Golf Digest Search Results

Bombers get the 'green' light this week

Wed, 10 Apr 2013 14:40:00 GMT

From the April 10 edition of Golf World Daily:

Players raving about the condition of Augusta National? Hardly news. But a theme of lusher fairways has been buried deep in player assessments and can be read one of two ways when trying to handicap a course bias.

Several players feel a little fluffier lie allows those with longer irons or hybrids a chance at better shotmaking into greens, which Matt Kuchar says are "already firm" compared to previous practice round days. The other school of thought says more grass means spin is at a premium.

Related: Our picks to win the Masters

"You need to spin the ball here, and I'm not a spinner of the ball," said Steve Stricker, who believes shorter irons and more loft for approach shots give the long hitters an enormous advantage on top of the gains they've received from the lengthening to today's 7,435 yards.

Take your pick, but the thinking here says Augusta National is more of a long hitter's paradise than ever. With storms forecast for Thursday night, the ability to carry drives 300 yards will be rewarded. Hardly news from these parts, but such tidbits are worth remembering when trying to handicap what is shaping up to be another classic, thanks in large part to Augusta National's impressive agronomic shape.

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Tiger, fraternization and what it portends for Augusta

Mon, 25 Mar 2013 16:51:00 GMT

By John Strege

Photo: David Cannon

There was a time that an athlete detested his opponent, competitive nature trumping friendship. Magic Johnson and Larry Bird might have been friends in the off season, but...

"He was always smiling," Bird said once. "And as I told Magic, my goal my whole career was trying to knock out his two front teeth. Then he wouldn't be smiling so much."

Major League Baseball, meanwhile, even has a rule that prohibits public displays of affection. It states in part that "players of opposing teams shall not fraternize at any time while in uniform."

We bring this up, because in the wake of Woods' second consecutive victory (and third of the year), this in the Arnold Palmer Invitational on Monday, there might be a faction of the PGA Tour membership wishing that golf had its own rule against fraternization.

Related: Tiger's long road back

Two weeks ago, Steve Stricker gave his friend Tiger a putting lesson on the eve of the WGC-Cadillac Championship. What, the competition might be asking, was he thinking, a few weeks ahead of Augusta?

Woods' putting has been brilliant since, notably in Saturday's third round, when he had 18 putts inside 20 feet and made 17 of them, maybe "one of his top 10 putting rounds ever," NBC's Johnny Miller said.

He was locked in with the putter again in the final round on Monday, to wit the pivotal 27-foot birdie putt he poured in on top of Rickie Fowler's 38-foot birdie putt to maintain a three-stroke lead at the 12th hole at Bay Hill in Orlando.

"His putting is better than a machine," Miller said. "I've never seen anything quite like it. At Doral he had 100 putts for 72 holes, the least he's ever had. So he's in a total crazy time with his putting."

Whatever his other merits as a golfer, his putting prowess has been the linchpin to his greatness. Greg Norman once called Woods the "the best clutch putter I've ever seen." Paul Azinger wrote on Twitter that "there was never a better putter on the face of the earth as @TigerWoods."

Related: The Evolution of Tiger's swing

The popular perception is that Tiger is again the dominating player he once was; the evidence cited are three victories in four stroke-play starts on the PGA Tour, his having regained the No. 1 spot in the World Ranking, and the return of his marksmanship on the greens. But here's where we bring out the caution flag: None of it matters until and unless he begins winning majors again.

"The Masters is so important for him," Miller said. "He needs a major. The more this goes on the tougher it is to get the next one."

Woods, 37, remains stuck on 14 majors, four short of equaling Jack Nicklaus' record, and it's coming up on five years since he last won one.

But the likelihood of his extending this streak much longer does seem remote. Woods surely will take with him to Augusta more confidence than he's had heading into a major than at any time in the last five years.

And for this, at least in part, the rest of the field has Stricker to thank.

Follow @JohnStrege

Zinger's Corner Podcast: Tiger gets a little help from a friend

Mon, 11 Mar 2013 14:36:00 GMT

Listen to the podcast

By Ryan Herrington

It's rather common, explains Paul Azinger during this week's podcast, for tour pros to offer each other advice, particularly when they are as close as Tiger Woods and Steve Stricker. "It just turned out unfortunately for Stricker that Tiger ended up beating him by a couple of shots," said Azinger when discussing the putting tip that aided Woods at Trump Doral as he walked off with the WGC-Cadillac Championship title.

Azinger and Jaime Diaz discuss what went right for Tiger and how it sets him up for the Masters. Azinger also takes time to reflect on the recent passing of his father.

