O'Hair's Caddy - Good Grief!

[tatumcat]

Interesting point of view. Sean did not choke (word) though, but did not play well either. He and Tiger have had quite opposite upbringings, and their dads had very different methods of coaching their children.

 

I agree with anton. The fear of failure under pressure is something Sean's dad seem to unknowingly instill into Sean's overall character makeup. Thus the dependency on his caddy so much.

 

Challenging authority opinion under immense pressure is a crazy phenomenon.

 

WHAT????? :man_in_love: :man_in_love: :man_in_love:

[victor2000]

Interesting point of view. Sean did not choke (word) though, but did not play well either. He and Tiger have had quite opposite upbringings, and their dads had very different methods of coaching their children.

 

 

If that wasn't a choke then what is choking, he blew a 5 shot lead, he shot a 73 in really good scoring conditions? It is funny how people are scared to say someone choked, his performance was not much better than Norman in the 96 Masters, he was shaking in his shoes the entire day, not thinking clearly and not playing to win. He was playing not to lose.

 

If he would have shot one under and Tiger shot a 63 then fine it was not a choke, but the guy shot over par and hit some bad shots under pressure, he did it throughout the day, he never really pulled it together. And clearly he could not make a putt when needed.

So while I was rooting for O'Hair all day, I would really love to see someone knock off Tiger when battling for the lead, he blew a 5 shot lead, if he shoots even par he wins plain and simple.

 

This tourney was the classic case of Tiger making the putts when needed and others just not being able to handle the pressure even though they clearly outplayed Tiger for the good part of 71 holes.

 

Totally Agree. That was a 100% choke. Granted, I understand choking when Tiger is in your group but it can't be called anything but a choke. 73 on the easiest scoring conditions of the week??

 

If you've watched a lot of O'Hair like I have, you could just SEE how nervous he was out there. Johnny Miller said it more than once, about how uneasy he looked out there. I like O'Hair but his nerves got the best of him. C H O K E.

 

I have one question for both of you guys: Have you ever choked and hit a GOOD golf shot?

[Golf_Beauty]

I saw this afternoon on Golf Central that Tesori is putting the blame squarely on his own shoulders. He says he's been watching the coverage over and over again, and that he just did not take the temp change into consideration and under-clubbed his player. So whether is was O'Hair's lack of execution of Tesori's wrong information, they both screwed the pooch. They're pros: considering where Tiger was (in the rough) they should have taken the path of least resistance.

 

He's doing what any good caddy would do. Not letting a player (a young player in this case) blame himself for the shot, which could cause the player to lose confidence in himself.

 

I'm not sure if you're agreeing or disagreeing, but young player or not, Sean's the one who has to execute the shot. He's been playing long enough and in contention a few times to know when adrenaline (remember Sawgrass?) or lack thereof is in play. Besides, he (Tesori) realized his mistake when on 17 he said, "Obviously, we now know temp is a factor and the ball's not going to carry as far...." or something to that effect. So yeah, he did the right thing, but Sean has to carry some of the blame too.

[SoCalTitleist]

O'Hair really did look like he was scared to death out there. No fire, no putts going PAST the hole by 5 feet, NOTHING but a guy looking like he was just waiting to be beaten, and of course he was.

 

I watched the entire final round and was VERY impressed with O'Hair's caddy today and his great effort at keeping his guy from completely falling apart, that is UNTIL the 16th.

 

He wasted ALL his good work with a total mental lapse on 16. There is NO way (with Tiger in the junk and looking at bogey) that O'Hair should be hitting ANYTHING that brings the hazard into play. You can tell O'Hair was VERY (overly IMO) dependent on this guy's input, and at the MOST important point in the tournament, the caddy just choked.

 

O'Hair said after the round that he hit the shot solid, but it was the wrong club.

 

Clearly O'Hair was scared to death out there all day :fie: and was just choking left and right, but IMO his caddy really blew it by giving him a club that brought the hazard into play there.

 

O'Hair gets plenty of blame too of course, not ONCE did he EVER look fired up or like he was fed up with his awful play.

 

Johny Miller absolutely nailed it at the beginning of the telecast when he pointed out that O'Hair's pregame comments were NOT the comments of a winner that was looking to grab the title by the throat!

 

I like O'Hair, and he will hopefully learn that you don't win big tournaments by playing scared, but I really think things MIGHT have turned out differently if his caddy had not gone brain-dead on 16.

 

Tim

 

He was toast long before the 16th.

[cb_golfer]

Bottom line is that O'Hair made four bogeys and only one birdie. Tiger had five birdies and two bogeys. O'Hair shot 73, Tiger a 67. +3 versus -3. Sean only hit 6 fairways all day. That's not good by any pro's standard. He was scrambling most of the day. (Great scrambling, btw), but the bottom line is that he had a 5 shot lead that he let get away. If he would have just made par all day he would have won the tournament. I don't think his caddie has anything to do with it. He didn't execute the shot when it counted the most. Just my .02. :)

 

Agree, the way he was playing he was destined to loose his lead. Average score was 71 for the 4th round and O'Hair just had to play mediocre to win.

