January 31 -- With Tiger Woods swooning to a T44 finish on a Torrey Pines track he has absolutely owned, the usual questions arose about his continual swing tinkering.
Does he play enough to lock in the new fundamentals Sean Foley is trying to instill? If it’s a continual process -- as Tiger has said over and over -- will he forevermore take one step forward, two steps back? When will Woods be comfortable enough with his new game to trust it down the stretch? Will Tiger ever win again?
Is knee Tiger’s Achilles? Could it be that several knee surgeries, a bum Atendon, and who-knows-what lingering neck issues from his November 2009 car crash have left the 35-year-old Tiger Woods with little left in the tank to close the deal?
Sure, Woods came close in his 2010 season-ending Chevron World Challenge but Graeme McDowell stole his thunder and the match with his playoff win. And after two 69s to start last week’s Farmers Insurance Open, he limped home with a 74 and 75 to finish 15 shots back of winner Bubba Watson.
Not exactly how the world’s No. 3 expected to start a season in which he hopes to climb back into the race for the top ranking, contend at the Masters, and pick up on his quest to overcome Jack Nicklaus’ 18-major championship titles. No one ever wants to count Tiger out, but it could be his physical ailments may be too much to overcome.
Bubba, Jhonny, and Phil. As for the Torrey Pines tilt, you couldn’t ask for a more exciting finish, what with new fan favorite Jhonny Vegas, Watson, and Phil Mickelson taking it down to the final hole. How can you not root for golfers named Jhonny and Bubba? And Lefty exhibited some great theater on the 72nd hole, with his caddie Bones jogging up to the green, golf bag slapping his back, so he could tend the pin for his go-for-broke eagle attempt.
But, say, could the guys in the CBS booth give us a break with the “Phil is god” pablum? Mickelson makes an “unbelievably great shot at the right time....just perfect....a brave play.” Ugh.
Meanwhile, the LPGA Tour is in an uproar over the season-opening U.S. event. Read how the Founders Cup has become a bone of contention among LPGA players.
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