Roundup: Don't Let Tiger's Chunked-Wedge Strewn 77 Ruin Memories Of Tuesday's Magnificent Press Conference
Okay, so he still a ways to go recovering the short game he mysteriously changed to match the Foley swing years and he was the worst player by a lot in round one of the Hero World Challenge, but at least Tiger has (A) his back intact, and (B) his upbeat press conference from Tuesday where he weaved through rallykillers and stuck the landing. 
As for a 77 that was four strokes worse than anyone else in the field, Dave Shedloski says the lone positive came in the form of new re-injury. Maybe. There was the explosiveness too.
Oh, sure, there was more. “Shot patterns were fantastic. And as I think all of you saw, I got my power back and I got my speed back. It’s nice to be able to start launching it again. That’s a very good sign.”
That said, his new-old swing didn’t do him many favors on his former home course, and his short game came up, well, considerably short of the standards of your average 20-handicapper, let alone the No. 24 player in the world.
“It’s weird,” said Woods, who mis-hit four chips and a bunker shot. “I didn’t think I hit it that bad. My short game was awful. It was just one of those days where really nothing went my way.”
The explosive chunk wedges were "shocking" (Steve DiMeglio in USA Today) and according to Doug Ferguson of the AP:
It was the 10th time in 12 rounds that he failed to break par since his first return in June.
Even so, some of the shots were shocking, especially around the green.
On the par-5 17th, he hit his second shot just left of the green, pin-high in a deep collection area. Woods no sooner hit his chip that he angrily swung back-handed toward his divot, knowing what was coming next. The ball didn’t come close to reaching the green, and Woods turned his back as the ball rolled back toward his feet.
Jason Sobel of GolfChannel.com noted that the ball striking wasn't so bad.
All told, he left five greenside wedge shots short of the actual greens, chunking four of them and leaving a bunker shot in the sand. If his ball-striking – which included 8-of-14 fairways and 11-of-18 greens in regulation – was a newfound bright spot during this latest comeback attempt, his short game was a dark crater of unfulfilled intentions.
Cameron Morfit of golf.com wondered about the chunks this way and called the start to Tiger 4.0 "inauspicious."
By this time people were starting to talk. Did he have vertigo? Had an optometrist botched his prescription? Watching Woods mangle all these chip shots was like watching Bobby Flay burn all the grilled cheese sandwiches.
After blistering a drive down the fairway at the par-5 17th, and getting up around the green with his second shot, Woods chunked his fourth chip of the day, this time recovering to save par. “It certainly is surprising that I could hit chip shots that poorly,” he said afterward. “I just flubbed ’em.”
Most disturbing of all the observations came from Jason Day, who saw none of the chunked shots in Monday's practice round, as reported by Golfweek's Adam Schupak.
“Monday, he was chipping fine. It was on point,” Day said. “It was surprising today to see him stub a lot of chip shots. Uphill and into the grain is very difficult, but to see that many out of Tiger Woods is very surprising.”
Robert Lusetich was the least forgiving after hearing Day's remarks, noting that Tiger "used to be able to score better than anyone who ever played this game" and "now Woods turns 72s into 77."
Why? He can't chip and he can't putt.
Chips into the grain are virtually guaranteed chunks. Woods hit four fat chips on Thursday, and not the PGA Tour-caliber chunks. These were like the handiwork of 20-handicapper Sunday hackers, laying-the-sod over chips that went a few feet and rolled back to his feet.
They were embarrassing.
Former instructor Hank Haney Tweeted a couple of interesting thoughts as the chunks unfolded...
I don't think I ever saw Tiger shoot over par at Isleworth, he will come back in 33 for 74 and still win the tournament, tough course
— Hank Haney (@HankDHaney) December 4, 2014
Not making excuses but Isleworth is one of the hardest courses ever to chip at, u r always chipping off a tight lie and into heavy grain
— Hank Haney (@HankDHaney) December 4, 2014
No Laying Up Vined the chunked shots. Hat tip to Alex Myers for sharing at The Loop.
ESPN.com's Bob Harig predicted the reaction would look past health and to the wedge performance.
Woods actually was pleased, for the most part, with the way he hit the ball -- he didn't miss a fairway on the back nine after hitting just one on the front. And at this point -- four months removed from his last competitive round, at least a month prior to his next tournament -- that's a positive development.
Even more so was the smile Woods flashed when asked if he was in any pain.
"I have absolutely no pain," Woods said. "I haven't said that in a long time. It's very exciting to stand up there and hit some of the drives, especially on the back nine. It was nice to start launching it."
It should be noted Woods displayed similar wedge game issues at times in 2014, especially at Torrey Pines. It's an issue that's not going away, sadly. We've all been there in some way, but we were also never one of the greatest to play the game.
Thursday, December 4, 2014 at 06:48 PM
Reader Comments (58)
HE'S NOT BACK!!!!
.
If he had played well, well it's a silly season event, he hasn't proven anything.
It is a silly season event, and I will be interested to see if he can find it again.
There are some in here who frightening.
Did others in the field struggle chipping Hank?
LOL
You can't make this stuff up.
Here's what I found curious: Golf Channel's Terry Gannon said the network asked for an on-camera interview but Wood turned them down, preferring to talk elsewhere. HUH? You stiff the network that's carrying the tournament which has your name on it? Hmmmm..... sounds to me like the old surly, grudge-holding Tiger IS BACK! (Right, Brandel?)
His pitching will come around. It got severely mangled by Foley and his S&T swing he was using since 2010. Anyone remember the infamous photo of Tiger chunking a short pitch at the 2010 Ryder Cup, when he was new to the Foley swing? It became a meme, because of the Cigar Smoking Man. The ball hit a TV camera. That was the beginning of Tiger's once brilliant pitching game becoming mangled for five golf seasons.
