JJ at 02:08 PM on June 16, 2008
Damn, I wish I was home watching this!
posted by hawkguy at 02:11 PM on June 16, 2008
From the looks of things here, it seems I'm not the only one blowing off work today to watch this match.
posted by Shotput at 02:12 PM on June 16, 2008
What a putt!
posted by Shotput at 02:18 PM on June 16, 2008
Rocco by one with two to play. Does anyone know what happens if this ends up in a tie again? Sudden death? Another 18 holes?
posted by Shotput at 02:32 PM on June 16, 2008
Straight to sudden death if the format is still the same as 1997, Shotput. I'm following it on the BBC website. It sounds very exciting!
posted by JJ at 02:33 PM on June 16, 2008
Sudden death starting at 7, 8 if necessary, then 18 again.
posted by hawkguy at 03:09 PM on June 16, 2008
Our cable just went out because of storms -- on the 18th hole!
posted by bperk at 03:09 PM on June 16, 2008
*L* nightmare, bperk! Tiger birdied, Rocco parred - sudden death as described by hawkguy!
posted by JJ at 03:13 PM on June 16, 2008
Oh, no. Rocco really looked like he was going to win today.
posted by bperk at 03:30 PM on June 16, 2008
Tiger's Golfing Career Check List win first tournament win first major win major by more than 10 strokes world ranking : #1 win career grand slam win four majors in a row win a major with a significant injury win a major while defusing a nuclear bomb and saving the country win 19th major achieve enlightenment, heal the world
posted by grum@work at 03:33 PM on June 16, 2008
Sadly not, bperk. Woods wins the first sudden death hole with a par. 14 majors. Three of each (and four each Masters and PGAs). Since the start of 2005, his major run has gone: Win, second, win, fourth Third, missed cut, win, win Second, second, twelfth, win Second, win... Not bad.
posted by JJ at 03:39 PM on June 16, 2008
Holy $&%. When you spell it out like that you make it look like he's really good or something.
posted by 86 at 03:52 PM on June 16, 2008
The numbers are cool, mind you, Nicklaus's numbers from 1970 to 1980 are pretty cool too. 44 x starts 10 x wins 8 x 2nd 5 x 3rd 6 x 4th He only finished outside the top ten 6 times.
posted by JJ at 04:29 PM on June 16, 2008
He only finished outside the top ten 6 times. Do you think he was facing the same kind of depth Tiger faces? Do you think better equipment has made an impact?
posted by bperk at 04:41 PM on June 16, 2008
Wow, what a finish. I rarely watch golf but I watched the end of the US Open today. It was definitely worth it, an exciting event to watch.
posted by Ying Yang Mafia at 05:10 PM on June 16, 2008
Do you think he was facing the same kind of depth Tiger faces? Do you think better equipment has made an impact? We could sit up all night every night for the rest of our bleary lives discussing that, but for what it's worth: 1) Depth of field - everything is relative, but I tend to agree with David Feherty's comment: "When Nicklaus was at his best, there were only two or three people in the world capable of beating him. When Woods is at his best, no one can get near him." In other words, I think there is a bigger gap between Tiger and the field than there was between Jack and the field. Oddly though, I think the pack chasing Tiger is stronger than the pack that chased Jack, because of the... 2) Equipment - I think the biggest difference the new gear has made is for people like Rocco. Ten years ago, the distance difference between the longest and shortest players was huge, and as players got old and lost distance, they got sufficiently worse that they would slide out of view for five or six years until they hit the seniors. That doesn't seem to happen as much now. Jack won the Masters in '86 at the age of 46 and the world was amazed. Hale Irwin won the US Open in 1990 and you'd have thought by the press reaction that it was the astounding final act of a dying man. He had only just turned 45. If the technology has done anything, it has brought the field closer together and extended careers. In a way, that's really frightening. I still don't think Woods has peaked, and he may not do so until his late thirties. I also think he looks after himself so well, and the equipment will just keep getting better, that if he doesn't decide to become the President instead, he could keep beating everyone until at least 2025.
posted by JJ at 05:43 PM on June 16, 2008
Great finish, but i have to wonder: playing on that knee, how much has he sacrificed long term to win this major? I know he takes great care of himself, and it was a minor surgery, but part of me wonders if it doesn't become a persistent problem for him after playing on it this week. The torque put on his kneee after every shot could keep this from ever going away completely. Not trying to be a downer, but i wonder if his competitiveness could hurt him passing jack.
posted by brainofdtrain at 07:23 PM on June 16, 2008
Comparing the athletes of today to those of the past is a difficult task regardless of the sport. The athletes of today are bigger, better trained, and have far better equipment. A quick check of Nicklaus' driver to Tiger's will tell the story...we could also check their balls, but let's not get personal here. Tiger is a phenomenon. (don't care of someone thinks that I'm over-rating him) I was pulling for Rocco today, as I love to cheer for the underdog, Tiger was just too good. Even when Tiger is not at his best, he wasn't this weekend, he stays in the hunt and will take advantage of any opportunities. The man can putt, though I'd like to see him challenge the windmill hole on my home course!