Download and subscribe to the Zinger's Corner series in iTunes

(Photo by Chris Condon/PGA Tour)

Tiger pulls a page from his past

Sun, 10 Mar 2013 22:57:00 GMT

By John Strege

On a day the rest of us lost an hour, Tiger Woods gained a decade, turning back the clock with a timely reminder that his genius has not yet run its course.

A Tiger lead once meant that everyone else was playing for second, and so it was again this weekend, a month before he will resume his pursuit of the holy grail of golf records, Jack Nicklaus' 18 major championships.

Related: How Tiger's swing has changed

Suddenly, the odds, though still long, four majors to tie, again don't seem insurmountable. A swing sound enough to support a putting renaissance that allowed him to overwhelm the best players in the world at least gives him a sleeve up on a green jacket.

Photo by Getty Images

Woods pitched a complete game at the Trump Doral Resort in Miami, leading the WGC-Cadillac Championship wire to wire and winning by two. And it was over before it began on Sunday, as it typically is when Woods opens a 54-hole lead. "Looks like Tiger has this week taken care of," Ian Poulter wrote on Twitter Saturday night, conceding the point.

Poulter later claimed sarcasm, but whatever his intent, truth won out. Woods has 50 victories in the 54 tournaments in which he has claimed a 54-hole lead. When his lead is greater than two (it was four at the start of play on Sunday) through 54 holes, he has never lost, running his record to 22-0.

"The last time I felt I had a chance was yesterday, to be honest," Woods' playing partner Graeme McDowell said. "The way Tiger was playing, I was always in chase mode."

Woods stumbled at the finish line, with the only bogeys of his round coming on two of the last three holes, providing a false impression that it was close. He led by as many as five at one point on the back nine.

The pertinent facts in assessing the state of his game generally and in the run-up to Augusta specifically are these: The victory Sunday was his second in four PGA Tour starts, a percentage on pace with his greatest seasons, and it was his first victory in a WGC event since August of 2009.

WGC tournaments feature the best players in the world, the only incentive that Woods ever needed to raise the level of his game. He once routinely did so, to wit his 17 victories in WGC events, but his inability to beat them in more than three years prior raised questions that he answered at Doral.

"Big thing," NBC's Johnny Miller said, "100 putts for 72 holes was the fewest Tiger's ever had. He won it with the flatstick."

An assist goes to runner-up Steve Stricker, who gave him a putting lesson on Wednesday and might have regretted in on Sunday. "At times you kind of kick yourself," Stricker said afterward. "But, no. He's a good friend and we talk a lot about putting and it's good to see him playing well."

His 27 birdies was a personal best for 72 holes and helps justify Vegas odds that make him the favorite at Augusta, especially in the wake of Rory McIlroy's recent missteps.

Tiger has found the formula again: A hot putter and a 54-hole lead. Bringing them to bear in the heat of a major championship is the final hurdle, the one he has to clear before anyone unequivocally can declare him back.

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History declares Tiger the winner

Sat, 09 Mar 2013 22:47:00 GMT

(Getty Images photo)

By Dave Shedloski

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.

Woods feeling confident after putting session with Stricker

Wed, 06 Mar 2013 21:57:00 GMT

By Dave Shedloski

MIAMI -- Tiger Woods worked intensively on his putting with good friend Steve Stricker for more than an hour Wednesday on the practice green at Trump Doral Resort on the eve of the WGC-Cadillac Championship.

"He just got me back to where I was in San Diego," said Woods, who won his PGA Tour season opener at the Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines in January, marking his 75th tour victory. "It was a little bit of everything, really."

Stricker, one of the best putters in the game, and Woods have been friends for several years and have played a number of team matches together since the 2009 Presidents Cup. It was not the first time that Woods has sought advice from Stricker on putting mechanics.

"I help him and he helps me. It's what we do," said Stricker, who mainly changed the shaft angle on Woods' putter, moving it forward to align with his ball position at address. "The ball was forward and his hands were back, and he was missing it both ways and having trouble with distance control."

Woods ranks 43rd on the tour in strokes gained putting, and last week at the Honda Classic left numerous birdie chances on the table. The refresher from Stricker had him encouraged.

"Yeah, I feel a lot better about it than I did an hour ago," Woods said.

The No. 2 player in the world, Woods joins No. 1 Rory McIlroy and No. 3 Luke Donald at 11:53 a.m. EDT Thursday for the first round of the WGC-Cadillac Championship on the No. 10 tee.

Woods has won 16 WGC titles in his career. He won three times consecutively at Doral's Blue Course from 2005-07.

Follow @DaveShedloski

Need a John Daly Fathead for your living room?

John Strege — Thu, 28 Feb 2013 16:17:00 GMT

By John Strege Who wouldn't want this, a bigger than life-size John Daly wall cling from Fathead for a wall in your living room or family room? Yes, Fathead has a golf section, offering...

