Tiger vs Rory – 48 Hours Later
If a tree falls in the forest, and nobody is there to see it, does it make a sound?
If the two best golfers in the world play an exhibition in China, and nobody is there to watch it, does anyone really care?
I didn’t. And I love Tiger and Rory. Why would I pay money to watch an Internet feed of this exhibition match, especially when I can be doing better things in the middle of the night? Like sleeping.
Well, I stumbled upon Ryan Lavner’s piece on golfchannel.com yesterday. I think I figured out why I cared.
http://www.golfchannel.com/news/golftalkcentral/rory-clips-tiger-by-a-shot-in-duel-at-jinsha-lake/
Here’s the key paragraph from Lavner’s article:
On the 10th hole, Woods admitted to “struggling with Sean (Foley),” his swing coach, saying, “I’ve been hitting my short irons so (expletive) far.” He went on to explain how he rarely took a divot with his short clubs under former coach Hank Haney, but now, though, “all of a sudden, I’m taking divots.”
Well, well, well. So Tiger is fully aware of the issues we all see. His short iron game is simply not as good as it once, nor is it on par with the rest of his current game. Now, I have no qualms with Sean Foley. I also have no issues with Hank Haney either. I have a lot of respect for both teachers. I will say this:
I think Hank’s way is the better way.
To take it one step further, I will paraphrase a comment made by Johnny Miller during the final round of this year’s Ryder Cup. Miller commented that the best iron players hit their short irons low and their long irons high, and they take a more shallow divot.
I’m not saying Tiger should go back to Haney. I’m not sure Haney would have him. Sean Foley is Tiger’s coach and that’s not likely to change for awhile. At what point do Tiger and Foley work together to flatten(even slightly) the swing his wedges? He shouldn’t be thinking about large divots over the ball. He should be thinking about shallow divots and crisp, consistent contact. Tiger’s short iron woes are a huge part what’s keeping him from winning major championships.
We all remember Tiger’s magical win at the 2008 US Open. It’s arguably the greatest tournament win of all time. It’s the greatest tournament win I’ve ever seen. But when Tiger tees it up at Augusta next April, it will be nearly five years since that US Open win.
Did anyone ever think Tiger Woods would go five years without a major championship?
Feeling So Good About Being So Wrong – ND 30, OU 13
I was wrong and I don’t care.
An hour before gametime Saturday, I wrote the combo of Golson to Eifert would be the key to a Notre Dame victory. Well, I don’t think three receptions for 22 yards would validate my claim. One of those receptions wasn’t even from Golson.
Notre Dame’s defense was the key to its 30-13 win over Oklahoma in Norman last Saturday night. Playing a bend-but-don’t-break defense, Notre Dame allowed 364 passing yards on Saturday night. Not exactly stellar numbers by any means. However, this same defense tightened up in the red zone, forcing Landry Jones out of the pocket and into some dangerous throws. Notre Dame found a way to keep Landry Jones off the scoresheet.
What’s more impressive is the Oklahoma rushing stat line: 15 rushing attempts and 24 yards. That’s it. To OU’s credit, they did score the first rushing touchdown on ND’s defense this season. Like most predicted, it was Blake Bell(the Belldozer).
As Brian Kelly discussed in the postgame, this was the plan all along – allow yards, but not points. It’s pretty obvious that the yards were coming from the air. Notre Dame forced Landry Jones to beat them. He just couldn’t.
Back to the offense for a minute. I was wrong about the Golson to Eifert combo. But I wasn’t wrong about Golson himself. I said Notre Dame needed to score points and they delivered. The 30 points scored was the most points ND scored against a ranked team the entire season. Golson’s final line isn’t strong, but he made the plays when the mattered most. His biggest play was his 50 yard bomb to freshman receiver Chris Brown. It was a solid throw by Golson and an impressive catch by Brown, the first in his collegiate career. This big play killed any OU momentum from their previous score.
