A tradition unlike any other....The Masters

[Art Shirk]

Rory will win many majors during his career. He was just too inexperienced to deal with the back nine on Sunday, teetering on the lead, at arguably the most pressure-filled tourney. When Tiger did it at 21, he may have had more fortitude, but he also had many more strokes to blow.

As for Tiger's persona on the course: I tend to agree that I dislike rooting for folks who act like douchebags but I really believe that Tiger doesn't feel personally entitled to a smile until he cracks a new tourney. I went on a match losing streak in college and on the day I turned it around and finally took a win, I didn't smile until the win despite numerous great shots. I didn't feel entitled to any pleasure until I delivered the product I thought I was able to deliver. And this coming from a guy (me) who doesn't take himself too seriously and is generally a happy-go-lucky fellow.

If he wins one, I bet we see him reveling in more shots during play.

[flatlander#2]

People aren't watching him to rip great shots and have fun. They want him to win the tourney or (more so) fail. Especially "choke" short puts. The dude got 4th in The Masters. Not exactly a corporate best ball scramble.

[QuikR12]

Tiger has never (or only on rare occasion) been a smiley guy on the golf course; the only emotion he shows is the fist pump when the ball is in the hole or the frustration on the strayed shot. That's just his deal and always has been, he usually has ice running through his veins and has rarely let go of a win due to any other reason than another player coming out of nowhere, like Shwartzel did Sunday He goes out expecting to win every tournament, and if he isn't in that position, isn't happy with himself. Frankly I don't think he's happy until he's won.

Per Rory's meltdown, it's tough to say if he'll win many majors. The kid showed he has great talent, but what an atrocious display of composure through the back. Yes, he is very young, inexperienced, and it is the Masters, but you have to question if he has the winning instinct to be a true contender in any given high stakes tournament.

[Lonnie]

http://www.northjersey.com/sports/04...cker_room.html

[Tippster]

Most Top 5 Finishes
15 - Jack Nicklaus
10 - Tiger Woods
9 - Ben Hogan
9 - Tom Kite
9 - Arnold Palmer
9 - Sam Snead
9 - Tom Watson
9 - Phil Mickelson

Where was FIGJAM this year?

Regarding Ms. Sullivan...

The issue touched a nerve for many reasons. Augusta National does not allow women members, so perhaps security personnel could be confusing club policy with Masters policy. But women journalists have every right to be allowed wherever their male colleagues go, a right already determined by law. If they want to close the locker room to interviews, then they have to do it for everyone, not just me.

Edit: turns out male reporters are allowed in female athletes' locker rooms.

[LeeC]

At Augusta you don't have the right for shit..Its private, and they can make the rules. If you don't like it stay the fuck out. Fucking bitches think they are going to weasel their way into making the old guys bow down. The last bitch that tried that shit, helped all of us in getting the adverts off the air. Advertisers started pulling their endorsements, and the old guys said fuck it we'll pay for it ourselves.. Don't need you. Even now, only 4 minutes of every hour goes to advertising. Suits me fine.

On the topic I hope Rory recovers, seems like a good kid, but this a a scar that goes pretty deep. Kind of reminds me of Dustin Johnson last year, he seems to have recovered..But some don't.. It helps to have a real short memory for that kind of stuff.

[Tippster]

Simmer down, douche - the "rules" "they" "made" state that female reporters are allowed in the locker room. The rent-a-cop they had posted outside was just ignorant...

Like you.

[boarddad]

Not for nothin', but did anyone else notice how much of a sausage-fest the gallery was? In the 18'th tee there was a lady in red shorts that stuck out. It had me scanning the crowd for any other women and I couldn't even find one. Are all PGA golf tourney galleries like that?

[Benny Profane]

Not for nothin', but did anyone else notice how much of a sausage-fest the gallery was? In the 18'th tee there was a lady in red shorts that stuck out. It had me scanning the crowd for any other women and I couldn't even find one. Are all PGA golf tourney galleries like that?

Whatshisname's (Schiznel? Schoorznul?) wife looked kinda hot. Maybe she will get talked into next year's SI's Swimsuit.

edit: Yeah, Sunday's sport viewing was filled with white male spectators in the backround......The Masters, and then Fenway.