The Grind: Dustin Johnson, Paulina Gretzky & other Hawaiian tales

Wed, 09 Jan 2013 14:46:00 GMT

By Alex Myers

Welcome to the first edition of "The Grind," where we sift through everything golf (and a little beyond) to get you caught up on the week that was -- and to set you up for what's to come. And what a wild first week it was on the PGA Tour. Between the gale-force winds and Johnny Miller in the TV tower, I'm not sure a tour event has ever featured so much hot air. Speaking of which, why was everyone so surprised by the wind delays? When I played Kapalua's Plantation Course a few years back, the thing I remember most was a a guy in my group popping up a tee shot at one point and our group watching in amazement as the ball blew back over our heads. Was that a quick round in tropical paradise? No, it was not. In any matter, let's move on before the wind picks up again. . .

WE'RE BUYING

Dustin Johnson. The guy is on top of the world right now. I mean, just look at his new gal pal, Paulina Gretzky (Yes, that's her to the left. Need a minute? I'll wait. . . Still looking? OK, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, now move on!). Oh yeah, Johnson is also coming off that win in Kapalua. But back to Paulina, the daughter of hockey legend Wayne Gretzky and Janet Jones. I had the pleasure of meeting her when her dad was playing in the 2010 Golf Digest U.S. Open Challenge at Pebble Beach. I didn't even notice her being that attractive*.

*FALSE.

Steve Stricker. Starting to enter the retirement phase of your life when you're 46? Nice. Having golf being the working part of said retirement phase? Even nicer. Starting all this having earned more than $25 million in just the past six years on the PGA Tour? OK, now I'm starting to really dislike this guy. By the way, he finished runner-up in his cameo at Kapalua.

NFL Playoffs. Green Bay at San Francsisco this week? A potential matchup between Peyton Manning's Broncos and Tom Brady's Patriots the following week? And all this before the Super Bowl? We should be in for a treat the next few weeks. Why was I mentioning this again? Oh yeah, a lot of these guys play golf as well.

WE'RE SELLING

Carl Pettersson. The big Swede played well at Kapalua (solo 8th), but called out the USGA for going on a long putter "witch hunt" and then didn't return a call from USGA Executive Director Mike Davis. Watch out, CP, that could mean a U.S. Open pairing with Kevin Na and Ben Crane. And you thought waiting out some wind delays was rough. . .

College football. The PGA Tour faced a fair amount of criticism for scheduling its season opener to end on the same night as the BCS Championship Game. That didn't end up happening, but shouldn't more of the blame fall on the NCAA for having its break between conference championships and the final bowl game last about as long as golf's entire "offseason"? And speaking of that title game between Alabama and Notre Dame, we waited all this time for that?

Kyle Stanley. Conditions at Kapalua were tough, but Stanley was the only player to put up an 80 during the season opener. His 11-over-par total left him five shots behind anyone else in the 30-man field. Nike will have to wait another week for one of their newest investments to start paying dividends.

ON TAP

The PGA Tour goes island hopping in Hawaii for the Sony Open in Honolulu, where Johnson Wagner and his Tom Selleckesque mustache stole the show last year. It's the first full-field event of the season.

Random tournament fact: Tadd Fujikawa made the cut at 16 years and four days in 2007. Yawn. Nowadays, we have 15-year-olds winning LPGA events and 14-year-olds qualifying for the Masters.

WEEKLY YAHOO! FANTASY LINEUP

Starters -- (A-List): Tim Clark. I'm expecting big things from the small South African this year. Plus, this allows me to link to our "13 Sleepers To Watch in 2013" feature.

(B-List): Dustin Johnson. Stop looking at the picture of Paulina Gretzky!

(B-List): Matt Kuchar. Also my knockout pick of the week.

(C-List): Matt Every. He was the 54-hole leader here last year and also provided one of the most awkward interviews of the season.

Bench -- Charles Howell III, Keegan Bradley, Webb Simpson and Scott Piercy.

RANDOM PROP BETS OF THE WEEK

-- Michelle Wie, who played in this event four times as a teen phenom will be mentioned daily during the TV broadcast: 1-to-10 odds

-- There will be a new FedEx Cup leader come Sunday: Even money

-- That the new FedEx Cup leader will actually win the FedEx Cup at the end of the season: 100-to-1

CELEBRITY/ATHLETE WE'D LIKE TO PLAY GOLF WITH

Robert Griffin III and Russell Wilson. I'm not sure if either of these guys even play golf, but do I ever enjoy watching them play football. After what happened to RG3's knee in last Sunday's playoff tilt, however, I hope he isn't relegated to only playing golf just yet.

