Did Tiger play 18 for second place?

[jerebear21]

his post interview said he was half a club all day

 

i'm guessing this was the case with 18 as well; that pin location is stupid

[BrianMcG]

Maybe Reed should have hit the 2-iron.

 

Coming in to that green with a short iron didn't seem to help most of the players. They couldn't keep it on the top shelf.

[dlygrisse]

his post interview said he was half a club all day

 

i'm guessing this was the case with 18 as well; that pin location is stupid

 

Nawww...the pin location was fine for the 72nd hole of a tournament, what do you want a hole that 1/2 the field is making birdie on, on Sunday? It was a tough pin and it required a great shot to get it close, Tiger wasn't hitting it close with his irons all day, why would this be any different?

 

Tiger played well, but not well enough to win, that's all there really is to it.

[dlygrisse]

Maybe Reed should have hit the 2-iron.

 

Coming in to that green with a short iron didn't seem to help most of the players. They couldn't keep it on the top shelf.

Exactly, the correct shot to that hole is kind of a 3/4 skipping mid iron, with a bit of fade on it. Dead hands swing. Tiger used to be able to hit those on demand in his prime when needed. He is close, but he isn't "back" quite yet.

[ago33]

18 is a hard hole and we are critiquing one hole out of a 18 hole round.

 

If anything, it was because he was forcing putts and they went dropping.

[dlygrisse]

18 is a hard hole and we are critiquing one hole out of a 18 hole round.

 

If anything, it was because he was forcing putts and they went dropping.

 

Right, you can't leave yourself with 20-40 footers all day and expect to make very many, even the best putters in the world rarely make many of those. Sure sometimes JS or Tiger will get hot and make 3 or 4 a round, but how often does that really happen?

 

You need a bunch of putts under 20 feet, preferably 10 feet, if you want to go low.

[Marco]

I thought he was gonna stuff his 7i, but he probably mishit a bit

[redfirebird08]

18 is a hard hole and we are critiquing one hole out of a 18 hole round.

 

If anything, it was because he was forcing putts and they went dropping.

 

Right, you can't leave yourself with 20-40 footers all day and expect to make very many, even the best putters in the world rarely make many of those. Sure sometimes JS or Tiger will get hot and make 3 or 4 a round, but how often does that really happen?

 

You need a bunch of putts under 20 feet, preferably 10 feet, if you want to go low.

 

That's true enough, but that's not the only reason he lost. I counted at least 10 putts inside 10 feet for the week that he missed. 4 of them were inside 7 feet on Thursday. He missed a 4.5 footer for par on Sunday. He lost by a single stroke. Make just one of those putts and he is in a playoff. Then there is the subject of his par 5 scoring. He needs to clean up that aspect of his game if he wants to win. He hit good tee shot and 2nd shot on the 14th Sunday and still walked away with par. That one is arguably the biggest one that cost him the playoff spot.

 

All of that said, if you told him after he missed the cut at Riviera that he would have a 38 foot to make a playoff at Valspar...he would take that all day, every day, and twice on Sundays. He is clearly moving the right direction with his game right now.

[Darin322]

FWIW, there were only 7 birdies on 18 the entire day. The average approach of these 7 was 154 yards to just about 21.5 feet.

 

Hadwin 164 39'4"

McGirt 163 14'7"

Cejka 142 26'10"

Martin 167 6'11"

Schenk 135 5'5"

Donald 147 44'4"

Kang 163 12'12"

154 21'5"

[4thand11]

his post interview said he was half a club all day

 

i'm guessing this was the case with 18 as well; that pin location is stupid

Yeah as much as I lol'ed at Reed's putt, I hate that green. Watching a bunch of top pros hit putts that roll back to where they started is dumb. More like a mini-golf 18th, only thing missing is the clown face to hit the ball into.

 

I have no problem with Tiger's play on 18, he gave himself a putt to tie at least. Miss the fairway and you're probably looking at a chip in to tie. He played the percentages and gave himself a shot. It's not a birdie hole.

[NevinW]

How do you know he didn't miss-hit the tee shot or the second shot slightly? Playing for second??????

[disco111]

Tiger played the hole correctly, as he did all 3 previously. Granted, his putter was cold, but leaving yourself long putts is not a way to go low. Where he lost the tournament, at least IMO, was the par 5 / 3 putt. I'm totally amazed at his level of play and his swing with a fused back. The man has a level of determination that is difficult to comprehend. This bodes well for the Masters...........Phil winning and Tiger charging...........would love to see them head to head on a Sunday final back nine for the win and then a playoff. The golfing world and WRX would go nuts.

 

I wonder if Reeds locker door needs to be changed, after the 18th putt and chip review...........