[LeeC]

Simmer down, douche - the "rules" "they" "made" state that female reporters are allowed in the locker room. The rent-a-cop they had posted outside was just ignorant...

Like you.

So they make a mistake..Apologize, and she still goes on a rant. Still a bitch in my book..
My post stands.

[Missing Sock]

An obit for Tiger's aura: 1996-2011
By Cameron Morfit, Senior Writer, GOLF Magazine

AUGUSTA, Ga. — The aura of Tiger Woods, which was the picture of health and the envy of millions for the better part of 15 years, died peacefully over the weekend at the home of the Masters, Augusta National Golf Club.

The cause of death was ordinary fallibility.

The aura is survived by Woods himself; his caddie, the New Zealand race-car driver Steve Williams; his agent, IMG deal-maker Mark Steinberg; and his headcover, Frank, whose career died shortly after appearing in a series of irreverent television commercials circa 2004, and who has since retired to the remainders bin at a Kohl's in Orlando.

Woods's putting stroke, which produced ugly misses from four feet at the 12th and 15th holes Sunday, and which hasn't been right for years, performed last rites on the aura. It took its last wheezing breath when Woods, having tied for the lead with a front-nine 31, shot even par on the back and had his doors blown off by Adam Scott, 30, Jason Day, 23, and finally Charl Schwartzel, 26.

The hard-to-define power source succumbed despite the best efforts of swing doctor Sean Foley, who watched Woods hit a succession of incredible shots Sunday only to tie for fourth, again.

In lieu of flowers well-wishers may donate to the Tiger Woods Foundation and/or help pay Stevie's race-entry fees.

Friends, relatives and incalculable beneficiaries of the aura recalled Sunday how it had made its way from early notoriety in Southern California — it appeared on the Mike Douglas Show almost at birth, with the comedian Bob Hope — to its three U.S. Junior championships, three U.S. Amateur championships and 14 major professional titles.

It was worshipped and emulated from Northern Ireland to Venezuela and points yet unknown, leaving its imprint on pro tours in America, Europe and beyond. It changed the economy of golf, and redefined sports-marketing. It made entire careers, and covered the private-school tuition for the children of anonymous PGA Tour golfers.

The aura proved as resilient at the end as it was at the start, bouncing back quickly after taking its first hit when Woods lost to Ed Fiori at the Quad Cities in 1996. Later defeats at the hands of Thomas Bjorn, Mike Weir and Costantino Rocca also were forgotten, and few Americans faulted the aura's surprising failure to appear at six Ryder Cups.

Insiders speculate that the aura had been locked in a years-long standoff with Woods's left knee, which has been operated on four times and appeared to give Woods pain as he hit his approach shot to the 18th hole Sunday. Woods used cortisone to broker a truce at the 2008 U.S. Open at Torrey Pines, where the aura reached its absolute apex.

At least some of the damage was self-inflicted. Having been leveraged to facilitate a breathtaking run of mating games, the aura led to private tumult and public shame for Woods, who temporarily stopped feeding it on a brief apology tour. Already wobbly after Y.E. Yang upended Woods at the 2009 PGA Championship, the aura suffered, and took a bad fall as Graeme McDowell beat Woods in extra holes at the Chevron Challenge in December. It had been pushed around in a wheelchair for much of 2011.

Several experts believed the aura could be saved as recently as last week, when it strutted into Augusta as if it were unchanged from the aura that helped Woods win the green jacket in 1997, 2001, '02 and '05. Woods shot a second-round 66, and a final-round 67, but Schwartzel and the others didn't care. The aura was gone, its last act giving CBS the second highest final-round ratings in 10 years.

Services will be held at an undisclosed time at Woods's South Florida estate. A second service for the rest of the PGA Tour is expected be observed when commissioner Tim Finchem finalizes the next network TV deal.

In other news, the Augusta Chronicle headline last week, "It's Lefty's to Lose," has prompted a formal inquiry from the Irish Golf Union over who owns the rights and privileges of losing the world's most prestigious tournament.

Read more: http://www.golf.com/golf/tours_news/...#ixzz1JKAVfOds

[iceman]

Speaking of Irishmen, wtf happened to Padraig Harrington the last couple years? Missed the cut 2nd time in a row, cut at the British, cut at TPC, I guess he's done?

