Crouching Tiger

The hate train rolls on.   Tiger woods ousted in the first round of Match-Play!  He’s done!  Finished!  Will he ever win again?

Give me a break.   It’s the usual short-sighted, selective memory, moronic media searching for a story line.

Fact:  Tiger Woods has not won in his last 16 PGA Tour events.

Fact:  Phil Mickleson hasn’t won in his last 17 PGA Tour events.

Whaaaat?  Sir Eats-A lot has lost more consecutive events than Tiger?  Inconceivable!

But there is more…

Let’s look at a few big events they both played SINCE The Masters.

1.       US Open:  Tiger and Phil tied for 4^th. 

2.       British Open: Tiger  T-23^rd   Phil T-48^th

3.       WGC Invitational:  Ok, Tiger blew up on this one and ended in 78^th while Phil scrapped a T48th spot.  Neither very good.

4.       PGA Championship: Tiger Struggled to a T-28, but Phil fell out of the top 10 and T-12

Then the Fed-Ex Cup Playoffs started.  Basiclly the best field of competitors possible.

1.       Barclays:  Tiger finished T-12… Phil MISSED THE CUT!

2.       DBank Invitational: Tiger T-11… The Almighty Phil T-25

3.       BMW:  Tiger T-15 … Phil 8^th

After That was the Ryder Cup.  I know the US didn’t win it, but in this battle Tiger went 3-1 for 3 USA points while Phil bombed with a 1-3 record and a measly single point.

Then cap off 2010 with another World Golf Championship event where Tiger tied for 6^th and Phil puked up a T-41 finish.

I’m not saying Tiger had a good 2010, but other than Phil winning the Masters (only three spots ahead of Tiger), Phil got whooped by Mr. Woods. 

So why on Earth is the media bashing Woods, saying he can’t compete and deeming his reign over, while Phil can barely keep up with Tiger?  The media makes Phil out to be a contender every week.   He always has a shot.  He’s hitting the ball longer than ever.   His game is as sharp as it’s been in years.   Why the horrible bias?

Now, some may say Phil has had a better 2011 PGA Tour so far, but come on.  The Farmer’s Insurance, Waste Management Open, AT&T Pro-Am and the Northern Trust Open?!

Phil finished 35^th in the Northern Trust and no one said a word.

Tiger loses in extra holes in match play to a hot golfer, Thomas Bjorn, who just spanked a stacked field in the Qatar Masters.  HELLO! Match Play! A hot golfer can beat anyone.  So boo-hoo Tiger lost. 

If Tiger won the whole event people would still say “yeah, but it’s match play.  Not the same as a 4-day grind.”

If Tiger won the Farmer’s Insurance Open people would say, “Yeah, but it’s early season.  Let’s see how he does in the Masters.”

And WHEN Tiger wins the Masters people will still grouse, “Yeah, but he loves Augusta. It’s a easy course for him.”

To all of you I say simple…Shut your moronic pie-hole and watch the greatest player play.

And I leave you with things to think about:

1.       In 2010 Dustin Johnson did not finish Top-5 in any Majors… Tiger finished Top-5 Twice.

2.       In the Ryder Cup Tiger tied Steve Stricker for most points… Stricker was his partner in 3 matches.

3.       In 2003-2004 he changed his swing and dropped to 4^th on the money list. He had an equally long losing streak at that time.  Once he worked through the issues he won 4 or the next 8 Majors.

4.       Tiger Woods has finished in the Top-6 in 7 of the last 10 majors he has played in.

…Tiger hasn’t gone away.  He’s just getting warmed up

PGA Tour Buffalo Wings

The new wave is infiltrating the traditionally old stuffy world of the PGA, and never is it more evident than when Phoenix hosts the Waste Management Open!  St. Andrews this is not!  Augusta National…far from it.

Phoenix has created the single greatest golf arena in the history of the game. The 162 yard, Par 3, 16^th hole.  Surrounded tee to green with stadium bleachers, hospitality tents, and beer vendors galore it is the opposite of golf.  It’s loud. It’s rowdy. It’s unsophisticated. It’s AWESOME!

True, this may not be the way golf was meant to be played, but oh baby is it the way golf was meant to be watched!  Gone are the ascots and pleated pants.  Enter tank tops and jean shorts!  Gone are the gin and tonics and in are pounders of PBR and beer funnels.  Golf claps?! How about screaming, cheering, booing, jeering fans who are watching AND CARING about every shot on that hole.

Stick it close, a cheer equal to a David Ortiz walk-off homerun in Fenway erupts.  Plug it in the sand or bail out right be prepared for a course of boos echoing your own thoughts of aggravation over a poor effort.  Oh, and if you don’t acknowledge the fans… you’re dead.  Not just for that one time either.  The fans will remember and you will become Lebron James walking into Cleveland.

Players bring fans candy, throw souvenirs into the crowd, joke with fans, wave at fans, APPRECIATE THE FANS!

The Phoenix Open is THE most attended golf tournament on tour.   Not the Masters.  Not the Players Championship.  The Waste Management Phoenix Open…and that is without one Tiger Woods in attendance.   Is it because it’s just that much more exciting?  No! It’s because it is FUN…god forbid.

Put it this way…

Legal Seafood is a great dinner, but more people go to Hooters. Does that mean buffalo wings better than grilled salmon? Not really, but often I rather roll out of the house in jeans and a tee-shirt, suck down a pitcher of beer, and go home with some money left in my pocket.  I certainly enjoy a nice dinner every now and then, but not every time I eat.

The PGA needs more buffalo wings.  That’s all I’m saying.  And The Phoenix Open this weekend is the biggest, rowdiest, PGA Tour Hooters in the world.

This one is for the fans…and the PGA should take notice.