From that point on, you know the rest. Golson caps off the final play of the drive, scoring the game winning TD on a QB dive. Theo Riddick puts the icing on the cake with a 15 yard run to put ND up 30-13.
One last thing, let’s not forget the biggest play of the game: The fourth quarter interception by Manti Te’o. He dove, caught it, flipped over, lost the ball on his thigh, picked it up with his hands, and laid on the ground safely with the pick. Another Saturday, another stellar performance for Te’o. The final numbers say he had 11 tackles, 2 TFLs, 1 sack, and 1 INT. He’s not that far from KSU’s Collin Klein for the Heisman trophy. Should be an interesting subplot in another magical Notre Dame season.
#5 Notre Dame at #8 Oklahoma – Quick Thoughts
It’s the biggest game for Notre Dame since the #5 ranked Irish faced #1 USC in 2005. Yes, I’m invoking the “Bush Push” game one more time. I’m sorry, Irish fans.
The “Bush Push” game has been referenced quite a bit over the past few weeks. However, this game honestly doesn’t remind me that clash of the titans. This game reminds me more of a game in the 2002 season, when the #6 ranked Irish faced the #11 ranked Free Shoes University(Florida State, for those who missed the Steve Spurrier reference). Notre Dame was the higher ranked team, but being untested and on the road, the #11 Seminoles were the favorites.
Sound familiar, anyone?
Could the underdogs pull off another “upset” again? Just maybe.
Notre Dame’s defense will have to remain national championship caliber, it’s trademark during this 2012 campaign. Even ESPN’s Kirk Herbstreit referenced this as the key to today – Landry Jones and the Sooners wide receivers versus ND’s defense. I am a firm believer in the defense wins championships philosophy. However, I don’t necessarily agree with Herbstreit. It’s an important matchup, but not the most important.
Here’s the key to tonight’s game: Everett Golson to Tyler Eifert.
Not to go all John Madden on you, but if the Irish expect to win tonight, they’ll have to score a few touchdowns. It would be nice if Manti Te’o and company could do all the scoring for them. Something tells me the offense will have to contribute.
Golson must find Tyler Eifert tonight. In Golson’s previous three starts, he’s found Eifert, a future first-round draft pick, a total of three times. Three. That’s it. That will have to change if the Irish expect to remain undefeated.
I know defenses are doubling down on Eifert. TJ Jones will be featured in a lot of one-on-one matchups once again. Golson will have to continue to find Jones in order to keep defenses honest. But…Golson cannot abandon Eifert like he has in recent weeks. Eifert must have an impact if the Irish expect to win. Golson must remain confident in his ability to throw strikes and find his man Eifert.
Tyler Eifert is ready for the big stage. Let’s hope Everett Golson can send Eifert on his way. If he can, expect the Irish to remain unbeaten after tonight.
My Day at Medinah
June 30, 2012
9:45AM – I’m sitting in a Bolingbrook Denny’s. I’m excited. Who wouldn’t be? But not just for Denny’s. I’ll explain it a minute.
I’m picking up my 19 year old brother, David. My mom, who in central Illinois, is dropping off my brother because she’s afraid of my brother navigating his way through the Chicagoland suburbs. Again, he’s 19. It is what it is.
My brother is tired from his summer job, but seems excited for the day ahead. My mom thinks this is just another day at the golf course. Neither realize the magnitude of this day. We are not just playing golf at any golf course today. Thanks to my girlfriend, and I can’t thank her enough, we are playing a course that few Chicagoans are lucky enough to play
On this incredibly hot and balmy June afternoon, we have a tee time at Medinah No. 3.
11:45AM – Here! We make our way through the main entrance at Medinah and immediately see the majestic clubhouse. I’ve had this drive once before – in a shuttle at the 2006 PGA Championship. It’s a little different today.
11:50AM – Mercedes, Porsches, Ferraris, and yes, even one Lamborghini line the first rows of Medinah’s parking lot. I pull up in the blue bomber – my 2002 Jeep Liberty. I pull up to the side clubhouse entrance. We drop off the clubs to the very nice attendance. They even want to valet the car. Yeah, no. I’m too embarrassed to let anyone other than me and a few friends into the Liberty.
