Tiger ! Tiger ! Tiger !

His swing looked much more athletic and his timing looked much better at the Hero, no two ways about it. How much the cool, damp weather hindered things is anyone's guess really.

Ultimately I think it came down to the conditions being tougher than what he was anticipating... conditions were cool, ball wasn't flying, most shots it seemed were being played into a heavy, damp breeze. That's gonna force guys to lean on it off the tee a bit more to make up some of the difference, especially considering they were getting very little rollout in the fairways. Incredibly thick rough made a lot of those shots on those longer holes almost impossible to pull off.

What concerns me more than anything is that for two tournaments in a row, he's had a 4-5 hole stretch where he gets it going sideways and pretty much slams the window on his fingers. Part of that is rust, sure. But part of it might also be him finding it incredibly difficult to accept that he just doesn't have the ability to hit those difficult shots like he used to.

Playing from the cabbage all day today and still shooting level par was remarkable, all things considered.

Glad I didn't waste my time watching/DVRing it.

He played better than a lot of us thought he would, even with missing the .cut
. Still lots of ifs to answer of course but got ball rolling so to speak. G Bear thinks he still has talent too. Really tough Course, rusty, new clubs, self doubts? How far will he come back? I'd think regaining the once driving hunger for it would be even harder than overcoming his aging /injuries. It's almost like watching Shakespearian tradgedy unfold its plot, the star athlete nearing end of his storied career struggling to reurn to past greatness. No wonder people are drawn to it. Just look at all the posts right here. I watched Rocky III ,too.

After the round he said he was disappointed he didn't win. What?????????????????

Win, he didn't even sniff the cut line. The guy is in denial.

He still hits good iron shots when he's not in the deep rough. And his short game isn't tragic like it was not too long ago. So he might have a fighter's chance at courses with no rough and that he knows well.

Weirfan

Five minute max time looking for a ball so they could have played in 5 hours and 20 minutes, that damn Tiger!!

Release the caddy , another disconnect he faces from his success in the past . So many issues , while time marches on, and new youthful talent is abundant

Tiger is now facing the kids that grew up watching him knock the snot out of the ball compared to the guys he used to play. Now he's on the other side of the coin. He used to have a 30-40 yard advantage on his opponents when he first came out. No longer.

Orlimar1

True. And Tiger does seem somewhat obsessed, if not outright distracted, with his swing/ball speed, as evidenced by his interview earlier in the week last week when he mentioned he was pleased with the speed of his swing coming along, back to more of a "normal level" (whatever that is).... as if that alone is going to channel his old form and make everything like it used to be.

There are a lot of guys on tour (Furyk, Zach Johnson, etc.) who've figured out how to be highly competitive with average at-best length off the tee, even in their older years (Johnson is 40, Furyk is 46). Of course, they've never relied on power to be successful, but rather excellent iron play and putting.

The only chance Tiger has with making it back to a competitive level is coming to terms with the realization that he can't physically achieve the same level of swing speed he used to, not without compromising first and foremost his back problem, and obviously his accuracy. It won't be an easy transition for him for ego reasons... not to mention that he's always swung 100+ percent off the tee, which will take a lot of disciplined repetitions to engrain a slower timing sequence into the ball.

Above and beyond all of the swing changes he's made over the years, slowing down his swing speed and aggression level at impact will be most difficult, because suddenly he's dealing with a different swing rhythm and timing sequence that he hasn't been familiar with over all the years he's played. It won't be an easy transition, but it doesn't make it any less important to achieve if he truly desires to prevent injury and find a softer swing that he can control to a much larger degree, even if it requires adding another club or possibly two to achieve the desired distance.

Otherwise he's looking at a quick return followed by another quick hiatus, and perhaps the final hiatus.

He just doesn't seem to have the discipline to change that, again as evidenced by his obsession with this swing/ball speed numbers. And if that doesn't change, what little success he might return to will be short-lived. If two major surgeries on his back aren't enough to change his swing philosophy, then nothing will.

With a swing as inconsistent as his, I wonder how he came to a clear cut winner of which equipment was best "fitted" to him?
Just how bad were the other drivers and irons he tested?
Who was the fitter and how bad at his job is he? He's ruining it for all the good fitters out there.
Name names! The public needs to know. It's in their best interest.

Only Scotty Cameron gets a pass with his fitting here.

Spuzz it's not the arrow it is the Indian. Some have said he hits it well in practice but not on the course in competition as of yet. He probably does not have a problem with fitting just hitting it real time in competition. I read Jason Day said give him a year on tour and then see it he improves. My thought is he may improve but not to the degree he hopes. This is assuming he stays healthy and that is a BIG IF.

Spuzz

Far be it from me to suggest that I know what equipment any tour player should be playing. All I will say is that I don't blame Tiger (or anyone for that matter) for choosing the company that offers the most $$$$ at the financial feeding trough.

There can't be that much difference between TM and the former Nike... if anything, I give TM a lot more credence as far as technological equipment with more versatility goes. That said, it's also an indictment of just how out-of-sorts Tiger's swing is... that TM has the ability to give him exactly what he needs compared to the equipment he's played in the past, yet he's still struggling to find fairways.

It's not equipment-related. It's mental/mechanics related. If he was playing Walter Hagen brand clubs and balls from the local Dick's/Golf Galaxy, I'd be more inclined to say he chose equipment poorly.

No piece of equipment is going to square the club up at address, with exception perhaps of the Cobra offset variety mentioned earlier. LOL

The two most important comments that came from Tiger in his missed cut exit interview to me were.
1. He said he was disappointed he didn't win the tournament.
2. He said he prepared well but didn't prepare in cool damp conditions which was the difference.

Like an alcoholic , Tiger must admit and accept that he has a problem ( in this case , he's just not who he was and never will be, age wise, physically and mentally) until he does and finds comfort and peace with who he is now, he will continue with his up and down, mostly down battle. If he is able to accept who he is and what his game is now ( like a Furyk or Zach Johnson does) he might start consistently shooting some decent scores. JMHO

letthebigdogshunt Spuzz it's not the arrow it is the Indian. Some have said he hits it well in practice but not on the course in competition as of yet

I realize this is likely the case, along with him trying to be the Tiger of 2000"s as Release suggested.
Being grouped with day and Johnson was not in his favour, imo.

I was reading his press release again and wondering how a guy who hit so many balls with different equipment settled on TM when he sprays it so bad ( aside from the money being paid which may be the only reason he chose TM)
Just a Spuzzervation or two is all.

I was reading a Golf magazine yesterday and here is what Pete Cowen (former Euro player and now swing coach to Stenson) says about Tiger below. He says he has stage fright. That would make sense. His buddies say he's hitting the ball as well as ever at home in Florida. Then he gets on the big stage and can't control the ball.

That's an interesting take, and it may well be true, but it's no more than an educated guess. Everybody hits it better on the range than on the course, right? Is that "stagefright"?

Hard to say if Woods could even hold his own on the Senior Circuit now.....

I've discuss him with two of my doctors and based on his medical history, they just shake their heads.
Oh, they are both good golfers....