Woods and McIlroy are back!!

Tiger, McIlroy and the run up to the Masters

McIlroy posted his best finish of the season so far with an 8^th place at the WGC event at Doral.  McIlroy’s 7 under final round score in the Cadillac Championship was only bettered by Adam Scott who closed with an 8 under 64.  McIlroy proved his critics wrong once again after massive speculation surrounding his new Nike equipment and the supposed toothache that forced him to pull out at the Honda last week.

But the week belonged to Tiger Woods who lead a wire to wire finish to claim his 17^th WGC event in which he broke his own personal best for number of birdies in 36 holes.  Tiger has now claimed 2 tournaments already this year and seems favourite for the Masters next month.  However, not all is as it appears as he once again finished poorly, dropping 2 strokes in his last three holes and why no one can doubt he his almost back to his imperious best, one has to wonder how he will handle the pressure in a Major.  Tiger closed with a one under 71 to edge out Steve Stricker by 2 shots.  Tiger’s nearest overnight challenger, McDowell failed to make an impression and his final round level par left him tied for 3^rd.    

While McIlroy’s apparent turnaround and Woods emphatic victory are no doubt the main talking points of this event 2 other people caught my eye.  Adam Scott’s final round 64 catapulted him up 16 places into a share of 3^rd and this is good news for Scott who has a good record at the Masters, finishing 2^nd in 2011.  Some had expected Scott to crumble following his disastrous finish at the Open last year where he dropped 4 shots in as many holes to lose to Els by 1 but he appears to have put that behind him and should be a strong favourite at Augusta next month and for the rest of the year. 

My other pick of the week was Steve Stricker, who has only played 3 events this season and is only expected to play about 7 or 8 more.  Despite this lack of Tournament practice Stricker has racked up an impressive string of results, finishing 2^nd in Hawaii at the season opener, making it to the Quarter Finals of the Accenture Match Play as well as finishing 2nd here this week.  Stricker has always been a steady performer, very rarely missing cuts and for four years in a row, he won at least twice.  When news was circulated about cutting down his schedule massively it had been expected that he would fade through lack of Tournament play but there seems no sign of that just yet and he could be an outside chance for a Major this year.

With McIlroy and Woods back this opening Major at Augusta could be a great one, but as mentioned before, the Tour seems very open at the moment and few would be surprised to see someone further down the rankings claim it.  My early outside bet is for a South African to win it, watch for Oosthuizen or Schwartzel to add to their Major tally.          

The Open Era of Golf

The Open era of Golf

 In tennis they describe the period since 1968 as the Open Era when Grand Slam tournaments opened themselves to professional competition.  In golf it has always been this way but right now we are experiencing an Open Era for another reason.

Stacy Lewis held off a strong field and her nerves to claim her sixth LPGA title at the HSBC Women’s Championship in Singapore.  Lewis, the World number 3, shook off some nervous putting on the back nine to close with a one under 71 and -15 for the tournament, finishing 1 ahead of World number 2 Na Yeon Choi.  Stacey Lewis despite her ranking might be the best female golfer in the world right now; Tseng looks to be struggling with her game at the moment and while Na Yeon Choi is still hanging in there it feels as though every time Lewis pegs it up she looks like she could win.  The only problem with her game appears to be her putting which is very streaky and the first thing to show signs of pressure when she’s in contention but beyond that her game looks very solid.  I expect big things this year for Stacey Lewis, especially if Yani Tseng fails to find some form.

However, it is not in the women’s game that an Open Era is emerging.  Michael Thompson claiming his maiden Tour Victory at the Honda amongst such a star studded field is yet another sign that the strength in depth on Tour is increasing.  In a field that boasted so many Major winners, 7 of the world top 10 including Woods and McIlroy, few would have picked Thompson as the winner, but this just goes to prove how open the tournaments are becoming; we have already seen a maiden tour victory this season from Russell Henley and there will be more to come.  What this really gears us up for is some exciting Major battles and some unexpected winners, for me this is a great viewing spectacle but others won’t feel the same way.  So if you are one of those people who stopped watching the Match Play because Woods and McIlroy made early exits then I predict a boring year for you in terms of watching golf, but if, like me, you revel in seeing “ordinary” players battle it out against the big guns this is going to be fun.

And speaking of fun, check out what Bubba, Fowler, Crane and Mahan do in their spare time (if you haven't already)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iiiOqybRvsM       

 

McIlroy and Nike - not such a perfect match?

 

Eight holes into round two of the Honda Classic, World Number One Rory McIlroy has withdrawn citing inability to concentrate due to toothache as the reason.  Immediately the speculation surrounding his slump in form has returned with many critics claiming that it must be his new Nike equipment.  This is no surprise, it was always going to take a while to get used to his new clubs and no amount of range time will really replicate Tournament conditions.  However, with the Masters just around the corner McIlroy needs to get used to Nike, and fast.    

If he fails to ever get to grips with the new sticks (an unlikely scenario) McIlroy will join a long list of people who have changed their equipment and/or game in an attempt to improve and have done the opposite.  David Duval springs to mind; the former Number One, fresh off his victory in the 2001 Open decided he needed to bulk up in order to fully assert his dominance and subsequently slipped outside the top 400 in the world. 

While it is still early days, criticisms of McIlroy and his equipment change are in full throttle but if we recall, similar criticisms were brandished around this time last year and McIlroy bounced back to win a second Major and two of the four FedEx cup playoff events.  Despite the turnaround of last year, it is hard to overlook the fact that McIlroy is 17 over par for the 80 holes he has completed and his Tournament summary reads; MC R1 (Matchplay) and WD. 

Testimony to the unpredictability of the Ulster Star is that he is 3-1 odds to MC at Augusta whilst also being 6-1 favourite to claim a Green Jacket.  Does anybody else see the irony of bookies hedging their bets?  McIlroy is in desperate need of a confidence booster before the opening Major and is expected to increase his schedule load so he has more tournament action in an attempt to try and find some form. 

McIlroy would dearly love to prove his critics wrong as he has done in the past few years.  Last year, his relationship with Wozniacki was cited as the cause of the slump and this year his equipment change (a slightly more likely cause) is to blame, however it seems they are unprepared to accept that while being a semi-god on the golf course, he is in fact human and is capable of error and form slumps.  Golfing columnists have used the fact that he has missed 6 cuts in two years as a negative point, whilst some players would be happy to make 6 cuts in that time! 

McIlroy will return, he will win more Majors and perhaps even more likely than that he will miss cuts, putts and trophies because he is only a golfer after all.  It might help if critics would remember that sometimes.