posted by dviking at 07:28 PM on June 16, 2008
Rocco is my new sports hero:
"Oh, my God, that was ridiculous," Mediate said. "Yeah, I've never had more fun. I've never ... it's just amazing. He's hard to beat. I threw everything I had, the kitchen sink, everything, right at him...." ... "It's like a prize fight," Mediate said. "No one even expected me to be (here) that long or survive and he had to birdie the last again to tie me. Again. And he did it. It's amazing." Woods insisted he isn't one of those who only now can appreciate Mediate's grit. "I already knew that about Rocco. He's not only one of the nicest guys, but people don't realize how much of a competitor he is," Woods said. They should now. "He reminds me a lot of Trevino how he plays: just talking and enjoying it and smiling and having a great time with it," Woods said. "But when it comes down to it, when it's time to hit the shot, he goes into his own little world. People don't realize that. After he does hit the shot he comes out and goes, 'Blah, blah, blah, having a good time.' But right before each shot he gets into his own little zone. "And it's pretty cool to see." Aside from his $810,000 consolation, Mediate is left with the knowledge that he made the limping Woods work 19 extra holes to win his 14th major. "It was an honour being out there," Mediate said. "And I'm sure I scared him. I did good today."Good for you, Rocco. I'll be watching for your name in future tournaments and hope to see you on the leaderboard!
posted by Joey Michaels at 08:55 PM on June 16, 2008
I was wondering that same thing, Brain, especially with two majors in the next two months. I did notice that after a few holes each day he started figuring out how to lift up that left foot in mid swing to lose some of the torque action from the spikes. Although he also admitted to having a little something to soften the pain. I'm guessing that with all of his medical people, thay'll figure out way to get him through August. That's another thing today's players have that the old school didn't, medical teams and the money to pay them. And, like you Joey, I'd always heard of Rocco, but had no idea "who he was" - I wish I'd known more about his sense of humour and balance ten or twenty years ago.
posted by bobfoot at 10:50 PM on June 16, 2008
He didn't have it twenty years ago. He has... mellowed somewhat. As far as Tiger's knee goes, I'm not his doctor, and I only know what I read in the press about what they did to him and what he says in the press about himself, but going with those two things, 1) It's not that kind of pain. It's sore because it was recently operated on, not because he's damaging it further. When I had mine done, I was told that the more I did on it and the sooner I did it - despite the pain - the faster it would get better. It took me ages to get over it because I'm a complete pussy and couldn't get past the idea that the pain was not causing more damage, and 2) He wouldn't jeopardise the rest of his career to come back early from this. He's neither that stupid, nor that insecure. It's instructive in a way to see how he has dealt with this compared to how Ernie dealt with his knee problem. Ernie damaged his really seriously and had a lot more done, but it took him a long time to come back from it, and afterwards he admitted to having made a mistake in the recuperation process. He said he waited too long for the knee to "get perfect" when sometimes you just have to accept that it's not going to get perfect and start using it anyway.
posted by JJ at 03:03 AM on June 17, 2008
There goes my credibility again. Or he's being a drama queen. For a change.
posted by JJ at 05:06 AM on June 17, 2008
Allow me to retort with an old Irish expression we keep specially in reserve for occasions such as this: Fuck off, you condescending old wankfest. Well, since you seem to feel that it's necessary for you to be an jerkoff, go for it, you seem to excel at it. If comparing Woods to Hogan is comparing apples and oranges, where do we find an analogy for your comparison of your own knee to Tiger's? No analogy needed, I was just saying how difficult it was for me to walk after knee surgery 2 months later and for Tiger to not only walk the course but to win it, is just incredible. I have never in my life seen anyone so calm under these pressure situations as Tiger is. The man's game has far surpassed anyone else's out there but Rocco sure pushed Tiger to the limit and it was a great playoff round to watch with an even better sudden death to the finish.
posted by BornIcon at 06:53 AM on June 17, 2008
There goes my credibility again. Or he's being a drama queen. For a change. I think he is just saying that so he can miss the Congressional with a good excuse. He won't miss a major.
posted by bperk at 07:52 AM on June 17, 2008
I still don't think Woods has peaked, and he may not do so until his late thirties. I'd like for him to win all the majors in one year. After that, I will be able to root against him. I ended up rooting for Rocco yesterday though. He seems like a good person, and was really enjoying himself. Well, since you seem to feel that it's necessary for you to be an jerkoff, go for it, you seem to excel at it. You did say that his golf knowledge came from an HBO special. I don't know what the appropriate response would be to that sort of insult, but his sounded about right to me.
posted by bperk at 08:10 AM on June 17, 2008
The Golf Channel had a doctor on that stated Tiger's knee is arthritic, so it's not going to get better. Unlike a football injury wear you tear an ACL, arthitis cannot be cured, so Tiger's future is questionable. Just like Johnny Miller's career was cut short, Tiger's could be, too....unless he has a knee replacement and becomes a Bionic Man.
posted by Shotput at 08:26 AM on June 17, 2008
They can rebuild him. They have the technology. (Bionic Tiger - imagine that - every kid will want the action figure). for Tiger to not only walk the course but to win it, is just incredible It's impressive, but it's not "incredible". It devalues what he actually did to start making shit up about how impressive it was. And bperk's right - stop defaming HBO by associating them with me.
posted by JJ at 09:06 AM on June 17, 2008
I have Tiger fatigue. I was hoping Mediate would win. He played some really great golf. Oh well. Tiger will not let up until he wins 20 majors. That's his grail. One more than Jack. He'll do it, too.
posted by BitterOldPunk at 07:41 PM on June 17, 2008
"It just seemed when he hit bad shots his knee was in pain and on his good shots he wasn't... You see when he made the putts and he went down on his knees and shouting 'yeah', his knee wasn't sore." Asked if he felt Woods could have been faking it, Goosen said: "I think so." See, that's just going to make him mad. Remember what happened when Stephen Ames made him mad? Silly Goose.
posted by JJ at 07:08 AM on June 18, 2008
Just awesome.