12:00PM – Mike and Kevin are here, right on time. I’ve known both cats for about a decade. Mike and Kevin are best friends. Mike is a former roommate of mine. Kevin is a friend, and like me, is an avid golfer.
12:05PM – The scene is straight out of Caddyshack. The best part – the slobs get to play Bushwood today.
We grab lunch at the outdoor patio near the pool. The food is good, the drinks are better, but the atmosphere is the best. I’m pretty sure we saw Spaulding at the pool. If we only had a Baby Ruth.
It’s possible I might have as much fun doing non-golf things at Medinah. Between the pool, the skeet shooting range, and the clubhouse, I could’ve been set. I’ve never shot a gun in my life, but as they say, when in Rome.
2:24PM – Finally. The first tee.
We meet our caddies Neal and Niall. I couldn’t make this up. The names are pronounced phonetically. Two of the nicest kids you’ll meet. Two of the better caddies I’ve had. They just didn’t know what they were in for.
I was more nervous on the first tee here than I was at Pebble. After I hooked my tee shot well left, I pushed my breakfast ball down the first cut of the right rough. Both balls are playable, but to speed up play, I use the breakfast ball(thanks guys). Kevin has the best drive, pummeling one 300+ right down broadway.
3:05PM – The par-3 second is 150 yards over water. Not long, but it will raise your blood pressure. David’s adventure begins here. The kid who plays once every other year pummels his tee shot. It hits the cart path beyond the green. His ball comes to rest at the top of the hill beyond the path. At least he’s dry, right?
Wrong. For his next magic trick, David’s second must carry the cart path and the bunker without rolling over the green and into the water. Well, it ends up in the bunker. The third shot? In the drink. To his credit, he was out of the sand in one.
If you end up in either back bunker at the second, play the bump and run or the Texas wedge. These bunkers have no lip. Better safe than sorry. You were warned.
3:25PM – Medinah’s test truly begins on three. Even former members agree. This par-4 is a dogleg left and long. I had a couple of pulled shots in the trees, but still saved bogey.
As we finish the third, two members give Mike the stare down for wearing casual shoes. Mike stares right back. Oh the humanity…
Slobs 1, Snobs 0.
3:50PM – I need a change of shorts after holing a downhill, left-to-right, twenty footer to save bogey.
The fourth is long, tight, the green is up the hill and on a plateau. Leave it short and you roll back down the hill. Leave it long and you better be lucky like me. Four here is insanely good.
4:50PM – My four best shots on the day came at 6 and 7. I carefully made a bogey on six, three-jacking it from 25 feet.
Seven was a different story. The longest and toughest par-five on the golf course, I pured driver and hit a solid 3-wood. I was still 80 yards from the green. Wedge and a birdie time? Not so much. I shanked my wedge into the right bunker and made seven.
Another reason for the difficulty at Medinah – uneven lies. The wedge shot was significant above my feet. I setup properly, but nerves kicked in. All I could think about was chunking the shot. So I used all hands for the shank.
Even when you are in the fairway, this course still teases you. It’s just not fair!
5:20PM – We finish 9. Yep, you read that right. Almost three hours to finish the round. We were slow, sure. But my brother rarely plays, Mike and I were all over the place, and oh yeah, it was 97 degrees with 110% humidity.
And of course, it’s Medinah. It’s really, really hard.
5:30PM – After pummeling my drive on 10, I have my most interesting shot of the day. My ball lies in the first cut and sits significantly below my feet. What do I do? The dreaded double cross. I pull my ball so far left, I hit the fence that separates 10 from Lake Street. I ending up making an 8.
6:15PM – 245 yards, downhill, over water. All carry. We all pull driver. Only Kevin comes close, hitting a tree on the left and having his ball land two yards beyond the green. Welcome to the 13th at Medinah.