VIRAL VIDEO OF THE WEEK

Yao Ming was a tremendous basketball player, who had his career cut short by foot and ankle injuries. Since his retirement from the NBA in 2011, it doesn't appear like he's played too much golf. The above clip from a couple months ago shows the 7-foot-6 Ming struggling to make contact on a pitch shot. He also seems to be struggling with his wardrobe. The untucked off-white shirt with white pants? Our Mr. Style might have to make an emergency trip to China. . .

UNSUNG TOUR PLAYER OF THE WEEK George McNeill. The two-time tour winner wound up giving a fan a ride to the course when he mistakenly got into his courtesy car. Apparently, the fan didn't recognize McNeill (would most of his fellow tour pros even recognize him?) In any matter, you deserve praise for the fact that you drove this guy to the course and didn't kick him to the curb. I'll let you know the next time I fly to a tour event you're playing in so you can pick me up from the airport.

THIS AND THAT

Norm Macdonald is now writing golf columns for Grantland.com. That is not a misprint. . . . Rory McIlroy is set to become a Nike man, but just as importantly, his deal with Jumeirah Estates is done. That means no more of those ugly hats. . . . David Duval took to Twitter to complain about not getting a sponsor's exemption to the Humana Challenge, where he famously shot a final-round 59 in 1999. He also happened to miss the cut by 18 shots there on a sponsor's exemption last year. . . . Why is there a picture of a chocolate cake coated in M&Ms and encrusted by Kit Kat bars? Because it's AWESOME.

RANDOM QUESTIONS TO PONDER

Imagine if there was a "Black Monday" for swing instructors like there is for NFL coaches following the Tour Championship?

The proposed anchor ban isn't set to start until 2016, but when will the nightmares begin to creep in for all of the players who use belly putters?

Does Paulina Gretzky have any sisters?

-- 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.

Johnson and the circuitous route to stardom

Wed, 09 Jan 2013 00:30:00 GMT

(Getty Images photo)

By John Strege

KAPALUA, Hawaii -- Dustin Johnson seems to prefer circuitous routes, but the destination is unchanged and he is closing on it. The last remaining obstacle? Himself.

He circumvented it in the final round of the Hyundai Tournament of Champions on Tuesday and emerged (escaped?) with a four-stroke victory that was, by his own description, "nowhere near ho-hum."

He once led by five, then led by one, the result of his proclivity for not fully assessing the situation and avoiding unnavigable precincts. One of them on Tuesday was a group of shrubs and trees left of the 13th fairway on the Plantation Course.

Then talent took over and he won for the seventh time. He also extended his streak of years with at least one victory to six, second only to Phil Mickelson's nine. More impressively, perhaps, is that he became the first player since Tiger Woods to win six straight years upon leaving college.

The destination can be found among those credentials. It's called superstardom.

Golf is too fickle to reliably prognosticate, but Johnson's chest is not missing any tools and he's only 28.

"He's got that athletic build, that athletic body," Steve Stricker said. "He's got a tremendous amount of flexibility. He gets the club in positions that people can't get it into, and he can use that height to his advantage, the big arc to get that powerful hit on the ball.

"He's just going to get better. That's going to be the fun part, watching what he's going to do from here on out, because he looks unflappable out there."

The 13th and 14th holes on Tuesday were a microcosm of Johnson's game. At 13 and holding a three-stroke lead, the situation called for a 3-iron from the tee and 8-iron from the fairway. Instead he took driver and hit wayward.

The search party included Stricker. "We found a shoe, some sunglasses, about five or six other balls," Stricker said. "There might have been a guy living up in in the tree. I don't know."

A double-bogey there threatened his hold in the lead, yet he opted for driver on the next tee, too, "piped it," Stricker said, then pitched in for eagle.

"Dude, what are you doing?" Stricker asked him as they walked down the 15th fairway. "Why don't you take iron out, make me have to make birdies instead of you hitting in the trees and opening it up for me?"

"Yeah, I know," Johnson replied.

He knows, but can't seem to help himself. "I don't know what was going through my head," he said.

The fearlessness or recklessness -- take your pick -- in concert with his athleticism and skill is what makes him so entertaining. "You never know what he's going to do," Stricker said.

Related: 13 Sleepers To Watch In 2013

But it also is the obstacle standing between him and a sustained run in the World Ranking top 10. He has ranked as high as fourth, in 2011, but was 23rd entering the Hyundai.

"I still don't think I've lived up to my potential," he said. "Obviously, this week I did, but I still made some mistakes. Limiting those will help, just making some better decisions. If I keep playing golf like I'm playing right now, then obviously there is no limit."

Follow @JohnStrege

Tweets We'd Like To Read In 2012

Mon, 31 Dec 2012 05:00:00 GMT

2011 was full of surprises, but we'd welcome these developments in 2012.