When you come to think of it that is the secret of most of the great holes all over the world. They all have some kind of a twist. C.B. MACDONALD
Fun moment during the FedEx St. Jude Classic finale when a duck moved Robert Karlsson's ball on the 11th green.
There was a later incident with Stefani and a mother duck on 18 that will hopefully go up on YouTube too.
Not surprisingly, TPC Southwind is a multiple-award winning Audubon cooperative course.
Strong analysis of Tiger Woods' Memorial week--in case you were suddenly down on the lad's chances at Merion--starting with this from Robert Lusetich.
Yet at Memorial Woods hit 46 of 56 fairways — good for fifth in the field — and drove it not just straight but long.
It reflected the work Woods has put in to his driving game given the importance of tee shots at Merion, a tight course where the winner won’t have played from the long rough.
In Ohio, his short irons were inconsistent, his short game bad and his putting was abysmal.
That’s a cause for concern, but those facets of his game have been strong points all year.
And then there’s the fact that it wasn’t a slow bleed.
Woods made 15 birdies — and missed countless other chances — but uncharacteristically blew up, making three double bogeys and two triples, something he hasn’t done in a tournament in 16 years.
Gene Wojciechowski went to the top for advice on Tiger.
And just to make the point, Nicklaus told a story.
"I'll give you this one," he said, smiling. "Last U.S. Open I won I shot 72-79 the week before. I missed the cut. Atlanta. OK, how's that? And then I broke the Open record.
"So I wouldn't read too much into that."
Nicklaus got most of the facts right.
He did miss the cut at the 1980 Atlanta Classic at the Atlanta Athletic Club, but he shot 78-67. And sure enough, he went to Baltusrol and broke his own U.S. Open record for total score (272) -- a record that stood until McIlroy's performance at Congressional in 2011.
I'm with Nicklaus. I wouldn't read too much into what Woods did here. He has won big here and he's stunk it up big here too.
Three of his worst 22 finishes as a pro have come at Memorial. It happens.
Meanwhile those sleepless nights for many of you can end now that agent Mark Steinberg reveals to Bob Harig that Tiger is just about ready to sign a new deal and that he hopes it's viewed as a "bold statement." The deal will be done as soon as Steiny stops yapping to the press about it and gets the paperwork in front of Tiger, Tiger says.
This was interesting:
Earlier this year, Golf Digest, as part of an annual report on golfer's incomes, put Woods' earnings at $77-million off the course in 2012. It did not break down what he received from Nike, although the figure is believed to be more than $20 million per year. Sports Illustrated, however, as part of a recent compilation called "The Fortunate 50," pegged his total compensation at closer to $40 million annually.
Steinberg would not confirm specifics of those reports, saying only that "those numbers are traditionally low."
Traditionally low?
Because his record in the majors is poor, Matt Kuchar was a 25-1 shot for the upcoming U.S. Open at Merion.
But combine his well-established ability on classic courses, his steady play over the last three years and his love for USGA golf, doesn't his Memorial win over a tough Muirfield Village make him the obvious first choice heading into Merion?
From Doug Ferguson's AP story we learn this is Kuchar's first multi-win season and his biggest win outside of his Players title from last year.
Needing two putts from 20 feet to hold off a late charge from Kevin Chappell, Kuchar punctuated a remarkably steady final round by making the birdie putt for a 4-under 68 and a two-shot victory at Muirfield Village. He joined Tiger Woods as the only players with more than one win this year on the PGA Tour.
John Strege says Nick Faldo noted what this win means for Kuchar's upcoming U.S. Open chances.
The victory was his third in less than 13 months. He also won the WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship in February and the Players Championship in May of 2012 and is now firmly ensconced in the World Ranking top 10, with another strong field and elite tournament, the U.S. Open at Merion Golf Club, on deck for him.
"Maybe this is his next stepping stone," CBS' Nick Faldo said. "He's won some fantastic events. Maybe a major is next."
Steve DiMeglio also considered the U.S. Open angle and had this from Kuchar:
"Heading into Merion, I'll have a lot of confidence. It's a course I've not seen before, so I'll have to do some learning. But from what I understand you've got to drive it well, as you do in a U.S. Open, and I feel like I've been really driving the ball well. I'm looking forward to my chances there at Merion."
As for Tiger's lousy week, Bob Harig sums it up with quotes from Woods who graciously stopped for the assembled scribblers Sunday.
"Yeah, it happens," said Woods, who finished on the front nine while the leaders were playing the closing holes. "It happens to all of us. I'll go home next week and practice."
Matt Kuchar takes a lead into the final day and as of this posting, has expanded it to three shots over Kevin Chappell and Kyle Stanley.
Golf Channel's early coverage ends at 2 ET and CBS kicks in live at 2:30 ET.
There was a lot of post-third round conjecture about Muirfield Village's green speeds and firmness this year, with the Stimpmeter speed of "15" bandied about. I'm not sure if they've reached that any time this week, but with the breezes and meticulous grooming that is possible.
What is interesting, however, is the level at which the green speeds and firmness are now documented. Earlier in the week we were out shooting course videos and ran into Paul Vermeulen of the PGA Tour, who kindly showed us a new device concocted by fellow agronomist Tom Brown to measure firmness.
We went out to explore the best spectating spot here at Muirfield Village and if you are coming to the Memorial, I nominate the trifecta of 11 green-12 tee-13 fairway.
Tiger said his red-hot putter was undermined by a couple of bad reads but an overall decent ball striking afternoon, even if his Presidents Cup Captain and Hall of Fame geezer Fred Couples beat him in their (requested) head-to-head pairing. By no means is this a setback in his quest to win an amazing 6th Memorial or to get his game ready for Merion (unlike McIlroy's 78 in the benign morning conditions).
