Deja Vu (Sort Of)
Well, it was quite a first round. Mike Weir and Jim Furyk made my predictions last night look good at -4. Darren Clarke is -3, Stephen Ames is -2, Tim Clark is even, and Trevor Immelman is at home with his wife celebrating the birth of their child. All of them are probably very happy where they are today. Only Padraig Harrington is a disappointment at +3, which at most Opens is respectable, but here is tied for 124th.
The only thing that could upset the players I picked today is a guy sitting at -5, one behind leader Graeme McDowell, who shot a course record 66. Some guy named Tiger Woods.
I had originally discounted Woods because of his lack of accuracy off the tee. I figured if he tried to play at Royal Liverpool like he did at St Andrews last year (and Winged Foot this year), he'd be in big trouble.
Fortunately for Tiger, he started hitting irons off the tee to stay in play, even when it meant having 200+ yards into the par 4 17th hole. And he putted beautifully as well, especially after a 3-putt on the 1st hole.
In short, Tiger Woods became Fred Funk and Brad Faxon combined.
What does this mean for the rest of the field? Big trouble. If the weather stays nice and dry, the course is going to get faster, meaning tee shot distance control will be needed. It's much easier to control an iron's distance than a driver's distance. Advantage Tiger.
And if it rains and gets windy, who do you think that will favour? Probably someone who can hit it far, like a Tiger Woods maybe?
With Tiger, I've never looked at how many strokes behind he is. I've always looked at how many players are ahead of him. Anyone think McDowell can match him shot for shot over the next 3 days?
If there is a tournament where someone can overtake Tiger, this is it. One bad swing can result in a big number. However, if he is going to be passed, it had better be Friday or Saturday, because Tiger is 10-0 in majors when leading after 3 rounds.
The field probably said "oh no" (or something stronger) when Tiger eagled the 18th hole. The Woods camp must be ecstatic. We could be seeing a successful defense for the first time since Tom Watson in '82-'83. Hopefully my picks will make it interesting at least.
Good luck to everyone (including Royal Liverpool).
Regards,
Steve
The only thing that could upset the players I picked today is a guy sitting at -5, one behind leader Graeme McDowell, who shot a course record 66. Some guy named Tiger Woods.
I had originally discounted Woods because of his lack of accuracy off the tee. I figured if he tried to play at Royal Liverpool like he did at St Andrews last year (and Winged Foot this year), he'd be in big trouble.
Fortunately for Tiger, he started hitting irons off the tee to stay in play, even when it meant having 200+ yards into the par 4 17th hole. And he putted beautifully as well, especially after a 3-putt on the 1st hole.
In short, Tiger Woods became Fred Funk and Brad Faxon combined.
What does this mean for the rest of the field? Big trouble. If the weather stays nice and dry, the course is going to get faster, meaning tee shot distance control will be needed. It's much easier to control an iron's distance than a driver's distance. Advantage Tiger.
And if it rains and gets windy, who do you think that will favour? Probably someone who can hit it far, like a Tiger Woods maybe?
With Tiger, I've never looked at how many strokes behind he is. I've always looked at how many players are ahead of him. Anyone think McDowell can match him shot for shot over the next 3 days?
If there is a tournament where someone can overtake Tiger, this is it. One bad swing can result in a big number. However, if he is going to be passed, it had better be Friday or Saturday, because Tiger is 10-0 in majors when leading after 3 rounds.
The field probably said "oh no" (or something stronger) when Tiger eagled the 18th hole. The Woods camp must be ecstatic. We could be seeing a successful defense for the first time since Tom Watson in '82-'83. Hopefully my picks will make it interesting at least.
Good luck to everyone (including Royal Liverpool).
Regards,
Steve
posted by Irrelevant at 12:46 PM
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