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History declares Tiger the winner

Sat, 09 Mar 2013 22:47:00 GMT

(Getty Images photo)

MIAMI - Having just watched Tiger Woods hang a 5-under 67 on the board that extended his lead in the WGC-Cadillac Championship to four shots, Graeme McDowell couldn't help but heap praise on his playing partner, even though he didn't want to.

"Kind of hard to answer these with him in the room," McDowell said on the stage while looking to the back of the interview room where Woods was standing. "The way he controlled his ball, it wasn't like, 'Wow,' it was just really solidly good and impressive, you know, so ... OK, that's enough of that."

The whole field has had enough of that - because they've seen this kind of thing before.

Woods is in prime position to pick up his second win of the season - and 76th of his career - after he tamed the erstwhile Blue Monster at Trump Doral Resort with another birdie barrage. With seven more, including a snappy 16-footer on the home hole, Woods has converted a personal best 24 to complete 54-holes on the TPC Blue Course in 18-under 198.

His 67 Saturday amid sunshine and freshening breezes tied for low round of the day with Nicolas Colsaerts, Sergio Garcia and last week's Honda Classic winner Michael Thompson.

Asked if he could remember the last time he played this well, Woods replied succinctly, grinning, "Yeah, Torrey. Wasn't that long ago."

It was, in fact, just three starts ago that Woods won his PGA Tour season debut at the Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines GC.

Thanks to two eagles, the latter a chip-in at the par-4 16th, McDowell shot 69-202 and earned a second consecutive pairing with Woods. The last time they shared the last tee time was a year ago at the Arnold Palmer Invitational. Woods led by one at the start and triumphed by five shots.

"You know what kind of closer he is," said Steve Stricker, who is T-3 with Phil Mickelson at 203 after both men carded 69s. "When he gets the lead in a golf tournament, it's tough. He doesn't let too many guys in."

More accurately, Woods has never lost a 54-hole lead when ahead by at least three strokes, and he's won 50 of 54 times when owning at least a share of the lead.

His pursuers expressed hope that Sunday's anticipated windy conditions might slow down the No. 2 player in the world. That might be their only chance. But Woods seemed unconcerned.

"I've won a few tournaments in the wind," Woods pointed out. "I think that if you're coming from behind, it's always nice to have tougher conditions. But also when you've got the nice lead, too, it's nice to have tougher conditions and you can make a bunch of pars. We'll see how this golf course is playing tomorrow and we'll see how much water they put on it and how fiery it is."

Woods, 37, is going for his second win of the season and his fifth in his last 18 starts dating to his victory at Bay Hill that ended a nearly three-year drought in official events.

There's a chill in the long putter market

Derek Evers — Tue, 05 Mar 2013 19:58:00 GMT

By E. Michael Johnson Just 18 months ago some manufacturers were tripling or quadrupling their fourth-quar-ter forecasts for sales of long and belly putters. That's because the demand was skyrocketing after the major success...

The Grind: Rory's story, kissing up to The Donald, and Doral predictions

Tue, 05 Mar 2013 16:23:00 GMT

By Alex Myers

Welcome to another edition of The Grind, where we're already digging the Florida Swing. Weather delays have been swapped for dental drama and deserts have been replaced by watery graves with cool nicknames like the "Bear Trap." Throw Donald Trump and some South Beach nightlife into the mix this week and who knows what we're in store for. Here's a rundown of what's happened and what's to come:

"Toothgate" caused quite a stir in Palm Beach. (Photo by Getty Images)

WE'RE BUYING

Michael Thompson. The surprise runner-up at the 2012 U.S. Open became the latest surprise winner on the PGA Tour. After three MCs and a T-78, Thompson held on during a difficult Sunday at PGA National for his first tour title. Again, on the PGA Tour, ALL these guys are good.

Former U.S. Open winners. It seems like it's been awhile since Geoff Ogilvy or Lucas Glover have been near the top of a leader board, but both made some noise at the Honda Classic. Both guys also played well without beards this past weekend. Take that as a sign, guys. Please.

The Golf Boys' new video. We didn't think the world needed another music video from these goofballs, but golf's boy band waited long enough and were creative enough in releasing its sequel, "2.Oh," to deliver a pleasant surprise. The big step up in production value didn't hurt, either. Now if only I had that kind of budget to create a Golf Scribes response. . .