[Watch]

In 2007 when Zach Johnson won the Masters, I remember Tiger watching his approach shot on 17 or 18 fall short, and his comment was picked up: "Honestly, what the hell just happened?"

 

In the 2008 API, Tiger of course clinched the win with a birdie putt on 18, and the media has played it ad nauseum, just like they will this last walk-off-putt, too. It's okay. But Hank Haney said that Tiger called him in 2008 after the win, and what Tiger was most pleased with was the little cut 5 iron that he hit into the green. If I remember correctly, I think that approach shot wasn't much more than 150 yards. I remember saying What! when I heard the distance. We're talking about a guy who can bash a 5 iron 200+ on a fade if that's what he wants.

 

Maybe Steve Williams said "hit a cut 5," or maybe he didn't. The bottom line is that Tiger is the one who executed.

 

O'Hair's the guy who executed out there yesterday. I heard Tesori set his golfer up for success, and when the shot bounded into the drink, I felt bad for both of them.

[ExProGoingBack]

i thought he hit the shot a bit heavy.....IMHO....I'd would have put it in the stands behind the green and take a drop...rather than hit it in the water and take a penalty

[bladestriker]

He did play bad all day, it wasn't one shot. If you look at the leaderboard(first page), he is the only one who shot in the 70's.

[rblmp32]

In 2007 when Zach Johnson won the Masters, I remember Tiger watching his approach shot on 17 or 18 fall short, and his comment was picked up: "Honestly, what the hell just happened?"

 

In the 2008 API, Tiger of course clinched the win with a birdie putt on 18, and the media has played it ad nauseum, just like they will this last walk-off-putt, too. It's okay. But Hank Haney said that Tiger called him in 2008 after the win, and what Tiger was most pleased with was the little cut 5 iron that he hit into the green. If I remember correctly, I think that approach shot wasn't much more than 150 yards. I remember saying What! when I heard the distance. We're talking about a guy who can bash a 5 iron 200+ on a fade if that's what he wants.

 

Maybe Steve Williams said "hit a cut 5," or maybe he didn't. The bottom line is that Tiger is the one who executed.

 

O'Hair's the guy who executed out there yesterday. I heard Tesori set his golfer up for success, and when the shot bounded into the drink, I felt bad for both of them.

 

 

It was a cut 5 in '08, but the yardage was about 174 I believe. He was farther back and more to the left than yesterday.

[victor2000]

Interesting point of view. Sean did not choke (word) though, but did not play well either. He and Tiger have had quite opposite upbringings, and their dads had very different methods of coaching their children.

 

 

If that wasn't a choke then what is choking, he blew a 5 shot lead, he shot a 73 in really good scoring conditions? It is funny how people are scared to say someone choked, his performance was not much better than Norman in the 96 Masters, he was shaking in his shoes the entire day, not thinking clearly and not playing to win. He was playing not to lose.

 

If he would have shot one under and Tiger shot a 63 then fine it was not a choke, but the guy shot over par and hit some bad shots under pressure, he did it throughout the day, he never really pulled it together. And clearly he could not make a putt when needed.

So while I was rooting for O'Hair all day, I would really love to see someone knock off Tiger when battling for the lead, he blew a 5 shot lead, if he shoots even par he wins plain and simple.

 

This tourney was the classic case of Tiger making the putts when needed and others just not being able to handle the pressure even though they clearly outplayed Tiger for the good part of 71 holes.

 

Totally Agree. That was a 100% choke. Granted, I understand choking when Tiger is in your group but it can't be called anything but a choke. 73 on the easiest scoring conditions of the week??

 

If you've watched a lot of O'Hair like I have, you could just SEE how nervous he was out there. Johnny Miller said it more than once, about how uneasy he looked out there. I like O'Hair but his nerves got the best of him. C H O K E.

 

I have one question for both of you guys: Have you ever choked and hit a GOOD golf shot?

 

I guess I want to throw this out to everybody:

 

Anybody ever choked and hit a good or great golf shot?

[Redman]

OK, I just re-watched the play of the 16th hole..........O'hair asked yardage: Tesori said 171.....meaning directly in line with pin. the green has a curvature that the front left portion is further back almost middle of green. O asked pin yardage: 178 .....then back yardage 188.......O says 178 is the number and that is confirmed by T.......... O ask where the wind is and adds that it is out of the right.......T says out of the right and little bit into you bud!!! O says you think 7 , T concurs and by saying I do......... O says full?? T says yep.........O says do I have to do anything we it?? T say to be honest, you're gonna have to hit it!! O says yep.... T says you know what I mean ........O says yep........

 

T gives him the line which is the arch window about 20ft right of pin.........T says that is where I want it to come down.............

 

NBC pans back to the down the line view:the flag is inline with a chimney, the window is middle of the green; Johnny and Gary have a convo about the line.........T says come on baby.........Koch says shaven bank comes into play...........Pepper says 9 xtra to carry on that line............. Pepper says ball very high on aggressive line.........T says Go right away and repeats Go............

