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The Grind: Tiger's Torrey triumph, a Super Bowl dilemma & Phoenix Open picks

Wed, 30 Jan 2013 14:50:00 GMT

Editor's note: GolfDigest.com's new weekly column looks back at the week in golf (and beyond), and ahead to the next event.

Welcome to another edition of The Grind, where we feel bad for Tiger Woods. And before you say "Give me a break," let's examine: The guy triumphs in a PGA Tour event by FOUR shots and most people focus on either his shaky finish; or the fact that he always plays well on that course so it's no big deal; or that it's still not a major championship; or that he didn't win while simultaneously solving the world's energy crisis. Oh, wait, he made a million bucks to play good golf a week after he made $3 million to play some bad golf? OK, we don't feel too bad for him anymore. . .

WE'RE BUYING

Tiger Woods. Sure, he hit the ball all over La Jolla during the final round, but there were still plenty of signs of vintage Tiger. Like in years past, he pulled away from the field (at least at one point) and he also dominated the par 5s. On Torrey Pines' longest holes, he made an eagle each of the first two days (he only made four on the PGA Tour during all of 2012), and he finished at 12-under par for the week. Last year, he came up short on our prediction of four wins and a major, but to make up for that, we're saying he'll win five and two in 2013. In other words (again), yes (for the 227th time in the past three years), he's back (we think).

The PGA Show. Easy on the eyes, nice figures and dressed to impressed -- and those are just the booth girls pitching the products! One of these days, I'm going to have to get down to Orlando to see, the um, sights. In the meantime, I'll have to settle for former colleague Matt Ginella's collection of photos from last year's show.

Rickie Fowler. What makes a T-6 at a PGA Tour event even better? When you do it after shooting a 77 in the opening round. Fowler displayed a lot of grit (not always his strong suit) in not mailing it in after Thursday and winded up having a week that could really get his 2013 season going. Perhaps even more importantly, his second-round 65 proved that he can play better than a six-handicapper when paired with Tiger Woods. And definitely more importantly, his efforts were appreciated by fantasy owners who forgot to check their lineups and left him in after Day 1. . .

WE'RE SELLING

PGA Tour's Shot Link. Even for people fortunate enough to work at a golf magazine and have a giant TV above their heads in the office, there is a lot of tournament action that isn't televised. During those times, those people need the PGA Tour's system of tracking players to feed their need for golf. On Thursday and Friday, this system was down for a second-straight week. UNACCEPTABLE!

Tiger Woods and Lindsey Vonn. No sooner do we joke about the incredible lack of Tiger relationship news do rumors of him and the Olympic skier surface. Still, we need more evidence before we start with the "Tiger and Lindsey sitting in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G" -- especially since there is a record of Vonn taking a jab at Woods' sex addiction a few years ago. Last time we checked, Tiger isn't one to forgive even the slightest of slights. If Lindsey is in the gallery at Augusta National in April, then we'll talk.

Brandt Snedeker changing his putting stroke. The reigning FedEx Cup champ kept on rolling with a T-2 at Torrey, but he looked unusually shaky on the greens after Thursday, including a three-putt from about four feet during Friday's 75. During Sunday's telecast, Ian Baker-Finch noted that for some strange reason Snedeker had made a change in his technique, going with a quicker backstroke to give his putts a little more pop. Pssst, Brandt, you're the best putter in the world. . .

ON TAP

The PGA Tour heads to TPC Scottsdale for the annual fan boozefest known as the Waste Management Phoenix Open. Last year, Spencer Levin looked a little woozy himself after blowing a seven-shot lead on Sunday.

Random tournament fact: Andrew Magee made the only known hole-in-one on a par 4 in PGA Tour history here on the 332-yard 17th in 2001. Wait, Andrew Magee hit a ball 332 yards? Was he using a conforming driver?

WEEKLY YAHOO! FANTASY LINEUP

Big week last week, with Tiger Woods, Nick Watney and Rickie Fowler all finishing in the top six, and our other selection, Hunter Mahan, finishing a respectable T-15. Let's keep the momentum going with this motley crew:

Starters -- (A-List): Bubba Watson. After a rough start to the season with the flu, Watson will be chomping at the bit to get out there and play. He finished T-5 last year at TPC Scottsdale, a course known for being friendly to bombers off the tee.

