Why can't Tiger come from behind in a major?
Though I suppose 72 was not a bad score on a real tough course, Tiger managed only one birdie in his closing round (and none after the 4th hole), and he had to work pretty hard for a lot of his pars. As I recall, Tiger had the same uninspired finish at Augusta, too.
Today, meanwhile, Cabrera had five birdies in his closing round, Furyk had four, and even Bubba Watson and David Toms managed two birdies on the closing nine. Of course, these folks all had a number of bogeys, but (unlike Tiger) at least they made a few real runs at the lead.
Tiger has very few gaps on his golfing resume, but his failure to come from behind to win a major certainly is notable.
12 Comments:
I may be totally off-base with this comment, but I think Tiger has lost just a bit of that "fire in the belly" that comes with being mega rich.
While it surely means a lot to him to win the Open, it had to mean a lot more to Cabrera. Had Tiger won today, it would not have changed his life...it simply would have added another notch on the "Can he catch Jack" belt.
And, as much as I love Tiger, it was fun to see someone ENJOY the win as much as Angel clearly was. I truly miss the joie de vivre that guys like Trevino used to exhibit on the course... Too many sport psychologists have made the game boring and stone-faced. I understand why they do it...I just don't like it.
And is Tiger's inability to come-from-behind significant? Yea, I think so. After all, it's one of the attributes which we love in truly great atheletes like Joe Montana, John Elway, Jordon, Gretsky and many others.
Ron
I think people are making too much of the "can't come from behind" talk. Woods didn't lose the tournament. Cabrera won it. He was better than Woods today, so why not talk about him?
It is fun to see someone win where it will change their life. Furyk or Woods would not have been affected much.
I think Furyk made the right decision to hit driver on 17, got a bad break. That's a tough hole. Damned if you do type of thing.
Woods just didn't have his "A" game today, and he needed it to beat Cabrera. Cabrera had the round of his lifetime, just like Champbell. Right time at the right place. Look what Campbell has done since then! Woods has got just ungodly game. Think about it, he's got his "B" game and one guy beats him! If Tiger has a few putts drop yesterday he wins by a shot when he played amazing golf...nearly flawless, the putts didn't drop is all....that's called golf. If all you had to do was show-up it woudn't be so amazing what Woods has done in his career.
I agree with Ron. As much as I dislike Miller, he was right that Tiger had a million chances to finally come from behind yesterday. Double -- from the middle of the fairway -- three, bogey the birdie hole 11. He just hit bad shots that were relatively easy (fluffed shots, left putts short, bad sand shots, etc, etc).
Seems like driver was his best club yesterday!
Anybody ever consider that he's doesn't just want Jack's record of 19 major wins, but also wants Jack's record of 18 second place major finishes?
Just kidding.
I forget the exact holes, but the two duffed chips that led to double bogey on the front and the bogey on the back on the short par four where he was in the middle of the fairway 80 yards out. Even the failure to get up and down for birdie on 17. I'm sure he's scratching his head this morning over those shots. It does make you think he has some problem not holding the lead on the tee on Sunday.
At the same time, look at it this way. The guy is 1st, 1st, 2nd, 2nd in his last four majors. Oh, and he won 6 PGA Tour events in a row in the process. Zach Johnson and Angel Cabrera? Like Rich Beem, it's unlikely they will ever win another tournament, much less even contend in a major. Mickelson (faking a wrist injury) and Goosen didn't even make the cut. Els shot 80 over. Overall, Tiger has only enhanced his legacy with the last two "failures".
I believe Tiger's midset has shifted because he plays such a limited schedule that includes only the toughest tournaments. It seems that instead of a "go deep" mentality he feels he can win by just hanging on and grinding out the tough pars. Unfortunately, when he finaly realizes he has to make birdie he presses and it doesn't come. There were plenty of birdie opportunities this weekend...he made only four in two rounds.
Memo to Tiger: We all liked watching you more when you dismantled Pebble in 2000 and had that "step on their throat" approach to winning. This grinding mentality is boring and your competitors are too good and too many.
Nobody in golf is anywhere near Tiger's level. This isn't tennis, that's all. In any given week, a Ben Curtis, Todd Hamilton, Bob May, Rich Beem, Zach Johnson or Angel Cabrera is going to come out of field and challenge the top of the leaderboard, major or no major. None of these guys will ever be heard from again. Only two players over the last 3 or 4 years have played at a high level - Mickelson and Furyk. Phil has won three majors and challenged in others. Furyk has won one and finsished 2nd twice. Tiger's level is just insane. Only Nicklaus has a similar record. In the end, Tiger will surpass all of his records, except the second place in a major record. Jack will always own that one.
I have to disagree with something Daryl said. Zach Johnson won a tournament within a matter of weeks of winning at Augusta. Cabrera has already won two of the biggest titles in Europe: the BMW PGA Championship and the B&H International. His win yesterday was his 7th top-10 in a major. He was one shot away from joining Lawrie, Van de Velda and Leonard in the 1999 British Open play-off. Look at his record in the US Open: it's not bad for someone's who not based on the PGA tour.
What's with Woods' obsession for body building? If I didn't know any better (and I don't) I'd say he's on a major steroid regimen ala Jose Canseco or Mark McGuire. The difference appears to be his head; it hasn't physically swelled like the rest of his body. He looked like a freak on a couple of those walking-up-the fairway shots.
Has tiger lost some of his fire? No, no, no, and did I mention NO!!! Out of Tiger's last four majors that he has played in he has won two of them, and finished second in the other two. What more are you asking for? On Sunday we saw a determined Woods walk onto the course. He was focused, calm, and poised. Yes he had some mistakes, but honestly what more are you asking for. Angel Cabrea played a hell of a round and he deserved to win after shooting a 69 on Sunday. But lets look at Tiger. He may not play in as many tournaments as he used to when he was younger, but wouldn't you want to have a little bit of time off. Tiger has been playing golf since he was a little kid, and that's all he's been doing. He deserves to relax and start a family; golf will not always be his number one priority. Tiger may be richer, and he may have a new baby girl, but he still burns with a fire to win.
Steve - Are you his caddie who becomes more eloquent after a few drinks? You speak as if from the Woods' sanctum.
Where was Phil? Where was Vijay? Where were any of the other top players? Tiger is the only player who can rise to the top of a major's leader board consistently. When his game is on, he blows the field away and when his game is not quite on, he is still in the top three in the world. Any of the top pros can win if they find that magic slot for four rounds. Tiger can almost manufacture that phenomenon at will. I’m a Tiger fan but it’s great fun to see him struggle. To have this ‘coming from behind’ thing hanging over his head will only motivate him more. So far it’s the one thing he hasn’t been able to do.
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