We played our actual tee shots from the white tees and I made my first par of the day. I hit the green in regulation too!
6:35PM – We all clear the water on the par-5 fourteenth. We all mess up our seconds. Somehow we all make bogeys.
The 14th is long and undulating, like most of Medinah No. 3. It’s more challenging because the green is similar to an island green. Sure, it’s reachable in two. But the green is surrounded by sand in the front, trees on the side, and tall rough in the back. Laying up isn’t the worst idea here.
7:00PM – The Sergio tree. Well, what’s left of it. The tree was torn down during the Rees Jones-lead renovations a few years back. All that’s left is the stump. I do the obligatory Sergio run-and-jump. But I can’t even take myself seriously so I do the metrosexual version of it. I don’t know what that means.
7:30PM – Birdie.
Doing what no American did during the Sunday singles matches at the Ryder Cup, I made bird on 17. It. Just. Barely. Curled. In. My one and only bird on the day was from 20 feet. Nerves of steel on the tee shot. I’ve finally conquered the medium length par-3 over water.
7:40PM – The walk up 18th. I’ve played St. Andrews, Pebble, and Torrey Pines. But never with friends. This walk is much more special. The boys aren’t the sentimental types, but I’ll never forget it.
7:45PM – Of course, my third shot is in a nasty lie and below my feet in the greenside rough. I see my girlfriend and sister pull in as I walk into my chip shot. Talk about pressure! And…I chip it to 8 feet. I’ll take it. America wins!
7:50PM – We’ve made it. We survived the heat, humidity, high rough, fast greens, the sunset, and two chotchy members.
The 8 foot par save on 18 doesn’t matter(I left it six inches below the hole). The score doesn’t matter(I broke 100 though!). Having my friends, siblings, and of course, Liz with me was all that mattered.
Unless I win the lotto, this is probably my one shot at Medinah. I gave it all I had. I’m incredibly fortunate to play Medinah once, especially when it happened three months to the day before the final round of the Ryder Cup. No complaints.
For those who get the chance to play Medinah – be straight, bring your short game, and most importantly, have fun.
For all those who never get the chance, just know this – the slobs won today.
O-lé, Olé, Olé, Olé
Alright, already. I’ve heard enough your damn song. I get it. The Euros won the Ryder Cup.
It was the most magical sporting event I’ve ever been too, and I wasn’t even there on Sunday. I did make it there Saturday though. The last time I felt that electricity in a venue was the 2009 Winter Classic at Wrigley Field. Whether it was pumping up Bubba on the first tee, yelling “War Eagle” on every Dufner tee shot, or watching the great Ian Poulter hole putt after putt, it was pretty special. It helps that Medinah Country Club was in pristine condition. When Davis Love III demanded the rough be cut, we all knew the Ryder Cup would become a birdie-fest. Right, we were. The conditions were way easier than when I played in June. That’s a different story for a different day.
However, the day that we will all remember – and that anyone is talking about – is Sunday. It’s easy to second guess DLIII. I have. Tiger Woods should not have been the 12th man. We learned that lesson in 2002 at the Belfry. But that’s not why the Americans lost. Not playing Phil and Keegan on Saturday afternoon is also not why the Americans lost. Maybe Furyk and Stricker weren’t the best captains picks? But that’s not the main reason either.
The Euros played better on Sunday. That’s it. That’s the only reason.
Each line up was front-loaded. The Euro lineup a little more front-loaded than the Americans, but that didn’t matter much. In the end, Donald, Rose, McIlroy, and Poulter closed strong. Bubba, Webb, Keegan, and Phil did not. That was it. Ballgame.
Even the hottest golfer on the planet, Brandt Snedeker, got pasted by Paul Lawrie.
Even Lee Westwood, who was the worst Euro golfer this past weekend, earned a singles win.
The Euros just played better when it mattered. Period. I’m just sad that it happened on my home turf. It was the worst case scenario on what was arguably one of our best weekends. And one of my best weekends too.
Matt's Box Seat Observations 