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Golf World Preview: Scott seeks major momentum

Thu, 14 Feb 2013 14:10:00 GMT

From the February 14 issue of Golf World Preview:

Adam Scott was last seen in competition winning November's Australian Masters, but the other Masters will be on his mind as he leaves his surfboard behind and opens his 2013 season at the Northern Trust Open.

Photo by Getty Images

Scott finished T-2 at Augusta in 2011, overtaken by Charl Schwartzel's closing run of four straight birdies. The finish marked Scott as a vastly improved player in the majors, an impression that was strengthened even in his devastating slip at last year's British Open when the 32-year-old Australian lost by one at Royal Lytham & St. Annes after bogeying the last four holes.

Related: Our Northern Trust Open picks

That wound received some salve from the November victory in his homeland, which earned Scott a gold jacket.

"Maybe i can set the theme of winning jackets and turn it green next year before I come back to defend," he said.

With the long putter still in the bag and Steve Williams still on it, Scott also retains the most eye-pleasing swing in the game and looks ready for a big year. The world's seventh-ranked player has a good record at Riviera, too, with an unofficial victory at 36 holes in 2005 and a solo second in 2006. He finished T-17 last year.

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Golf's Biggest Breakups

Alex Myers and Sam Weinman — Wed, 31 Oct 2012 04:00:00 GMT

Breaking up is hard to do, even in golf. From husbands and wives to players and caddies to players and putters, we rank the highest-profile splits in golf.

Tiger and Sergio straddle opposite sides of mental toughness

Wed, 22 Aug 2012 19:31:00 GMT

By Derek Evers

FARMINGDALE, N.Y. -- One is coming off a win that secured him a spot on the European Ryder Cup team, the other a weekend in which he shot two over and failed to contend at a major he was leading heading into Saturday. Yet you wouldn't be able to tell who was who based on their Wednesday press conferences as the FedEx Cup kicks off at this week's Barclays at Bethpage Black.

Despite what some might call a breakthrough victory at the Wyndham Championship last week for Sergio Garcia, his demeanor belied that of a recent champion. Sure, this was his first win in over four years on the PGA Tour, but as he's been quick to point out, he's coming off a 2011 season in which he won two European Tour events. Still, those victories came on the heels of a two-year winless streak on both Tours, leaving many -- including Garcia -- to question his mental capacity to close a tournament.

"I think you go through spots and through times in your career where obviously you have up and downs," Garcia said in response to a comment about his quip a couple years prior that he wasn't enjoying the game. "And when you go on those downs, obviously it's not much fun. But you kind of try to get through them. I guess that's why we love the game so much."

Love is not a word one would use to describe Sergio's affair with golf. Tumultuous would be a more accurate depiction, which is something Tiger Woods knows a thing or two about. Though their career paths may have taken dramatically different planes since they both arrived as promising young talents in the late '90s, Woods himself ended his career-long win drought in 2012, and can relate to the pressure Sergio puts on himself.

"I played with him this year at the British Open, and obviously he played differently at the British Open than he did last week," Woods said. "As players, we all know that once we get rolling, we're rolling. Things build, momentum builds in a positive way, and when you're struggling, things can go the other way, and sometimes it's hard to get out of it."

When Tiger Woods fell out of contention at the PGA Championship two weekends ago, he blamed a weak mental attitude. He was "too relaxed." So how did he spend his time preparing for the upcoming grind that could potentially see him play in five high-profile events in the next six weeks?

"I was with my kids this week. We were having a blast, just having a great time," he said with a smile, before admitting, "I just got back to practicing a few days ago."

Then he dropped a line that was rather commonplace in a Tiger Woods press conference, but something Sergio Garcia could take heed to.

"The PGA is the PGA. It's passed."

Always looking forward, never back. It's part of the reason we can't get enough of Tiger -- he rarely indulges our desires to rehash the past, and almost never if the topic is negative. Even if he's feeling the pressure of chasing Jack's 18 majors, he never strays from what has proven to be his biggest asset, his mental toughness.

Tiger's press conference came after a day of practice at the end of a pro-am round. Sergio didn't play in the pro-am, nor had he stepped foot on Bethpage Black. His parking spot remained empty until a few moments before he addressed the media, and he admitted as much when asked about course conditions. He's also still looking for a caddie. After splitting ways with Gary Matthews following a missed cut at the PGA, Garcia walked onto the Sedgefield Country Club without someone to man his bag. In stepped local club caddie David Faircloth, who was so green, he needed longtime PGA caddie Tony Navarro to hand him the flag on the 18th hole.

"That flag is kind of our trophy," Navarro told The New York Post. "I figured he didn't know, so I just did the right thing and gave it to him. He was a nice kid, and I could tell he was a bit emotional and excited."

Yet Garcia, who wouldn't reveal what Faircloth was compensated, will not be sticking with the North Carolinian, but instead has decided to play it week-to-week through the end of the season. Walking alongside him at the Barclays is good friend Wayne Richardson -- another guy with no experience caddieing for a tour professional.