(B-List): J.B. Holmes. One of our sleepers to watch in 2013, this has been the best tournament to watch the Kentuckian at for his entire career. Holmes' two career PGA Tour titles both came at TPC Scottsdale.

(B-List): Bo Van Pelt. If you looked up "due for a win" in the dictionary, BVP's picture would be right there. He's our pick to take home the trophy.

(C-List): Rickie Fowler. As mentioned, we loved the fight Fowler showed at Torrey Pines. No reason he won't carry it over this week at a place he finished runner-up in 2010.

Bench -- Brandt Snedeker, Ben Crane, Hunter Mahan, and Robert Garrigus.

RANDOM PROP BETS OF THE WEEK

-- If John Harbaugh's Ravens win the Super Bowl, he'll give younger brother Jim a wedgie after the game: 50-to-1 odds

-- An inebriated fan will come out of the stands on TPC Scottsdale's famous 16th hole and hit a shot: 10-to-1 odds

-- Phil Mickelson will make an actual Super Bowl prop bet: LOCK.

FREE SUPER BOWL PREDICTION

I've gone back and forth a lot on this one, not just on which team I think will win, but which team I will root for. Jim Harbaugh seems like a jerk. John Harbaugh seems cool. I'm sick of Ray Lewis, but I love Ray Rice, who I had the pleasure of covering while he was in high school. On the other hand, I'm not a big Joe Flacco guy, but he's impressed me a lot during the playoffs. Tough call. What do you do with a tough call? Take Baltimore and the points (3.5) and root for a tight game. San Francisco wins 23-20.

PHOTO(S) OF THE WEEK

Natalie Gulbis tweeting photos of her yoga routine? Yes, please. There are a lot of people who I often wonder why I bother following on Twitter. Gulbis is one of those people. But from time to time, she provides self photos like these and I remember why I began following her in the first place.

CELEBRITY/ATHLETE WE'D LIKE TO PLAY GOLF WITH

Jim Nantz. I'm not the biggest Nantz fan around, but I've warmed up to him a little in recent years with his guest appearance on "How I Met Your Mother" and that commercial where he makes fun of the guy being stuck at a department store with his girlfriend. I'd like to ask the man who goes from covering the Super Bowl, to March Madness, to the Masters, what it's like to be the luckiest man in the world. Oh yeah, he's a member at some pretty swanky clubs, so we'd probably play somewhere decent.

VIRAL VIDEO(S) OF THE WEEK

Is this 17-month-old left-handed prodigy the next Bubba Watson?

That's some pretty freaky hand-eye-coordination. And why didn't that dude sitting on the stairs move? Talk about being in the line of fire. Upon further inspection, we realize this video was uploaded three years ago, leading to the obvious question: where is this kid now?!

And in honor of the fact that a lot of adult beverages will be consumed this week at TPC Scottsdale, check out this video involving the combination of alcohol and golf:

THIS AND THAT

Winged Foot will get the 2020 U.S. Open. It's probably the last place Phil Mickelson would want to celebrate his 50th birthday that week. . . . Chris Wood won his first European Tour title by making eagle on the final hole of regulation at the Qatar Masters. This will not be the last time in 2013 that Sergio Garcia, who finished runner-up, will curse the golf gods. . . . The NBA's New Orleans Hornets announced they will officially change their team name to the Pelicans in 2014. For a guy who went to perhaps the only high school (Pelham, N.Y.) in the country with that mascot, the news brought me a lot of pride. . . . Speaking of Pelham, while my former high school teachers toiled in freezing temperatures, I was in Orlando helping to test golf balls (above). They must be so proud of their former student. . .

RANDOM QUESTIONS TO PONDER

What's the oldest you can be while still being considered a prodigy?

If Tiger could have played 36 holes on Sunday, would he have changed into a red shirt for the final 18? And would he have done it in Clark Kent-like fashion, perhaps transforming in an on-course port-o-potty?

Does Natalie Gulbis offer private yoga classes?

-- Alex Myers is a contributing editor for GolfDigest.com. Feel free to email him and please follow him on Twitter since he has self-esteem issues.

