Supp

Indeed.

Look at how crazy of his odds to win the 2017 Master ! Astonishing,

For context, it’s not like Woods’ odds were that low to begin with. His opening odds in August, before he’d even announced a return date, were 60/1. And they were 40/1 before the Hero World Challenge.
2017 Masters

J Day 8/1
J Spieth 8/1
R McIlroy 9/1
D Johnson 10/1
H Matsuyama 15/1
B Watson 20/1
A Scott 20/1
T Woods 20/1
H Stenson 25/1

http://golfweek.com/2016/12/05/tiger-woods-has-odds-better-than-stenson-to-win-2017-masters/

    The most positive thing he can take from this week is that he jumped higher in world ranking than anyone else. In the whole world! Clear up around 620 or so, a 250 point rise. gawddam, what a golfer.😉

    He did play rather well, overall, for not being competitive for 16 months. Don't know what he was thinking yesterday, trying to keep up with Louis off the tee. Looks healthy though, even though he was doing the "Freddie" squat a lot, while marking his ball.

    I do notice there are a lot of bad backs out there, esp. among the top golfers; TW is not the only one, and right now he seems the one with the least problems in that area.

    He led the field in birdies, yet he finishes 14th out of 17 golfers.....I find that interesting.....obviously lots of others cost him.....hard to fathom leading the field in birdies and finishing 14 shots out of the lead.

      ode He led the field in birdies, yet he finishes 14th out of 17 golfers.....I find that interesting.....obviously lots of others cost him.....hard to fathom leading the field in birdies and finishing 14 shots out of the lead.

      Sounds like a caddy and course management issue
      lol

      • ode likes this.

        I think it was mostly poor drives that were unplayable, hazard, or punch outs that led to the doubles....willing to bet he led the field in doubles+

        Agree with brsmirh, his swing looked great. Reminded me if the old Tiger/Butch days.

        'How do you know what anyone thinks or was thinking 20 years ago. Do you also do communication sessions with the dead while wearing a turban and gazing into a crystal ball?"

        Quote: ronsc1985

        "To top level players today he is just another journeyman player who may have a decent tournament every now."

        Let's see, Tiger is 40 and according to you, see quote from you above; Jack was 46 in '86. Using YOUR logic, what chance do you think Norman, Price and Seve thought Nicklaus' chances were in '86? It had been 6 years since he had won a major. Either way, those "top" players in '86 knew he was the fucking Golden Bear and only 4 back going into the final round of the '86 Masters. You know, a guy with his own trade mark. Hmmmm, TW has one of those too and I dare to guess the "top" players know who he is and not: "just another journeyman player," when they tee off against him. If not, when he is contending they will figure it out when they hear the roars of the gallery following him and not them.

        Who knows what Tiger will do, but for you to say the top players think he is just any other player is ridiculous.

        BTW, I didn't need a crystal ball or turban, just common sense.

        Come June It will be 9 years since tiger's last major victory, 33 1/3 percent longer drought than Jack in 86. Jack was 46,Tiger is just 40 and we've seen many players compete on tour in their 40's and look at VJ in his 50's still on leaderboards.

        I think it's highly unlikely Tiger wins another major, but won't say that it's impossible. He is Tiger Woods and has done things to surprise us before. i'd say the chances are less than 2%

          Weirfan

          I agree with you, I was just replying to a rather terse remark from my rebuttal that:"To top level players today he is just another journeyman player who may have a decent tournament every now."

          I stand by that I don't believe that. I don't believe they think he is just "any" player, I'm not buying that. I would think they would want to see if they could beat him when he is right, if they could measure up to him.

          Rant over.

            When we have these discussions, our opinions are formed as fans. However accurate or inaccurate they may seem at the time, very rarely do they represent the viewpoints of those who are actually competing in their respective arenas, be it with any sport, not just golf.

            I'm sure you can find an outlier or two who see things differently from everyone else, but then again the opinionated, attention-seeking types are usually dealing with lockjaw anytime the discussion involves comparing their own career records with those they're talking about. Brandel Chamblee is undoubtedly the said poster boy as it relates to his constant criticism of Woods, but he gets a free pass because it's "his job," regardless of the fact that in the grand scheme of things he's an absolute nobody in golf beyond his tired, rehearsed and regurgitated crap that has made more rounds on TGC than the town whore at the local Econo Lodge.