"I don't feel like I need that at the moment," Garcia said, who has arrived at his own conclusion that the extra advice has come at the cost of his performance.

Of course, Tiger is not above blaming his course companion, having gone through two high-profile breakups of his own. In fact, Woods' current caddie Joe LaCava, who is rarely seen or heard from at tournaments -- at least when compared to a Steve Williams personality -- came after his longtime friend Bryon Bell caddied for him at last year's Bridgestone and PGA Championship. Maybe Sergio's taking a page out of Tiger's playbook, but his comments showed little confidence in his current situation.

"I'm probably just going to do my own thing until the end of the year, and at the end of the year I'll decide what's best for me."

What about the Ryder Cup?

"Same thing. Doesn't change anything."

Would you use a local caddie at Medinah?

"I'll see who I use."

It should be noted that Garcia didn't flinch when answering, nor did he smile. This was a decision he had made and was bent on sticking to it. Tiger, meanwhile, smiled often, even coming into his press conference early -- albeit maybe to take a little shine away from Rory McIlory who was wrapping up when he entered the room.

There is some symmetry to Tiger and Sergio playing at this week's Barclays. When asked about comparing his second major to McIlroy's, Tiger reminded everyone it was Garcia he edged out by a stroke for his second at the 1999 PGA, incidentally at Medinah Country Club where this year's Ryder Cup will be held. And it was that season-ending major which seemed to determine the course of each player's career throughout most of the 2000's.

Tiger Woods and Sergio Garcia are two of golf's most popular and polarizing figures. Both command attention wherever and whenever they play, yet their public personas seem bent on opposite strategies. Tiger's on-course demeanor and off-course transgressions have led him to a "Dark Knight" existence on the PGA Tour -- wildly popular among fans who seem divided whether they're rooting for him to win or pulling for him to lose. Sergio, meanwhile, is a player fans have become more accustomed to seeing in commercials than in winner's circles. So on the few occasions he does get to hoist a trophy, we expect his personality to transcend the often cruel nature of game. Much the way we assume Tiger should always be gracious for all of the attention he receives.

The reality is, both of these men have earned their own reputation. And while neither of them owe the fans anything more than the best golf they can play, Woods is living proof that you can make lemonade out of life's lemons, albeit three years later. Yet even on the heels of victory, Sergio still seems to be puckering from the bitter taste of not living up to his own expectations.

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(Photo by Getty Images)

Where Was Williams As Scott Let The British Open Slip Away?

John Feinstein — Tue, 31 Jul 2012 04:00:00 GMT

The caddie who loves taking bows after victories has to take some of the blame for this defeat.

Media: 'Will be most difficult round...of Scott's life'

Sat, 21 Jul 2012 18:07:00 GMT

(Getty Images)

The media focus on the back nine on Saturday turned to Sunday by virtue of Adam Scott's growing lead in the British Open -- four strokes over Graeme McDowell and Brandt Snedeker and five over Tiger Woods.

On Twitter, Nick Faldo asked the question that ESPN's crew had been asking: "Is it good or bad for Adam Scott not to be playing with Tiger?"

ESPN's Sean McDonough suggested that it was better that Scott would not be paired with Woods on Sunday (he'll be paired with Graeme McDowell, instead).

"Andy North," McDonough said, "would you agree with the talk that if it ends this way and Adam is not paired with Tiger Woods that that would benefit Adam tomorrow, that that's one distraction he doesn't have to worry about?"

North, a two-time U.S. Open champion, dismissed it as a media talking point. "That's a lot of talk as far as we're concerned," he said. "He'd be concerned about trying to find a way to win an Open Championship."

It does seem unlikely that the degree of difficultly of attempting to win your first major championship would decrease simply because you're not paired with Woods, unless, of course, Woods begins making birdies by the bushelful. But to do so...

...Will Woods have to alter his strategy?

After Scott birdied the 11th hole to open a five-stroke lead over Woods, Azinger said it was time for Woods to abandon his strategy of using irons off most tees.

"That tee shot that Tiger just hit that'll be the last one he hits, I think, where he keeps that conservative mentality," Azinger said. "I think it's time for Tiger to step it up and not let Adam Scott get too far out in front."

The five-shot deficit might force him to at some point on Sunday, but isn't it likely that he has not previously altered his strategy because of a lack of faith in his ability to keep the ball in play with his driver?

Azinger on Scott

"He's been a marquee player for a long time now. One of his first wins early on was the Australian Open. Beat Greg Norman when he was 19 years old, I believe. Adam Scott, he knows his way around the press room. He knows the right things to say. He's not going to say anything that is stupid. [But] he's still going to have to talk to 300 members of the media. That's part of the difficulty, all the questions, never having done it, what's it going to mean to you.