WE'RE SELLING

Rory McIlroy's tooth ache. If you're going to use that as an excuse, the least you can do is not be seen eating a sandwich moments before walking off the course. No, there must be something more serious going on with the world No. 1, who at least went on to apologize for his actions. We hope "Wozzilroy" isn't donezo, but that would make more sense. Love hurts. Just ask Sergio Garcia.

Fishing. Seeing images of tour pros fishing in Tim Rosaforte's piece on Jupiter, Fla., and watching Jack Nicklaus fish on a recent episode of Feherty reminded me of how awful the activity is. Guys, you are sitting on a boat (hopefully, drinking beer at least), trying to lure in a dumb creature that you may or may not eat for dinner. That being said, can you imagine how over-populated golf courses would be on a nice weekend day in the summer without this, um, sport? On second thought, fishing is AWESOME.

The Golf Boys' fitness. Aren't these guys supposed to be finely-tuned, world-class athletes? To be fair, Ben Crane looks like he's been hitting the treadmill, at least, but the other guys all look like they've been on a strict junk food diet. Even Rickie Fowler, who is 24 and tweets about working out constantly, looks a little soft around the edges. The Golf Digest playing editor is lucky he doesn't have to come into the office every day. We're just entering Girl Scout cookie season. . .

ON TAP

The PGA Tour heads to the WGC-Cadillac Championship at Doral's "Blue Monster." From what I hear, the Trump-owned course has the most overpriced green fees in the country. Oops, I probably shouldn't say that since I'll be in Miami next month and looking to play golf. What I meant was I love Mr. Trump and what he's doing for the game!

Random tournament fact: Justin Rose is the defending champion. You might not remember that since Tiger Woods' withdrawal on the 12th hole of the final round led to NBC's most dramatic car chase footage since O.J. Simpson was driving a white Ford Bronco.

WEEKLY YAHOO! FANTASY LINEUP

For the first time ever, we're going to keep the same eight golfers in the lineup that we did the week before. We've just got a feeling. Either that, or we're getting lazy.

Starters -- (A-List): Graeme McDowell. Coming off a T-5 and a T-9, G-Mac has a pair of T-6s at Doral in his career. We've got a hunch he'll get that long overdue second PGA Tour win this week.

(B-List): Justin Rose. The defending champ was T-4 at the Honda and was also seen sitting next to Donald Trump at a recent Miami Heat game. Wow. He'll do anything to try to get good vibes here.

(B-List): Keegan Bradley. The anchor-putting poster boy finished T-8 in his first appearance in this event last year. Bradley has said fans' harsh comments about his putting method have negatively affected his game, but they didn't seem to faze him last week at PGA National, where he finished T-4.

(C-List): Charl Schwartzel. The South African has finished in the top five here in two of the past three years, including a runner-up in 2010.

Bench -- Tiger Woods, Louis Oosthuizen, Fredrik Jacobson and Lee Westwood.

RANDOM PROP BETS OF THE WEEK

-- Rory McIlroy will withdraw due to a torn headcover: 100-to-1 odds

-- Donald Trump will ask to see copies of McIlroy's dental charts: 10-to-1 odds

-- Miami Heat superstar LeBron James, who can do no wrong right now, will raise his hand to the sky to stop a potential afternoon thunderstorm at some point: 5-to-1 odds

-- The Golf Boys will NOT win a Grammy for their newest song: LOCK

CELEBRITY/ATHLETE WE'D LIKE TO PLAY GOLF WITH

Bradley Cooper. More unlikely than Michael Thompson's win, I broke down and paid to see a movie in the theater a day after writing about Jennifer Lawrence and the Silver Linings Playbook. While the 22-year-old actress was exceptional, I was more impressed with the lead actor. The star of "The Hangover" seems like he can do anything on screen and the type of guy you'd like to have a few drinks with on the course. He's certainly come a long way from that scene of him getting sick in the bathroom during Wedding Crashers. . .

PICTURE OF THE WEEK

OK, so this is a holdover from Hawaii, but we were starting to go through Paulina Gretzky withdrawal after two weeks of not mentioning everyone's favorite gallery gal. But with boyfriend Dustin Johnson in the field this week and some gorgeous Miami weather in the forecast, we could be in for some good, um, shots. Love the two dudes checking her out as they walk behind. Not that I blame them. . .

