TW is in #3 on the leaderboard ?
I see the "fire of intensity " in his eyes, which I had no seen even years before he got injured. Great that he got the competitive edge back. No one could push him besides himself.
Tiger ! Tiger ! Tiger !
Matsuyama is -17 and running away with it. In his last four tournaments he has gone first three times with one second place. Tiger continues to play well 32 on the front nine.
Rickie having a day, -6 though 15, to Tigers -3
How about Jimmy Walker, played solo today in under 2 hours and shot 66 !
Tiger deja vu all over again. Thursday 33-40 Saturday 32-38. Had it to -11 and the back nine killed him again. This time it was the driver and the putter. Really good holes and some not so good holes. He double bogies the 18th again. Matsuyama -19 this guy is really HOT!!!
Hideki Matsuyama had been winning all over the world in the last few months. But nothing like a field this week.
A silent assassin indeed.
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I like his new swing. Also, these are his first four competitive rounds in a LOOOOONG time. Stamina will build, but I like having him competitive and this is something for him to build on.
Matsuyama is playing unconscious.
Impressed with his play and demeanor.
I have always thought that Tiger had his best iron play when taking a 3/4 swing and I saw him doing this a lot this week. If he would only try that with his driver and give up a few yards for more accuracy. I was watching yesterday and I think he missed at least 5 fairways in a row on the way in.
Why is Tiger swinging so hard, yikes!
Old habits die hard. He is not trying to swing like that anymore but as Weirfan mentioned it is his old swing sneaking into his game. Probably when he gets mentally tired on the back nine.
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Rickochet
I agree completely, but I think he used to be there. If you watch this video from his first Masters, he took 3/4 swings with all of his irons, but he also didn't come close to going to parallel with his driver (see his swing at the 1:42 mark). His swing was very powerful, but under control.
Okay . It's over.
He'd better make a plan to build up his endurance both physically and mentally. The ability is still there, just need to put the pieces together. Not like it used to be, because it won't happen. He needs to find the new TW.
I think this has been his comeback demise all along - trying to rise the old TW from the ashes instead of creating the new TW. He still has LOADS of game. He exhibited chipping and putting prowess in flashes all 4 days. His iron play looked very solid when he was playing for control. It's all there - in body and mind, if he can wrestle those demons.
Exactly !
With what he has, he can still win a major. He will never return to the dominance he once possess. Win a few here and there and add a couple of majors on the way....... I don't know if that will excite him by just winning a few tournaments if he could not dominate the Tour like he used to.
Guy's, he had one good round, one mediocre round and two hack fests. He still can't hit it anywhere near straight off the tee on a consistent basis. I only watched a bit today but the fan boy announcing was pitiful.
All you had to see was his drive on the last hole where he hit a three wood under a bush. Tour pros who can't it a three wood straight off a tee have the same expectation of success as dogs who chase cars.
He may or may not get better but right now his game is not capable of winning anything in a field of top level players. To top level players today he is just another journeyman player who may have a decent tournament every now.
ronsc1985 I am sure Greg Norman and others felt the same way about Jack in Augusta in '86. I agree he certainly needs to improve, to be any kind of a real threat. Maybe he won't be what he was, but his was is better than ANY player playing today, and don't think Spieth, Johnson, Day and McIlroy don't know that. I am not expecting him to win a major, but I will not say he can't.
He played better than I thought he would.
There were spots here and there that he can obviously look back and build on. Through 4 rounds, Woody had 24 holes of birdie or better, whereas Dustin Johnson (finished 6th) had 22 holes of birdie or better (including two eagles).
Wedge play around the greens looked good. Putting wasn't awful. You don't make 24 birdies through 4 rounds without making some putts. Iron play looked reasonably decent. Off the tee? Same deal as always. When he's not dealing with wind - he can manage. When it gets windy - he struggles to keep it in play.
Overall, probably more good than bad. The bad was really bad, but the good was really good, too.
The biggest question is did his back hold up okay, or is he icing it this evening? He showed no signs of being in pain, from what I watched of the tournament anyway. But if he can't get out of his 110% swing aggression off the tee, that pain-free existence will likely only be temporary.