            No matter how much some of his peers may dislike him personally, for whatever reasons, I can assure you that those who are relevant in the game today still have enormous respect for him as a player. Only a spectator would assume otherwise.

            On that same token, we're entitled to our opinions as fans. It doesn't mean our opinions are accurate, but then again that's why they're called opinions and not facts. And to be completely fair, I'm just as guilty of painting with a 2-foot wide brush as anyone else on occasion.

            TW has been eligible to play in all majors for the last 20 yrs. because he has won the most of them and has been exempt for all in that period.(I may be a year off.) There are not too many players on the PGA that can say the same, and of those that get to play in those major events, very few are eligible to all of them every year. This does give TW a big advantage over the vast majority of the entries. He's very familiar will all the venues they play those tournaments at. Again, maybe only a handful could say that. Everyone always says 'courses for horses', so why would anyone think he could not win any/many more majors? They are 'just' another tournament on the schedule, and are played at courses he is very familiar with, and obviously likes(see 14 wins). If his swing is even close to what it was, and it didn't look none too shabby for a 15-16 mo. layoff, and he is healthy at entry, and brings that must kill attitude, at 40+, I think he'll do just fine in the majors.
            Keeping in mind he won a few of those when he played a game that looked like crap, or was hurting a bit.

            There are a lot of players out there that want him to return healthy, with his game at 100% of what it used to be. They want to use how they fare against him as a yardstick of their own game. That amazes me. Be damn careful of what you wish for.

              Par4QC

              No one stirred up the golf scene like TW in recent years.
              Bobby Jones, Ben Hogan ( post injury ), Arnold Palmer and Jack precede him and he was supposed to up held the banner until he got struck with his own 2 iron.

              I believe golfers in general will forgive him if his game could return to half of what it used to be. Limping and struggling as he may, he still has the game if he could put 4 good days together. If Ben Hogan could return to the game after the injury with a modified golf swing and still win major tournaments, so could TW.

                Dude had 24 birdies last week. Of course, he also had 6 double bogeys. But here's the way I see it... it's a helluva lot easier to turn double-bogeys into bogeys, or even maybe pars, than it is to average 6 birdies per round. You gotta be able to make birdies to win at that level, and he has to take some satisfaction from that, especially considering the length of his layoff.

                That aside, ultimately it comes down to him being able to stay healthy and play. It's much too early in the process to be talking about major championships, because one week, as promising as it looked at times, doesn't automatically mean he's ready to take on the world again. If he can stay healthy for a season - that's a good start. If he were somehow able to win a tournament, regardless of the strength of field, it goes from good to great. Then maybe at that point and time it would be more legitimate to talk about his chances in major tournaments.

                But he can't be too upset with the good stuff he showed last week. There was a lot more good than bad imo.

                  PA-PLAYA Dude had 24 birdies last week. Of course, he also had 6 double bogeys.

                  Sounds like a mental error where he plunged into doubles, or he was just testing the limit of his current ability ?

                      Release

                      For the most part it was a result of driving the ball into trouble , which was always his nemesis ( he just recovered better than anyone else). This was a very forgiving course off the tee and Tiger only hit 55% of fairways. He struggled more on the back nine ( as did the entire field) where the wind was more hurting, the wind accentuates swing flaws and errors.

                      I'd hazard a guess that his mental and physical stamina wasn't there after the layoff. Likewise though for all the other players this event was the last in a very long season so they would be fatigued and drained , looking forward to their brief break and probably not at their best either .

                      overall a good return -4 over four days so averaged under par each day, and as I've said, better than most ( probably Tiger too) expected. Iron play and putting were really good.

                      The biggest takeaway, he played injury and pain free and was taking some huge rips at the ball in round 4. Will be interesting to see how he does at Torry Pines

                          brsmith banging every waitress in the ladies bathroom.

                          Holy crap, hope he nevers plays in NC. Might run into problems.

                          Then again, he might like it.

                            Weirfan
                            i'm taking that Friday of the Farmer's off so I can play in the morning and be at Torrey for the afternoon. That's such a great place. Gonna attend Saturday as well. Following Tiger there is a fruitless enterprise however so I won't try. Unless you like standing in a 7 deep gallery. Which I don't.

                                mcavoy At least you don't have to worry about Steve Williams grabbing your camera.