Sunday, March 29, 2009

Tiger Woods Snatches Trophy From Sean O'Hair at Bay Hill.


Three over on Sunday doesn't get it done on the PGA Tour. Especially with Tiger Woods hot on your rear bumper. Woods played great, making the crucial putt when he needed it. His 15 footer for birdie on the 18th crowned it and gave him his 6th Arnold Palmer Invitational title. Let's face it though, Sean O'Hair crumpled under the weight of the setting. Starting the day 5 shots up he gave three of them back on the front nine, bogeying 3, and 7. Conversely Woods birdied 2, 3, and 7. The 16th became a pivotal hole as O'Hair shorted his approach and drowned his ball. That gave Woods a one stroke lead that he quickly gave back after a buried bunker bogey on 17. That set the stage for his winning birdie putt on 18 that was eerily reminiscent on his victory here last year.

Don't misunderstand me, Sean O'Hair is a fine young player and only 26 years old. He has a lot of great golf in front of him and shouldn't have to worry about getting his bills paid. Still, a 5 shot lead on Sunday is not something you absolutely can't give up, even against Woods. And....in the pantheon of players Woods has beaten on Sunday, O'Hair is just at the end of a long line.

This should answer any question about Woods and ring rust. Woods claims that after Doral he revisited the putting theories passed to him by his father and reincorporated his putting drills into his practice regimen. He finsished the week #1 in putting, and that my friends is what nearly always wins golf tournaments. Final full field scores.



Til' next,

6 comments:

  1. So many Sundays, I am rooting for the underdog against Mr. Woods. In the end, I'm jumping up and down in celebration of Mr. Woods victory. I think Mr. O'Hair is most deserving and truly wanted this win for him. But like most Sundays I can't help but get caught up in the excitement of Mr. Woods golf game. It was an exciting end to the tourney.

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  2. Woods is the best! But not my favorite, I will not be watching another tournament with him present, even the Masters. Had to watch Sunday with the sound off. The commentators where drooling all over them selves. And did anyone notice how little we really got to see on Sunday. How about comments such as (what camera work) showing tigers face on 17 when he hit a poor shot. Oh wait a minute, they said (a gust of wind must have caused that shot). I just can’t stand it anymore, its not Tigers fault, but he should do something about it. Without the other players, he would have nobody to play with.

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  3. Haha, tell us what you really think ed...

    I tell you who else bugs me with Tiger - bookies. Last week the bookies in Australia had him a $3.50 fav to win at Augusta before he even looked close to his bet.

    Him winning Bay Hill means they'll get even more scared and lower him a touch more.

    Better value if you want to bet against him I guess...maybe I'll just stick to the football next weekend.

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  4. I'm with Heather, I'm pushimg for the underdog, but always find myself yelling at the screen when Tiger pulls out his magic. At the 14th I felt tiger had this one. This is a rare time that I'm really glad to see Tiger win. I think thats once every two years

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  5. If you take Tiger against the field you'll win 29% of the time. Obviously the field is the way to go even though Woods' winning percentage is astronomical. If all golfers were created equal they'd each have a .006 chance of winning in a typical 144 man field.

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