[DasBlunt]

Speaking of Irishmen, wtf happened to Padraig Harrington the last couple years? Missed the cut 2nd time in a row, cut at the British, cut at TPC, I guess he's done?

Paddy could not get his ribbed (reminder) grips on correctly, he is fucked, LOL! IF you know what I mean, I hope you have a good laugh.

[Benny Profane]

That Golf column is a load of shit. Tiger got his doors blown off? Tiger has an aura? Fuck that. He finished fourth, for Godsake, four strokes back, after sharing the lead for some time in the final round. That sucked? Who the fuck does he think Tiger is? The second coming? Hey, where was, gag, "Lefty", aka Mickleson? Where was Els? Whatever happened to Vijay? Furyk? How about Harrington, as Iceman noted? WTF?

Snoozel or Snurzel or whatever his name is is going to be a trivia question floating on his ten year exemption when Tiger is in the thick of it in the final round of the '16 Masters, going for his whatever major victory and watching some kid implode like that Irish kid Sunday. That is, if his knee holds up and he gets his shit together around the short putts.

[skiballs]

Clearly Woody needs to get himself a Billie Baroo.
Day's wife looked pretty good.

[QuikR12]

Yeah, that column was a waste of a read, written by some never-has been hack of a writer, I don't even want to imagine what his golf game is like. I think Tiger's round Sunday was good enough for him to really come out of nowhere to be in the fight, get a taste of blood, and put his head back in the game to return to tearing things up once again in very short time. Pure speculation, but I'm willing to bet he owns another major trophy this season.

[Missing Sock]

More bad news for Tiger.....


Tiger Woods withdraws from Players

PONTE VEDRA Beach, Fla. -- Tiger Woods shot a 42 on the front nine of the first round of The Players Championship on Thursday and withdrew from the tournament.

It was Woods' first competitive event since the Masters, as he has been recovering from knee and Achilles injuries.

Through five holes, Woods played bogey golf and visibly winced after hitting his approach shot onto the fifth green. It was unclear if the reaction was from pain or frustration as the ball came to rest in the rough well left of the hole. He failed to get up and down and made bogey to drop to 5 over after five holes in pristine, nearly windless scoring conditions at TPC Sawgrass.

Woods began his round with a bogey at the par-4 first hole, but the real trouble came at No. 4. After pulling his drive left into the rough, Woods' second shot found the water fronting the green.

He took a drop from short of the green in the fairway and his fourth shot to the back right pin didn't clear the water again, caroming off and landing in the hazard. He dropped from the same area and made a nice up and down for a triple-bogey 7.

After completing the front nine, Woods handed his scorecard to playing partner Martin Kaymer.

Woods has not played particularly well at TPC Sawgrass by his standards. In the past decade, he has a single top-10 finish. He won the event in 2001.

[montanaskier]

I think the guy is done. He is a mess and I don't think his body is going to allow him to regain his previous form. He may win a tournament here and there, but his days of winning all the time, and being THE golfer is over.

[wooley12]

I thought that his body would break down early. No human can swing that fast 1 million times without wearing out. Too bad in a way. He's toast IMO.

[4matic]

Maybe take a different approach to his fitness. Lose some weight and take some pressure off his joints.

[montanaskier]

maybe it's me, but I'd like to see him get back to just playing golf. Stop messing with the swing. Slim down some and stop trying to murder the ball and get back to making shots.

[Tye 1on]

^^^agree. And making some putts. I bet he has a bad streak for ~5 years then starts winning again. 2015.

[Benny Profane]

Sad to see. Echoes of Mickey Mantle in his prime. One expects to watch a golfer last into his 40s. Hell, Fred Couples has been looking good in his fifties. This is a big blow to the entire sport. Goodbye money.

[MTT]

Yea but he was toast in the 90's when he was supposed to be in his prime. He had horrible Back issues for years and dissapeard remember

Refering to Fred Couples

Remeber the TV Commercial where he drove a Ball through a phone book?

Remeber when we had phone books?

[DeathVan]

Is Tiger the new David Duvall?