Tiger Woods Dialed In For Another Green Jacket?

Before two of his previous Masters victories Tiger Woods won the Arnold Palmer Invitational at Bay Hill. Today he set himself up to do it again with a five stroke win over Graeme McDowell that broke his 924 day winless drought. Tiger might count his Chevron triumph, but having fewer golfers than holes, we don't. That makes him the odds on favorite to capture his fifth green jacket.

What are his chances? Well, since you asked....

1. He loves the golf course.

2. He knows it like the back of his hand, which is crucial when it comes to the nuances of the greens and knowing where to leave to the ball, even more importantly, where not to.

3. He hits a stupendous high cut shot, necessary at Augusta to have approach shots stop on greens rolling at about 14 on the old Stimp.

4. He knows the putts. Knowing is one thing, making them is another. However, experience is key at Augusta and many players just haven't played enough rounds. There's a reason Fuzzy Zoeller's the only rookie winner in modern history.

5. His tee ball appears to have returned. Woods was 2nd in driving this week and leading the Tour for the year. Crucial at Augusta because where your approach is struck from is really the key to the course.

I consider Masters' weekend to be the start to the golf season, pro as well a mine. I think it's great spectacle with a weak field. Regardless, it's a great tip off to what I hope shapes up to be a fun season, whether I'm on the course or parked in front of the TV.

Swing real hard, they make tons of em'.

2012 Honda Classic - Odds and Expert Picks

Jack Nicklaus' winter digs, maiden appearance by E. Woods, throw in a McIlroy and a Westwood and we might have ourselves a golf tourney. PGA National in Palm Beach Gardens, FL is the setting for The Honda Classic. All four 2011 major winners are joined by the aforementioned Mr. Woods, Keegan Bradley, and the defender, Rory Sabbatini.

We'll examine the front runners from Ladbrokes and help you earn some pocket cash from the comfort of your recliner. As you'll readily see, this is a chalk tourney. The talent level tanks after Keegan Bradley. Basically it's the top 5 or so and then the Nationwide Tour. Still, as betting opportunities go, there's great value with good potential pays, ie Ernie Els and/or JB Holmes at 66/1. Hey, it's your money!

Let's have a look...

Rory McIlroy - 7/1, Everyone's all but conceded the #1 in the world status to young Rory, which I believe he deserves more then Luke Donald. I think you need a major win under your belt to be #1. Of course he can win here. In fact I'm picking him due to extra motivation after last week's loss.

Tiger Woods - 10/1, You gotta be able to putt to win tournaments and right now Woods can't putt any better than my 9 yr. old nephew. Throw in the unfamiliar greens and watch Tiger use this as a Masters prep.

Lee Westwood - 10/1, Let McIlroy escape in the match play. Had his foot on his neck early. Not uncommon for Westwood to lose the reins for a few holes though. I see top 5 here, but I've picked Rory to win.

Charl Schwartzel - 20/1, Damn I hate typing his name. Doesn't exactly roll off the fingers. Can win I suppose. Has all the tools necessary. I see him 2nd.

Keegan Bradley - 25/1, Other than the pole putter I like this kid. He stepped right into the big-time game and validated his major. Sure, he could win here, but I picked Rory.

Ben Crane - 25/1, I hope he's in the final group or we'll have a Tuesday finish. Seems like a nice guy, but I change the channel when he's on. I can get a movie in while he putts. Won't win.

Justin Rose - 33/1, Potential sleeper. Hasn't done much lately, but too good to stay down for too long. Lives in Florida, could win, probably won't.

Graeme McDowell - 33/1, US Open win starting to look flukish. I like the guy and hopes he rallies. I'm no expert, but his golf swing appears to have morphed into a slash. Ahhh, won't win.

Kyle Stanley - 33/1, See what I meant about field strength? Nice player, good year so far, can't beat the top 5 here though.

Average Golfer Picks

1. McIlroy

2. Schwartzel

3. Westwood

There you have 'em......  Bet early and often.....

Mahan Takes Down McIlroy in Accenture World Match Play

35 birdies in 96 holes is pretty good golf. Certainly good enough today for Hunter Mahan to best Rory McIlroy 2 and 1 and capture his 2nd  WGC event, the WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship. His efforts landed him a cool $1.4 million along with the accompanying hardware. Mahan was 4 up through 10 holes after a stretch of taking 4 out of 5 on the front nine. McIlroy  applied some pressure on the back nine, but Mahan continued to answer with timely birdies. It was more than obvious that Mahan was the best player here this week. Mahan defeated Mark Wilson in the semis to reach the final match. Wilson was the only opponent Mahan had that wasn't a former Ryder or Presidents Cup member.