He pitched it the best when he was with Haney, from 2004-2009. He hit masterful pitch shots at St. Andrews in 2005, at Augusta in 2005, at Torrey in 2008. He hit terrible pitch shots at Torrey in 2014 because his technique was awful, as it was today. Once he gets his technique back, he'll be fine. If he's going to be watching old tapes of himself hitting golf shots, he should revisit how he used to hit his pitches in the early to mid 2000s, up until after the 2010 Masters. Then it all went to shi#.
His backswings looked to be about 2x faster than what the downswings needed to be. I'll put it down as "rust" both physically and mentally. But to do it FOUR times??!!
Heck...Homer Simpson only bought a bucket of warm prawns twice. C'mon Tiger...tighten up the ole game asap. Speith could've spotted your 5/side yesterday ffs
Here's a tip from a crap golfer (to other crap golfers) grip a 7 iron steeply and hit it off the toe of the club, hands forward, accelerate- almost impossible to chunk. And if hit thin it goes about the same distance. Certain to get up and down in 3 shots- crap golfers have modest goals.
I do not know why so many want him to go gently into that good night. Or not so gently.
Strange stuff.
Tough to see him scratch out the majors he needs to pass Jack now that he is amongst the pack.
But he has been on the practice facility with that. That's all he did every day at the compound. And contrary to what Hank said in his tweet, according to Tiger they weren't tight lies, they were grainy. Perhaps a bit early, but perhaps a sign as well. Some really great professionals have gotten the yips over the years. I suggest he lay off the Starbucks and energy drinks. And while a few of the posts above were probably joking, once you get negative thoughts in your brain it's hard to erase fully, especially when the pressure is really on. Chamblee made a good point about the tightness of fairways overall in golf and how more and more guys are struggling. Hell, look at Kaymer at the US Open last year, putted every time from around the green. Pretty sure he's the one Ogilvy was talking about in the GD article, not Tim Clark.
BDF +1
Or, and I think this is what you were going for, this site has cornered the market on unintelligent people making unintelligent and uninformed comments on things they don't really know much about?
Ha! Just messing with you.
"Not so fast," the old Tiger swing says as soon as it gets on camera... "You wiped me out of the picture after all I did for you and now you just expect me to come right back to you and do your bidding...? Here. Here's a nice easy chip. Let's see you Mahan it for the cameras. Four times. Do I make my point, Big Cat...?"
The only encouraging thing I saw yesterday was that The Man got so mad at himself by the time he walked off 17 green that he went to 18 tee and said, "F**k it," and just ripped the ball 330 yards down the center of the fairway to finish the day with a par. If he can let himself get angry at himself for what he did to himself, then he might, just might have a chance at healing what he still hasn't healed inside.
And like the rest of the golf world, I'll be watching. Because there is still no more compelling story in sports than to see if a mortal can regain his footing after being abandoned by gods that he insulted by taking them for granted.
@ benseattle, I'm not sure many people are really placing a lot of importance on what happened, but to think nobody is going to talk about it is silly. Most 12 handicappers could have chipped and pitched better than him yesterday. There is no way that is not going to get talked about. Does it mean anything for the long term? maybe not, but there is no way he can come out and do what he did yesterday and not have people talk about it. I've seen guys take their clubs out of the garage after a long winter and play better than him with no practice.
His coach needs to give him a tip: "Tiger, hit the ball before the ground."
"But, it's a different release pattern."
"What?"
"This, what we are doing here, it's a different release pattern."
"Uhm, ..., I don't really understand what you are saying, and I'm a guy who jumped off a diving board trying to swing a golf club on a site called Devoted Golfer, - and even I don't understand what you are saying."
"You now, the pattern, of the release......it's different."
"ok.." "ah,"
"Hit the ball before the ground."
There are times when I'm facing a short chip and can't possibly imagine any way to get the club head to move through the ball. Forget about fairway shots from inside 80 yards...oh man, I need a drink.
Thousands of pieces everywhere and another futile attempt to start putting them all back together again while hoping to convince everybody that he didn't really fall off the wall in the first place.
It was easy when the legend had its own momentum and an army of enablers was willing. Resurrection at this stage is just an impossible burden.
RIP Pre-2009 Tiger.
Sorry, Press..... maybe I wasn't very clear. Of COURSE people are going to talk about the latest TW "comeback," especially when he chops it around to an opening 77 complete with chips and pitches that look like the result of a three-martini lunch. All I'm saying is that we can't read too much into this single round.... it's the opening salvo of what will be a long year. I get amused when I read commenters say "This proves it: he's done." "It's over." "He'll never win again." "Guy should take up tennis." Etc. Hell.... I have no idea of Woody's future but like the folks who enjoy flaming car wrecks -- I'll be watching. Prediction for today: somewhere between 77 and 67. As if it means anything.
But on the hating thing, some of it is racist, some of it is the not so good way Woods conducts himself with interviews, autographs, the media etc. but a lot of it might be a reaction to the overbearing adulation how some seem to bow to his every move, media and fans alike. When Woods does something great, you would think it has never been done before, such is the spell he has on some. An example would be one video of a range shot and some would think the glory days have returned. The truth is, if he wins another major or two, that would be an achievement in itself, never mind dominate the game again.
He then suggested a 3 wood ( ok) or a putter, (very bad idea from those distances over ''into'' bermuda). Watching a rerun of Frasier made more sense than listening to these excuse drenched boot licking slurpers
While I wanted TW to do well, I am now hoping Reed takes him by a dozen today. Not to diss TW, but to make these talking heads true colors shine.
I hope Woods will get it going, but the chip shot with no forward press is doomed to fail, especially into the grain.