Video: Tour players on their holiday plans

Sat, 01 Dec 2012 00:40:00 GMT

By GolfDigest.com Staff

Offseason? There's a golf offseason? True, it may be measured in weeks instead of months, but there is indeed a pocket in the schedule that features no golf of consequence. So with Tiger Woods' World Challenge at Sherwood Country Club in Thousands Oaks, Calif., serving as most tour players' season finales, we asked a few what they had planned for their brief time away from the tour.

Steal My Feel

Bo Van Pelt — Tue, 13 Nov 2012 05:00:00 GMT

Adjust your feet to change the flight.

November 2012 Table of Contents

Mon, 24 Sep 2012 04:00:00 GMT

Overheard in the gallery at Bethpage Black

Thu, 23 Aug 2012 20:54:00 GMT

By Ashley Mayo

Welcome to Bethpage State Park, where the playoffs are officially underway and a the duel between Tiger and Rory is just beginning. A complete Bethpage experience involves eavesdropping on spectator chatter. Below, some of the odd exchanges we overheard within the Long Island gallery.

Man, while walking from the clubhouse to the tenth tee (which is quite a hike): "I'm already dead." His gal pal: "Good news is, for every hill you climb UP, you get to enjoy running DOWN." Man: "Must you always be so positive? It's annoying."

Guy, talking about a muscular security guard on the tenth tee: "That guy means business." Guy's friend: "Hold me, Mommy."

Guy, right after Matt Kuchar tees of on no. 10: "KUUUUUUCCCHHH." Guy looks at his buddy, smiles and says, "I love being THAT guy."

Related: Sh*t golfers say

Man, after Rory's drives it over the left corner of fairway bunkers on the 12th hole: "Right. That's actually NOT the line I normally take."

Guy on 14th tee, watching Tiger's group walk up to the tee and wait for Keegan Bradley's group on the green. "Someone's gotta tell Keegan to play quicker. He wouldn't be allowed to play Bethpage; he'd be thrown off! Phil came through TEN minutes ago. This is slower than my Saturday round."

Guy standing by a bunker on the 18th green: "Look at all those bees swarming around." His buddy: "Yellow Jackets are the least of a golfer's worries on this monster."

Dude, to another guy: "I swear, every time I see you you're wearing that shirt." Guy: "Dude, the chicks love it."

Man, while rummaging through his buddy's backpack: "I mean, could you bring any more Advil?" Buddy: "Hills."

After Tiger misses a six-foot birdie putt on the par-3 third: "He should fire his caddie. ... And bring back what's-his-face."

After Tiger saves par from the greenside bunker on the fifth hole: "He's too good! HE'S TOO GOOD!" Guy standing next to him: "He ain't betta than New York."

A woman screeches after Rory nearly holes out his shot from the greenside bunker on the seventh hole. Guy says, "The girls just love this kid. Lucky bastard."

Guy, after Bo Van Pelt tees off the tenth hole: "That's what I like to call a 'smoothie' swing." His buddy: "Why 'smoothie?'" Guy: "Because smoothies are tasty."

Little boy, after Bo Van Pelt tees off: "GET IN THE HOLE!" Guy: "It's cute when little boys say that sh*t. It's sad and ridiculous when grown men do it."

Follow @AshleyKMayo

Is Tiger again the best player in the world?

Mon, 02 Jul 2012 00:08:00 GMT

Tiger Woods' best won't necessarily win beauty contests the way it once did, nor is victory the given it once was, but, as Woods is wont to say, it's all about the W, and he has resumed his habit of collecting them.

His victory in the AT&T National at Congressional Country Club in Bethesda, Md., on Sunday was his third of the year, which puts him up in the PGA Tour player of the year competition and re-establishes him as the best player in the world, notwithstanding the World Ranking that hasn't caught up.

Three victories leads the tour and are two more than the major champions, Bubba Watson and Webb Simpson, have. He also leads the tour in scoring average (69.04) and in earnings ($4.22 million).

Yet more revealing statistic is that Woods has won 27 percent of his starts in 2012 (three of 11), which betters his career mark of 26 percent (74 of 285). It also was his third win in his last seven starts.

Yet a question remains and it is a major one. His 74th career victory leaves Jack Nicklaus behind in a category that matters less to Woods than the one in which he trails. Nicklaus' 18 major championships remain the benchmark and Woods is stuck on 14, though he does seem to be applying large doses of WD-40 to his game in effort to get unstuck before the British Open in four weeks.