Mahan's win denied McIlroy the #1 spot in the OWGR. That I assume will be left for Luke Donald who packed his rental car here on Wednesday. There's no clear cut #1 in this writer's mind. I'd give it to McIlroy anyway since he defeated Lee Westwood, #3, in today's semi-final, and he has a major championship. Mark Wilson defeated Westwood in the "kiss-your-sister" match for 3rd place. In sum I've always thought you shouldn't be considered a world #1 without a major.

Average Golfer's been on a bit of a break of late. Expect some renewed interest as winter passes where we're located and I can see the sun for more than two hours a day. The Honda Classic is up next with a stronger field than one normally sees at this weak sister event. All 2011 major winners will be there along with Westwood and Woods. May be worth the effort.







Swing hard, they'll make more.

Tiger Woods Takes Chevron World Challenge - Is He Back?

Biggest question... Woods' game still in the woods?

Tiger Woods bested Zach Johnson with an 18th hole birdie, his second straight, to grab his own Chevron World Challenge title. He finished at -10, one clear of Johnson, who he battled all day in a tight back and forth match. No one else really contended, making this almost a match play scenario. Sunday was calm in contrast to the blasts of Santa Ana winds that colored the first three days. His final round 69 erased a one shot deficit to Johnson at the start of the round. Johnson therefore carded a 71 today. Woods' game is obviously improving. You can tell by his ball striking and trajectory. He's regained some of his legendary control of the ball, but still some questions remain....

1. Is a victory over just 17 other players an indication of Woods return to form? Probably not. With the tiny field I see it as just north of MJ winning a game of HORSE in his driveway. Still, a win's a win and no pro golfer needed one more than Woods.

2. Can he carry the improved shot making into 2012? Only one way to find out. Play the tournaments. It's no coincidence that Woods' improvement is directly related to his increase in playing.

3. Any chinks in the armor? Well of course. Loose shots here and there. 27 putts on Friday, 32 on Saturday. Not the sort of consistency a player of Woods' pedigree looks for, but miles better than his PGA Championship performance.

4. What else will factor in Woods' 2012? Health. Four knee surgeries can't be on anyone's wish list. The rigors of a full, by Woods' standards, season will be the arbiter. One factor he can't account for is age, both his increasing and his prime competition's decreasing.

5. Bottom line? No sane person can argue that Tiger's not in the top two of all time. He's playing better, his self-imposed off the course problems are naturally fading. I see him winning two to three tournaments a year on a schedule of about 18 entries. Figure a major victory thrown in the mix and he'll give Nicklaus' record of 18 a run for it's money. I wouldn't be shocked to see them tied when all is said and done. If you'd have asked me ten years ago, I'd have figured him for 25.

*Average Golfer aside.... How can they call it a "World Challenge" with only 18 players?







Swing hard, they'll make more.

Tiger Pulls Smoke and Mirrors Act at Chevron World Challenge (aka Sherwood 18 Open)

I know we're at the "end" of pro golf season. To be fair, the pro golf season never really ends. They crank the 2012 PGA season up again on January 6, 2012. It's omnipresent. This week's fare is the Chevron World Challenge at Sherwood Country Club in Thousand Oaks, CA. Still, Tiger's tourney raises a considerable amount of moolah that benefits his foundation and the Tiger Woods Learning Center, both good causes.

Eighteen players will tee it up on Thursday. That's right, eighteen. We have more on Sunday mornings at my muni for a $5.00 blind draw. These boys are divvying up $5 million. Gotta like like your odds if you scored an invite.  The field typically consists of the four current major champions, the next eleven in the Official World Golf Rankings, and sponsor picks. Evidently not everyone got the email. This year's field has Keegan Bradley as a major winner, Bill Haas, the FedUp Cup champion and a heavily American weighted field with 9 of the world's top 25. In the top ten are Steve Stricker (6), Webb Simpson (9), and Nick Watney (10). Woods himself dodged a bullet just to qualify for his own shindig. He crept into the top 50 at 49 at qualifying time, but has slipped to 52nd in the interim. At least he didn't have to use an exemption. Unfortunately, defending champ, Graeme McDowell is playing in the Nedbank Challenge in Sun City, South Africa along with stalwarts Luke Donald, Lee Westwood, and Martin Kaymer. In related news, someone has seen fit to give John Daly a spot in the USB Hong Kong Open. Bring extra balls.