VIRAL VIDEO OF THE WEEK (OTHER THAN THE GOLF BOYS)

From our neck of the woods, below might be the craziest buzzer-beater you will ever see. I used to cover both these teams and this tournament at my old job. Of course, nothing like this ever happened while I was there. In golf terms, this would be like a potential winning putt bouncing off two ball markers before finding the bottom of the cup.

THIS AND THAT

Patrick Cantlay won his first event as a pro in Colombia on the Web.com Tour. That will NOT be the last time the phenom wins as a pro. . . . Yani Tseng is in danger of losing her No. 1 ranking. Wait, Yani Tseng is still ranked No. 1? . . . Jack Nicklaus says Rory McIlroy will "be fine" by the Masters. Apparently, the Golden Bear has 18 majors and a PhD in psychology. . . . Fire alarms at 3 a.m. (above) are NOT fun.

RANDOM QUESTIONS TO PONDER

Will a Tiger Woods-designed course ever get finished?

If a Tiger Woods-designed course ever gets finished, will he call its toughest three-hole stretch the "Tiger Trap"?

When is Rory's dentist going to hold a press conference?

-- 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.

Lost And Found

Tim Rosaforte — Tue, 05 Mar 2013 05:00:00 GMT

In one week, a determined Michael Thompson went from emotionally spent to a PGA Tour winner.

My Town: Michael Thompson's Birmingham

E. Michael Johnson — Tue, 12 Feb 2013 05:00:00 GMT

The rising PGA Tour pro enjoys the sleepy feel of his adopted Alabama home.

Michael Thompson's travel gamble pays off

Fri, 20 Jul 2012 09:08:00 GMT

LYTHAM ST. ANNES, England -- While only in his second year on the PGA Tour, Michael Thompson is familiar with risk-reward shots. Yet there was something different about the one the 27-year-old from Birmingham, Ala., pulled off this week at Royal Lytham & St. Annes.

Thompson arrived in England as the second alternate in the British Open field, knowing full well he needed help to actually be competing come Thursday. After claiming a share of second at last month's U.S. Open in his first major as a professional, however, he wasn't about to pass the potential to play in another, even if it was a long shot.

Photo by Harry How/Getty Images

Sure enough, Thompson's bet paid off when a balky back caused Russ Cochran to drop out Thursday morning. Despite only being able to muster a four-over 74, Thompson was all grins about the opportunity to play.

"The putter wasn't working today, unfortunately, not like at the U.S. Open," Thompson said. "But that's the way golf is."

As much as Thompson owes Cochran a thank you, he also needs to send a card to Robert Karlsson and Ben Crane. On Wednesday, Karlsson withdrew from the tournament, reducing the field to 156 and thus allowing the R&A to dip into the alternate list should another player bow out. Meanwhile, Ben Crane, who was first on the alternate list, did not make the trip over to England. Upon learning of Karlsson's WD, Crane looked into flights, but finding anything that could get him from his home in Oregon in time proved too difficult.

Thompson arrived at the course at 5:30 a.m. Thursday, hoping to get the nod from R&A officials. He was in the players dining area at 9 a.m. when they tracked him down to tell him of Cochran's plight, giving him plenty of time before the 11:53 a.m. tee time.

Unlike at the U.S. Open, golfers on the alternate list at the British are allowed to play the course during practice rounds. Thompson said he got in 18 holes Tuesday and nine on Wednesday, so that he felt sufficiently prepared. Knowing he would have the chance to practice and play at Lytham greatly affected Thompson's decision to come over in the first place.

"I just basically said it's an opportunity to come over here and practice, prepare, just like any other tournament," he said. "And for a British Open, that's experience that I need for the future."

Related: Know your British Open courses

Had Thompson not gotten into the field, he and his wife were set to go sightseeing in London, killing time before boarding the charter flight Sunday night that's taking players to next week's RBC Canadian Open.

"No matter what, it was going to be a great experience," Thompson said. "It's just that much better that I got in and got to play in my first British Open. Hopefully it's the first of many."

-- Ryan Herrington
Follow @GWCampusInsider

What the stats project for Day 3 at the U.S. Open

Sat, 16 Jun 2012 12:45:00 GMT

Five notable second-round stats that indicate how the U.S. Open might unfold Saturday, provided by Golf World contributing writer Brett Avery, who compiles the Rank and File statistical sections for the magazine's coverage of the major championships and other significant events.