Dave Shedloski reports on the Woods, Couples, Bradley pairing.
"I won't lie to you, I asked to see if I could get paired [with Woods]; it probably might be my last time playing with Tiger," said Couples, who withdrew from last week's Senior PGA Championship because his bad back flared up. "Maybe at Augusta I might get paired with him. If he can be leading after two rounds again, maybe I'll get a shot at him. So I was blessed to play with him. And my goal when I play with him always is to try to hit it solid and stay out of his way. And today was a good one. I did beat him."
The 14 year-old Tianlang Guan missed a short putt on the last to post a still-impressive 72 in the afternoon when unpredictable breezes created headaches for the last few groups. Doug Ferguson's assortment of notes covers Guan's late round and also includes an item on how fast the course is playing, another on Rory and a look at the cell phone task force at work.
Ashleigh Ignelzi and I talk about the opening round from the Nationwide Digital House, which is led by Charl Schwartzel (65), followed by Scott Piercy (66).
Rory McIlroy opens with 78 at Muirfield Village, two weeks from the opening round of the U.S. Open.
Bob Harig with McIlroy's post round thoughts.
**Jeff Rude doesn't feel like we're going to get a Rory v. Tiger duel anytime soon, mostly because McIlroy is probably distracted.
McIlroy is in the midst of splitting from his management team and forming his own agency. One can surmise that has been weighing on him, has clogged his mind some. But he says no.
“Once I’m here I’m focused on what I need to do,” McIlroy said. “Right at the moment it’s not happening for me.”
To kick off the Memorial this week I interviewed Bill Haas in the Nationwide Digital House about the course and what he's doing to improve his record here.
Later on we have videos coming from the course, including the 16th hole spot where Tiger chipped-in from in 2012, a talk with Paul Vermuelen of the PGA Tour about a wild-looking green firmness reader and a visit to the incredible Nicklaus Museum.
Live first round Memorial coverage begins on Golf Channel runs from 2:30-6:30 p.m. with a replay from 7-11 p.m.
Great job by Doug Ferguson to remind the gentleman's game types bemoaning all of the controversy of late as an aberration that is not good for the sport.
This isn't the first time golf has gone way beyond birdies and bogeys.
There was the lawsuit involving Ping and the square grooves in the 1980s. There was Arnold Palmer and Jack Nicklaus, leading the breakaway from the PGA of America to start what is now the PGA Tour at the end of the 1960s. Imagine if Woods and Phil Mickelson did something like that today.
''It's not a perfect game,'' Curtis Strange said. ''Some people believe there's no such thing as bad press, but it seems like we're still having growing issues. We're learning how to handle doping issues, although nobody has learned to do that yet. I'm been reading about Lance Armstrong all day.''
And Ferguson also notes...
And it's not anything Finchem can make go away with a wave of his hand. Considering that golf is a niche sport, maybe that's not the worst thing.
Speaking of the racial dust-up from last week, Tiger was asked about it Wednesday and he continues to handle a tricky situation quite well.
Bob Harig with the lowdown on Woods' press conference that touched on the Sergio row, Merion and other topics.
"Well, I live it," he said. "It's happened my entire life, and it's happened my entire career. So that doesn't surprise me. It exists all around the world, not just in the sport of golf. It exists everywhere. I know that a lot of people are trying to make a difference and trying to make it more fair for all of us."
When asked about the abundance of outside-the-ropes news in golf this year -- the anchoring ban, Vijay Singh's lawsuit against the PGA Tour, the Garcia flap -- Woods simply said, "Well, I've won four times (on the PGA Tour)."
Alex Miceli with a report on the PAC members meeting at Muirfield Village and joining in by phone. The takeaway? A variety of emotions on anchoring, bifurcation and rules, though he suggested more players were again in favor of the ban for reasons unknown.
According to one participant, some PAC members who were on the fence now seem to be going back to supporting the ban.
Anchoring on its own has unique issues: the potential for limiting high-profile players from competing as they have for years, potential litigation and how the Tour might be perceived if it goes against the anchoring ban.
“We’ve got a process we follow as a Tour, and we're going to let it play out,” said PAC member Bo Van Pelt. “I think that’s what you get with 144 guys. Everybody has a differing opinion.”
For all of the attention paid to 8th graders these days, Golf World's Tim Rosaforte looks at the quietly impressive year of 19-year-old Jordan Spieth.
With no status and questions about why he turned pro, has won over $900,000 after another top 10 at Colonial.
Spieth's ball-striking stats explain his success. After his latest top-10 at Colonial -- which helped him get into this week's Memorial -- the teenager sat 10th in total driving and ninth in the all-around ranking. Sectional qualifying for the U.S. Open comes June 3 in Dallas, which could mean 288 holes of competitive golf over a three-week period, including last week's British Open qualifier in Big D, in which a T-22 finish failed to earn him a spot in the field at Muirfield.
If Spieth were eligible for FedEx Cup points, he would be ranked in the top 60. His World Ranking is 141st, up from No. 809 at the start of 2013. "My expectations have changed," he said. "Down the stretch [at tournaments] I'm not worried about seventh-place finishes, like I was in Tampa. I can be more aggressive, which may have hurt me this week, but that's part of learning how to win."
Geoff Shackelford is a Senior Writer for Golfweek magazine, a weekly contributor to Golf Channel's Morning
Copyright © 2022, Geoff Shackelford. All rights reserved.
