The Golf Blog: Is the glass half full or half empty for Tiger Woods at the major?
????????????• Tiger Woods and it’s 2018. pic.twitter.com/pFT35ZIpyU
— Tiger Woods Legion (@TWlegion) August 12, 2018
The Golf Blog says: After Adam Scott bogeyed the final hole, Tiger Woods finished solo second at the PGA Championship, just 2 shots back of the winner Brooks Koepka, aka Hercules. Tiger put on a courageous, spectacular show on Sunday, shooting 6-under 64. It was his lowest round on Sunday at a major. Many commentators, including Nick Faldo, think Tiger will win another major, given his performance at the Open and the PGA Championships. So are you on board, too? We lay out the case for why you should and shouldn’t be.
Glass half-full
1. Tiger Woods was in contention on Sunday at the last two majors, tied for the lead or one shot back in the back nine.
2. Tiger Woods’ new putter seems to be creating some new magic. Tiger had 23 putts on Sunday at the PGA.
3. Tiger Woods’ short game is back to being incredible. No more yips.
4. Tiger Woods’ determination and focus are unmatched.
Glass half-empty
1. Tiger Woods will be 43 years old at the next major, The Masters. (Phil Mickelson did win the Open at 43, and, of course, Jack Nicklaus, the Masters, at 46.)
2. Tiger Woods’ driver continues to bedevil him. It’s a huge problem that has only become bigger, given that Brook Koepka and other young players are bombing it off the tee with decent accuracy. Former swing coach Hank Haney (in)famously described Tiger’s fear with the driver in the book “The Big Miss.” In the book, published back in 2012, Haney suggests that Tiger’s problem with the driver is also mental, and it may be unsolvable to fix. On Sunday at the PGA, it certainly looked that way. When Tiger needed a birdie or even eagle on 17, he blocked his drive right nearly into the water. The reason why Tiger scored on Sunday was his incredible short-iron and short game, plus only 23 putts!! It was Seve-like. But you can’t expect to play like Seve and win majors today.
3. Tiger Woods had numerous surgeries. His back seems to be holding up this year. But how long can he depend on having his body hold up?
4. Tiger Woods hasn’t won a major since 2008. The longest Jack Nicklaus went without winning a major is 6 years, from 1980 to 1986 (when Jack won his last major).
5. The competition is younger, stronger, and better than in 2000. Brooks Koepka, Jordan Spieth, Dustin Johnson, Rory McIlroy, Justin Thomas, Jason Day, etc.
6. The golf equipment has made golf courses set up for long distances at the majors (except for the Open), more often favoring the big hitters. This hurts Tiger because his driver is not reliable (see No. 2 above).
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