David Toms has the best third round scoring average in majors among the three 54-hole leaders. Photo by Andrew Redington/Getty Images

1. Which of the three former major championship winners who share the lead at one-under-par 139 traditionally turns in his best performances in the third round of majors? It would be tempting to guess Tiger Woods (69-70), but his lowest average round is the second (70.281), followed by the third (70.500 in 58 career third rounds). Or perhaps it's Jim Furyk (70-69), but he's also best in the second round (71.910) and Saturday is only his third-best day (72.094 in 63 rounds). Actually it's David Toms (69-70), who has averaged 71.727 in 33 career Saturday rounds in majors. Toms, however, has been inconsistent recently Saturday at majors. He shot 76 in the 2010 Open at Pebble Beach (T-33) and 75 in this year's Masters (T-50). Furyk hasn't broken 70 in the third round of a major in his last nine tries, since his 68 in the '09 Masters (T-10). And Woods has broken 70 just once in six attempts since his 2009 car crash, a 66 in the '10 Open (T-4).

2. After Michael Thompson grabbed a three-shot lead following 18 holes, the field was able to bunch up after he collapsed (66-75). By sundown 14 players remained within four shots of the frontrunners. The 36-hole leaders in the first four Opens at Olympic Club:

--1955: Tommy Bolt and Harvie Ward at four-over 144; seven others within four

--1966: Billy Casper and Arnold Palmer at three-under 137; two others within four (Rives McBee and Phil Rodgers at par 140)

--1987: Tom Watson and Mark Wiebe at 137; 21 others within four

--1998: Payne Stewart at 137; 10 others within four

There is a history of a gang of contenders sticking around through 54 holes at Olympic. Ben Hogan (217) was pursued by eight players within four shots in '55 and Watson (208) still had 19 players equally as close. Then again, Palmer and Stewart (207 apiece) each had only two players within four shots, yet lost.

3. Of the 14 players within four strokes, only two have won major championships: Graeme McDowell (69-72, 2010 Open) and Charl Schwartzel (73-70, 2011 Masters). In the true fashion of an all-comers Open, that group also featured three players in the world top 10 (Hunter Mahan, 72-71, ranked eighth; Matt Kuchar, 70-73, sixth; Jason Dufner, 72-71, ninth) and three players outside the top 500 (John Peterson, 71-70, 831st; Aaron Watkins, 72-71, T-734; amateur Beau Hossler, 70-73, unranked).

4. Hossler, 17, who temporarily took the lead at -2 after making birdie at the first hole, threatened to become the first amateur leading after an Open round since Mike Reid's 67 at Atlanta Athletic Club was the only sub-par return in 1976's Open round. He finished T-50. Hossler promptly went bogey-par-double-bogey-bogey-birdie-bogey to shoot 73 and settle into a tie for ninth. The last time an amateur led the Open through 54 holes was Jim Simons, who closed with 76 at Merion in 1971 and totaled 283. That put him in a tie for fifth, three away from the Lee Trevino-Jack Nicklaus playoff. Hossler, who missed the cut last year at Congressional, became the first high school player to qualify for consecutive Opens since Mason Rudolph in 1950-51.

5. With the cut made, everyone begins the last two rounds at the first tee. Looming in front of every competitor are the first six holes, which played to a combined +2.647 over par in the second round. The leaders versus those holes in the first 36:

--Furyk: +1 (one bogey, two birdies)

--Woods: E (three bogeys, including the sixth both days; three birdies)

--Toms: +2 (three bogeys, including the sixth both days; one birdie at fourth)

--Peterson: +2 (double at sixth Thursday; three bogeys; three birdies)

--Nicolas Colsaerts: +5 (doubles at first and third Thursday; bogey at sixth Friday)

--Graeme McDowell: +1 (three bogeys, two birdies)

--Thompson: +3 (five bogeys, including the fifth both days; two birdies)

-- Brett Avery
Follow @BWAvery

What the stats project for Day 2 at the U.S. Open

Fri, 15 Jun 2012 15:28:00 GMT

Five notable first-round stats that indicate how the U.S. Open might unfold Friday, provided by Golf World contributing writer Brett Avery, who compiles the Rank and File statistical sections for the magazine's coverage of the major championships and other significant events.