[MK7Golf21]

18 is a hard hole and we are critiquing one hole out of a 18 hole round.

 

If anything, it was because he was forcing putts and they went dropping.

 

Right, you can't leave yourself with 20-40 footers all day and expect to make very many, even the best putters in the world rarely make many of those. Sure sometimes JS or Tiger will get hot and make 3 or 4 a round, but how often does that really happen?

 

You need a bunch of putts under 20 feet, preferably 10 feet, if you want to go low.

 

exactly, that long putt on 17, I would be lucky to make that putt if you give me 10 tries in a row. I make a bomb like that once in awhile in casual rounds, given the circumstance he was in pretty crazy he actually made it. To make another one on 18 is just very unlikely

[Jimbud]

Only at WRX a living legend plays like a true champion, can't win and is questioned for the "way" he played the round. We at WRX are the Kings of Hackdom lol

 

LOL, Kind of like the guys over on the Harley Davidson forum who never use spell check, complain about everything non-American and call cars cages. But can't figure out why millenials don't want to be like them or buy their motorcycles. The interlinks is a wonderful thing.....

[Darin322]

How do you know he didn't miss-hit the tee shot or the second shot slightly? Playing for second??????

 

He did not miss-hit it. Distances hit on 18:

Round 1 - 252

Round 2 - 252

Round 3 - 257

Round 4 - 258

[jerebear21]

having play that hole a crap load of time, we would always know when the greenskeeper didn't get laid the night before if the pin is in that quadrant

 

the slope there is steeper than what tv shows. about 45 degree up hill.

[pmo09]

Yes, he is hurting for money and wanted to guarantee the large paycheck

 

/s

[dlygrisse]

having play that hole a crap load of time, we would always know when the greenskeeper didn't get laid the night before if the pin is in that quadrant

 

the slope there is steeper than what tv shows. about 45 degree up hill.

 

To me it's a great Sunday location on 18 for the best players in the world. Reed totally blew it, Tiger didn't come through, but he had 17 holes prior he could have birdied. I think it's a great finishing hole. They are the best, if they want to win they need to figure out how to negotiate that green.

[Bye]

Love Snedekers face when Tiger’s putt goes in on 17.

 

Tough to get it close to that pin on 18 from the wrong side of the fairway. He gave himself a chance.

[VNutz]

445 yard par 4, uphill, into the wind, with a big shelf in the middle of the green. Easy birdie hole. #WRXlife

[worldslasttwfan]

Two things i had in mind.

Tiger wanted to hit a fade to tough pin location tucked back.

It is easier to hit a fade with a longer club.

Tiger didn't want his ball to land and spin back with a shorter iron.

[AaronSmart]

Gave himself a look for birdie with an iron, was the right call.

 

He was on borrowed time making that putt on 17. And as we know, he missed many birdie putts from closer range, that he needed to win without a playoff.

 

If he was 4 or 5 back to the start the day, and draining all his birdie putts, now comes to the 18th tee, sure, fire away and get yourself closer to maybe go for the pin, but even still, tough.

[eagle1997]

No.

 

^^ this.

[eagle1997]

So you think Tiger was playing for the money?

 

This is a valid point. But you could also turn it around and say why would he be motivated to be aggressive? He's not chasing Jack's Valspar record, and certainly doesn't need the 1st place money.

 

you're making my head hurt.

 

#WinterIsAlmostOver

[WidespreadPanic]

If you think Tiger played for 2nd place then you have no idea who tiger woods is. He needed it in the fairway to get close, and he has all the ability in the world to stick a 7 iron. With that said, he wasn't sticking his mid irons all day, so I would've liked to have seen a shorter club in his hands.

[WidespreadPanic]

his post interview said he was half a club all day

 

i'm guessing this was the case with 18 as well; that pin location is stupid

I thought it was a really bad pin. Only 7 birdies all day, and much more bogeys.

[BForrester]

Shows how little confidence he has in his woods.

[SwooshLT]

The guy hit 28......28 greens on the weekend....only made 8 birds with 33 putts on sunday....someone mention the 3 putt on 14....that's where he blew it....or the wedge miss on 11 ....the other par 5.

 

4 tourneys back ; trending in the right direction.....never played Riviera all that well..... I'm loving the fact that he's grinding out scores despite his driver issues....shoring up his game both mentally and physically.....might not dominate like 2000.....primarily due to equipment changes but he'll use experience, guile and guts to win and win a lot....

[DavePelz4]

I'm starting to think that when the OP posted the thread, he didn't try his very best so he was posting for second place. You took the safe thread Sir. Next time, post to win.

[wildcatden]

Perhaps Tiger needed the money so a 2nd place finish was a wise decision?