"Stevie Williams [his caddie] will help Adam Scott tomorrow a great deal, I'm sure. It's not a gimme. We've seen some big leads lost recently by a 54-hole leader.

"Tomorrow will probably be the most difficult round of golf of Adam Scott's life."

They played faster, not fast

ESPN's Mike Tirico was celebrating the fact that Adam Scott and Brandt Snedeker completed the front nine in one hour, 52 minutes. "We always complain about pace of play with guys on tour and setting poor examples...Really refreshing to watch."

That still equates to a three-hour, 46-minute round...for a twosome. In other words, refreshing only by tour standards.

Related: 10 Things About Slow Play

Sneds' malfunctioning shock absorber

Azinger on Snedeker's first bogey of the tournament, at the fifth hole: "He's gotta make sure he gathers himself. It's a shock to the system when you make your first bogey."

He failed to gather himself. That was the first of five bogeys over the next seven holes en route to a round of 73.

Say what?

Tirico was discussing Paul Lawrie's victory in the British Open at Carnoustie in 1999 and said this: "He came from way behind. The weather was awful. Jean Van de Velde had misfortune, some self-induced, some not."

Not sure what he meant by "some not," but virtually all would agree that his misfortune was entirely self-induced. Van de Velde needed only a double-bogey to win and with some horrific course management made triple-bogey, then lost in a playoff.

As this headline on the story by ESPN's Bob Harig says, "Frozen moment: Van de Velde throws it away."

Related: Regrets? They've had a few

On Twitter

Former PGA Tour player Bob Friend: "Bummed...thought Westwood would contend. He stinks like a fine Limburger cheese!!!"

Joe Ogilvie on Denmark's Thorbjorn Olesen: "Actually, I always thought golf would be more fun to watch if there was a Wolfgang, Giacomo or a Giuseppe in contention. But Thor is fine."

-- John Strege

Woods set to start 2012 season in Abu Dhabi

Tue, 24 Jan 2012 13:50:00 GMT

ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates -- The questions were pretty much the same as usual and so, predictably, were the responses from the world's No. 25-ranked player. So it is that, in no particular order, we can unoriginally and non-exclusively reveal the unsurprising news that Tiger Woods' playing schedule is indeed influenced by his receipt of appearance fees; that the 14-time major champion is in no mood to comment further on Hank Haney's soon-to-be released book; that he prefers baseball to cricket; that he played jolly well in Australia at the back end of last year; that Luke Donald is the top-ranked golfer on the planet; and that playing under pressure these days is just the same as it ever was.

Woods' choice of tournaments -- both at home and abroad -- has forever been the subject of some moaning and groaning from a variety of folks, of course. "Not enough regular events at home," say some. "Too much 'showing up' money," complain others. And "too many weeks off," is the beef attributed to those simply anxious to see Woods in action more often.

That last bit may change, however, especially if Woods wants to maintain his income level. Strong rumor has it that the cost of bringing him here to the capital of the United Arab Emirates was a mere $1.5m. In other words, half of what he was commanding pre-scandal.

Photo: Ross Kinnaird/Getty Images

"It used to be that you had to have Tiger if you wanted to create a really big event," says one European Tour insider. "But now, while it is still great to have him here, with the field they have assembled (six of the top ten and 16 of the top 50 are here) he isn't absolutely necessary."

Golf World's 2011 Newsmakers of The Year

GolfDigest.com — Tue, 13 Dec 2011 05:00:00 GMT

Taking stock of 2011 by counting down the year's 25 biggest headliners

Presidents Cup: Mr. Style's Fashion Review

Marty Hackel — Mon, 21 Nov 2011 05:00:00 GMT

Our Mr. Style, Marty Hackel, reports on the U.S. and International team wardrobes

Woods takes the high road, then gets taken down

Thu, 17 Nov 2011 10:30:00 GMT

MELBOURNE, Australia -- In historical terms, it wasn't Nixon shaking hands with Mao, or even Stanley greeting Livingstone. It was more like welcoming the plumber who's come to unclog a toilet: Necessary but not memorable, and certainly not emotional.

Tiger Woods and Steve Williams, who have become Curley and Moe in search of a third Stooge, greeted each other on the first tee of Thursday's opening foursomes matches at the President Cup with a handshake that was also necessary but not memorable, and certainly not emotional.

The handshake with Williams went smoothly enough. The rest of Tiger Woods' day was another matter. Photo by Getty Images

The crowd behind the first tee at Royal Melbourne roared its approval, and really, how sad is that? Individual sports, like golf, thrive on rivalries, but no one anticipated one emerging between a player and a caddie. It's as if Churchill were feuding with his chauffeur at Malta.

Related: Golf's Biggest Breakups

The Presidents Cup: Thursday's Winners and Losers

Thu, 17 Nov 2011 05:00:00 GMT

Who were the winners and losers on the first day of the Presidents Cup? Let's take a closer look with our rundown of birdies and bogeys.