How things change. Twas a time when everyone checked their mailboxes for a Woods' invite. I'm not sure if it's the global aspect of golf or Woods' declining influence that's turned his tourney into a buddy match. Probably some of both. I'll take a peek at the telly because I'm a golf nut. My trigger finger will be on the NFL though. If Woods intends to break his losing streak, this is his best opportunity in two years.





*Average Golfer aside.....  Quite a coup to have the results from the Sherwood 18 rack up World Ranking Points.




Swing hard, then swing harder.

Why The US Won The Presidents Cup.

Outside of the obvious, "We won more matches", "We scored more points",  there's one real forehead slapping reason the US squad won this year's and most year's Presidents Cup competitions. We have better players.

According to the Official World Golf Ranking points system as of 11/18/2011 the average ranking of the 12 US players was 18.5. The Internationals 34.6. The 19th ranked player in the world would typically beat the 35th ranked player over a series of matches.

So sorry Uncle Albert.

Ain't math great?







Go ahead, they'll make more.

2011 Presidents Cup - Post Mortem

Captain Couples, undefeated.

Final score 19-15 in favor of the US squad vs the Internationals in the 2011 Presidents Cup from Melbourne, AU. This was a bit closer in final day singles matches than it appears. Still, the Internationals were faced with an unprecedented task of coming from four points behind on the last day, considering no team has ever overcome a deficit in singles. Four early wins gave the Internationals some false hope. The back loaded US squad prevailed when Cup veterans Furyk, Toms, Woods, and Stricker sealed the deal. Not exactly compelling on the last day, but at least interesting.

Some observations gleaned by this Average Golfer's astute eye....

The Presidents Cup isn't the Ryder Cup by any stretch. Drawing from a global pool the Prez Cup participants don't have the team chemistry of a Euro Ryder team. Language barriers and infrequent contact contribute. History's on the Ryder side as well. The difference in intensity and seriousness is palpable.

Robert Allenby had a tough week. Coming off a missed cut in the previous week's Australian Open, Robert Allenby hoped to validate captain Norman's faith in him and his familiarity with Royal Melbourne by turning in a good performance. Didn't happen. 0-4-0 record made Norman's comments regarding the Tiger Woods captain's pick ring hollow. Allenby putted like he was drunk for two weeks.

Home field advantage wasn't there. Five Aussies made Norman's roster. RM was supposed to be their own private Idaho. Combined 7-14-3 record for the quintet dispelled that notion.

Royal Melbourne was on the edge. Yes. Bath tub slick greens, harder than 10th grade math, coupled with some howling wind, made certain holes ridiculously difficult to play. All in all in one of the most spectacular venues in the world. I just hate to see some of the world's best win or lose a hole in match play on what's essentially luck.

Tiger Woods made a statement here. Yes and no. Yes, his full swing appears to be rounding into form, proven by the return of the patented stinger. Yes, he made putts in the singles round to trounce Aaron Baddeley. No, his 2-3-0 record for the tourney didn't win it for the US.

Jim Furyk was MVP. 5-0-0. Nuff' said. Furyk's missing putting stroke magically reappeared and he became just the 4th player in Cup history to win five matches.

No substitute for experience. Example, Mickelson 3-1-0, Mahan 4-1-0. Having been there means a lot. Much was made of International rookies KT Kim and Ryo Ishikawa having breakout tourneys. Fact is they were a combined 4-4-0. Not embarrassing, but .500 doesn't win Cups.

Jason Day had a tough week too. It sure seemed like he was nervous as a long tailed cat in a room full of rocking chairs. The wind wreaked havoc with his high ball flight and sent him all over the property. Day's a better player than he showed, but better learn to hit the ball lower when needed.

Norman's suggestions worth a look. In a post-round interview Greg Norman suggested that in the interest of a more competitive tournament the captains should be allowed four picks with eight qualifiers. Makes some sense given the vast pool the International team has to draw from. He also postulated that the home team have the ability to counter with their picks in the pairings rather than the defending team as it is now. Again, worth consideration. Seemingly small changes might have some impact. As it's been, this Cup is a mismatch every two years.

To sum, interesting, not history making. Face it, between the Ryder and the Prez Cup the US squad plays in one of these every year. We should win. I was about to suggest a biennial US v. The World event until I remembered the tarring we took in the last Ryder.

*Swing extra hard, they'll make more.