Related: How Tiger's swing has changed

His performance on Sunday had much to commend it, including the six-foot par-saving putt he made on 17 to break a deadlock with Bo Van Pelt. "Feels almost like old times," CBS' David Feherty said. He also played the difficult 18th hole flawlessly -- driver in the fairway, 9-iron to 17 feet. The latter shot, explained in his own words, suggests that his newest swing is not the work in progress it has been.

"It was 159 [yards to the] front and we're looking at 10 [yards] on, downhill, it's hot, ball's flying, a nice smooth drawing 9-iron," he said. "It just fit my eye for some reason. I just saw it and I hit it."

There are still demons, notably a driver that often betrays him (though it did not do so on the 18th tee). There, too, was the overheated wedge that bounded off the back of the 16th green and down a slope, resulting in a bogey that Van Pelt repaid in kind. That shot did not feel like old times, unless old is defined as last August. On the upside for Woods, he had played the previous 41 holes without a bogey on a course little more than a year removed from hosting the U.S. Open.

Woods has one more start before resuming his Nicklaus chase. He is playing in the Greenbrier Classic for the first time next week, then has two weeks off before the British Open, which presumably will be played in cooler climes than the D.C. area was offering.

"After that weekend of heat in DC, I think I have an idea what the brisket and pork butts feel like when I cook 'em," barbecue maestro Stewart Cink wrote on Twitter.

He and his brethren ought to be sweating for another reason, too. Tiger, with a new swing that has started producing recognizable results, has begun turning up the heat.

-- John Strege
Follow @johnstrege

(Photo by Getty Images)

PGA Tour: Fantasy Fix: Wells Fargo Championship

Alex Myers — Tue, 01 May 2012 04:00:00 GMT

We discuss Jason Dufner's poker face, a rare bad Tom Hanks movie, the surprising New York Mets, and of course, this week's PGA Tour stop.

Watson's career-best keeps Woods, low-scoring field, at bay

Fri, 09 Mar 2012 23:18:00 GMT

(Getty Images)

MIAMI - A bogey-free 67 Friday in the second round of the WGC-Cadillac Championship should have provided Tiger Woods some satisfaction at Doral Resort. Perhaps it might have if he had gained more traction on the leaderboard.

Woods tacked cleanly around the TPC Blue Monster, hitting fairways and greens and giving himself birdie chances, and he was rewarded with his second-lowest round of the season on the PGA Tour. But there was just one problem.

"This is the highest score I could have shot today for sure," he grumbled. "It could have been pretty low today."

On his last four holes of the day, Nos. 6-9, Woods set himself up for birdie from 21, 14, 14 and 18 feet, respectively. Didn't make one of them. He also missed a 10-footer for eagle at the par-5 first after a 10-footer for birdie at 17 went askew.

"I hit pure putts. I hit them right on my line and they were just lipping out," said Woods, who also left a few short of the hole though right on line. "I just have to be committed to what I'm doing and continue rolling it, because I'm hitting the putts on what I'm reading and what I'm seeing."

Woods began the day T-25 after an opening 72, but his 5-under 139 total elevated him only nine spots on the leaderboard. The winds weren't quite as severe and the course was softened by a morning downpour, so scoring improved considerably.

Bubba Watson owns the halfway lead at 12-under 132 after a career-low 62, just one shy of the course record held by Stephen Ames. Playing partner Justin Rose shot 64-133. Watson hits it long, of course, but the left-hander also needed just 23 putts.

Martin Kaymer also had a 64, while Bo Van Pelt and Peter Hanson shot a 65. The field scoring average Friday was nearly three strokes lower than the 72.662 in the first round. World No. 1 Rory McIlroy three-putted the 18th hole to post 69 and was 10 behind Watson at 2-under 142.

-- Dave Shedloski

PGA Tour: Fantasy Fix: AT&T National

Alex Myers — Tue, 28 Jun 2011 04:00:00 GMT

We discusss our country's birthday, an idea to keep Tiger Woods busy, the status of American golf and of course, this week's PGA Tour stop.

PGA Tour: Fantasy Fix: Travelers Championship

Alex Myers — Tue, 21 Jun 2011 04:00:00 GMT

We discuss Congressional, Sammy Davis Jr., golf's version of the "Rat Pack" and of course, this week's PGA Tour stop.