The best players in the world averaged well over par on Day 1. (Photos: Getty Images)

1. If the Friday weather forecast becomes a reality, the second-round scoring average could exceed Thursday's 74.923, which would be a rarity. The expected high temperature of 77 degrees is warmer than Thursday's 70; projected clear skies and afternoon winds of 19 miles per hour would make Olympic Club's greens even firmer. Consider, too, that the USGA presented the course Thursday with 10 hole locations in the back half of the greens, potentially spelling a majority of front-half locations Friday, which would be difficult to attack. Thursday's morning wave averaged 74.590 while the afternoon half of the field went around in 75.218. An Open field's second-round average has topped the first round only six times since 1991: 2007 at Oakmont, '02 at Bethpage, '00 and 1992 at Pebble Beach, '95 at Shinnecock Hills and '93 at Baltusrol. In '98, Olympic was 74.942 the first day and 74.474 the second.

2. With the cut rules modified by the USGA this year to eliminate the provision for anyone within 10 strokes of the leader reaching the weekend, at least half of the top 10 players in the world are in danger of missing the cut. To put that prospect in perspective, two months ago the then top 10 all made the cut at Augusta National in the Masters. The current top 10 were a combined 34 over par in the first round despite one-under-par 69s from No. 4 Tiger Woods and No. 7 Justin Rose and a par 70 by No. 6 Matt Kuchar. The laggards were No. 1 Luke Donald (79), No. 2 Rory McIlroy (77), No. 3 Lee Westwood (73), No. 5 Bubba Watson (78) and No. 10 Dustin Johnson (75). Through 18 holes the top 60 and ties, the lone yardstick for the cut, included anyone at four-over 74 or better.

3. The first six holes were billed as the toughest start in major-championship play and they did not disappoint. The field averaged 2.756 shots over par in that stretch. The top 10 did not disappoint there, either. They were a combined 19 over there, an average of 1.9 shots per man, with Donald and Westwood four over each and Watson three over. One of the more intriguing questions for Friday is whether Woods (one under) and No. 9 Jason Dufner (even for first six, 72) can come close to duplicating their Thursday play.

4. Second-time starter Michael Thompson, who tied for 29th in the 2008 Open at Torrey Pines and was 2007 U.S. Amateur runner-up to Colt Knost at this course, became the second straight first-round Open leader holding a three-shot cushion. Rory McIlroy grabbed the same advantage last year at Congressional and cruised to an eight-shot win. McIlroy became only the 19th first-round leader to win in the first 111 Opens. That does not bode well for Thompson, who took only 22 putts to begin his 46th career PGA Tour start. He had led after only two rounds in his brief career. Thompson was co-leader through 36 holes of last year's RBC Canadian Open but went 74-76 on the weekend to tie for 34th. And he was solo third-round leader in last year's McGladrey Classic before a one-under 69 dropped him to third. He is scheduled to begin the second round at No. 9 tee at 12:52 p.m. (Pacific). Oh, and first-round leaders have prevailed only twice this season on the PGA Tour (George McNeill at the Puerto Rico Open and Zach Johnson at the Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial).

5. Friday may stand as the pivotal day for Tiger Woods in his quest for a 15th major title if he can reverse his downward trend in majors since his car crash and subsequent divorce in late 2009. This is his eighth major start since then and his round of 69 was his fifth time breaking par in the first round in that stretch. Woods, however, has broken par only three times in seven tries since the end of 2009 and only twice each in the third and fourth rounds. If he can reverse his recent second-round play -- a Friday 75 in this year's Masters and a 73 in missing the cut at last year's PGA Championship -- Woods could better the trio of T-4 finishes he's produced since 2009.

-- Brett Avery
Follow @BWAvery

Perk of playing 72 holes at the U.S. Open

Sat, 14 Jun 2008 10:39:00 GMT

LA JOLLA, CALIF.--Besides, of course, the pride of having made the cut at a major championship, playing on the weekend at the U.S. Open has a variety of tangible benefits for Derek Fathauer, Michael Thompson...

U.S. Palmer Cup team redux

Tue, 22 Apr 2008 22:14:00 GMT

U.S. Palmer Cup team coach Conrad Ray won't have to search long or hard for a twosome capable of leading the charge when the annual matches are held in June at Scotland's Glasgow GC. Not...