Another week of Tiger Woods drama
So, another week, another round of Tiger Woods drama.
The man who once dominated the game like no one ever has continues to keep his name in the headlines, only now he’s doing so at the expense of the game.
At his Hero World Challenge in December, his first start since August, Woods showed signs of a man in trouble with his short game. He made some uncharacteristic amateurish chips, but those were brushed aside as a product of his inactivity and the introduction of a new swing consultant, Chris Como.
Woods said repetitions with thousands of golf balls would correct the problem, but when he showed up in Phoenix for the Waste Management Open, not only were the chipping yips still there, he had added another element to his game, the driver yips.
He missed the cut in Phoenix, posting his highest-ever round as a professional (82) and didn’t make it through 11 holes at the Farmers Insurance Open before having to withdraw with yet another round of back problems.
Who knows which is worse at this point, his surgically-repaired back or the mental part of Woods trying to figure out how to chip the ball again?
Brandel Chamblee, the Golf Channel’s edgy commentator, says Woods’ yips are a “forever issue,” meaning he’ll become another in the list of players who come down with the yips and can never recover from them.
He now says he won’t be back on the PGA Tour until his game is ready for competition. Obviously that’s not been the case for over a year now, but that’s his goal.
Everybody speculates, but nobody really knows for sure what’s going on with Woods. So here’s my speculation:
1), His back continues to hurt and the latest swing changes haven’t help that any. If it’s possible, he needs to find a swing that will enable him to make cuts at the ball without being unable to pick up his tee after a few holes.
2), Woods is obviously messed up with a wedge in his hands. His chips finished an average of 31½ feet from the hole in Phoenix. The next in line in that statistic was 11 feet. For a guy who once had the best short game in the world, that’s startling. It’s a greatly overused phrase, but he needs to get back to basics and find some sort of move that will allow him to get the ball on the green in the direction of the hole. Lots of other guys have tried to rebound from this ailment and there are no guarantees, but Woods used to routinely do things that no one would guarantee.
One of the rumors floating out there is that he’ll work on his ailing game and will return at the Masters in early April. That doesn’t make much sense, returning to play in the year’s first major, at a place that features the toughest chipping conditions in the game today, Augusta National Golf Club.
If there’s no way for Woods to find a way to swing that keeps him pain-free, then he’s done. The word from his camp is that this latest break he’s taken it’s not about the pain when he swings, it’s more to get his game in shape.
I respectfully suggest the two are very much connected. If he can’t put the ball in play off the tee because of pain in his back, then he’ll be in the rough or worse for his second shot. Lots of those will result in missed greens and, yep, more chances to put a wedge in his hands.
This will be, by far, Woods’ toughest challenge, one made no easier by him being 39 years old.
Let’s put it this way, I don’t think Jack Nicklaus needs to be concerned about Woods getting close enough to be a real threat to be a real threat to his record 18 major titles.
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Speaking of Nicklaus, the Golden Bear will be awarded the Congressional Gold Medal on March 24. The 75-year-old Nicklaus will become just the third golfer to receive highest civilian award Congress can give.
The other two? Byron Nelson in 2006 and Arnold Palmer in 2009.
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Former Uniontown Country Club professional Steve Superick got his golfing year off to a nice start.
Playing in cold and windy conditions at the old course at Lakeview Resort in Morgantown, Superick aced the 140-yard eighth hole there with a 4-iron.
It was the eighth career ace.
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