 

in my estimation he needed about 5-8 more yards of carry or of course ONE MORE CLUB!!!the shot was NOT pulled just THE WRONG CLUB into the wind!!!!

 

Sorry for the poor narration but it was/is a rush job!!! :rolleyes:

 

How can you say he didn't pull it? In your narration it even says that he was supposed to have the ball come down 20 ft right of the pin. It obviously came down at the pin. That is pulled or overdrew or whatever by 20 ft. I am not debating that it was the wrong club because it apparently was or he hit it heavy one. I am saying that even with the wrong club, if he doesn't PULL it, he is on the front of the green.

[SteelPride]

+1 whoever made the comment about O'Hair not having the shots that Tiger does. O'Hair can win golf tournaments, sure. But something happens when you play Tiger Woods. IMO, you are NOT just playing the golf course, as Sean alluded to in the pre-round interview that was shown yesterday. When you are matched with Tiger, you are playing him as much as you are playing the course and the elements.

 

Not sure if any other golfer today commands that type of competitive environment. But rest assured, Sean was not just golfing with a 5-shot lead yesterday. I am pretty sure that when Tiger is in the final group, even with a 5-shot deficit, he is thinking "it is me vs. him". That just seems like his mentality. He is vicious out there!

 

For some reason I think a lot of people on this forum would love for Tiger to blow a 5-stroke lead on a Sunday just so they could type the word C-H-O-K-E. I would be willing to bet on it. But in Sean's case, I really dont know what else you can call that other than a choke job. He only lost by 1-stroke, but blowing a 5 shot lead is really something else. It only adds to the allure of Tiger's mystique. Am I saying that Sean wouldnt have shot a 73 yesterday had he not been paired with Tiger Woods? ABSOLUTELY. I am pretty sure nobody in the history of golf has had that kind ability.

 

I really like Sean O'Hair, but everyone and their mother saw what was coming yesterday.

[jay_em113]

While reading this thread, I find some things that are not being brought up:

 

-If O'Hair pulled the shot, the ball would have traveled further and would not of been in the water. Pulls typically go farther. I've watched O'Hair a lot and he made a great swing on the 2nd at 16. He was posing after the swing and there was no pull motion in the swing (you can see when he pulls it like on 18).

 

-O'Hair has a steep angle of attack and always makes deep divots. I think people seeing his deep divot are under the impression that it was hit fat. If it was hit fat, you would have seen him make some sort of disappointed motion after hitting the shot - knowing it was in the water. He was posing after the swing and even admitted he hit is solid in the interview.

 

-I think the camera angle from the blimp was misleading. I think the shot was online at the slope in the middle of the green (where it was aimed). The whole point of aiming where he did was to catch the slope so it would feed back to the pin just like Tiger's did. O'Hair knew this and so did his caddy. There was no reason O'Hair would feel the need to aim right at the pin.

 

-The ball LANDED at least 10 yds short. The greens were soft all day long and they were not playing for the ball to roll forward. They were playing for it to land soft, therefore only accounting for how far the ball would go in the air. Even if the shot were pulled, it would have landed at least flag high if it wasn't mishit. I've already stated why it wasn't mishit.

 

While O'Hair played poorly all day as all the evidence has already shown, the shot he hit at 16 was not a poor one...even he stated this. If you watch Sean's expression after the ball went in the water, he was SHOCKED because he thought it was perfect.

 

A caddie's primay responsibility is making sure his player has the right yardage and right club for the shot intended. The player's primary responsibility is hitting the shot. O'Hair fulfilled his responsiblity, but the caddy did not due to not accounting for the temperature change. He has even admitted it was his fault.

 

Despite O'Hair's poor play all day for whatever reason, that one shot cost him winning the tourney (birdie on 16), or at worst a playoff (par on 16). All of these reasons are why I feel the caddie is completely to blame for his loss. Sure, Sean could have played better the whole day, but caddies should NEVER misclub their player when he is tied for the lead on the 70th hole.

[OldSkoolTexan]

I personally think some of the tour guys are too dependent on their caddy.  

 

If I needed advice from my caddie, he'd be hitting the shots and I'd be carrying the bag.

- Bobby Jones

[SwooshLT]

OK, I just re-watched the play of the 16th hole..........O'hair asked yardage: Tesori said 171.....meaning directly in line with pin. the green has a curvature that the front left portion is further back almost middle of green. O asked pin yardage: 178 .....then back yardage 188.......O says 178 is the number and that is confirmed by T.......... O ask where the wind is and adds that it is out of the right.......T says out of the right and little bit into you bud!!! O says you think 7 , T concurs and by saying I do......... O says full?? T says yep.........O says do I have to do anything we it?? T say to be honest, you're gonna have to hit it!! O says yep.... T says you know what I mean ........O says yep........

 

T gives him the line which is the arch window about 20ft right of pin.........T says that is where I want it to come down.............

 

NBC pans back to the down the line view:the flag is inline with a chimney, the window is middle of the green; Johnny and Gary have a convo about the line.........T says come on baby.........Koch says shaven bank comes into play...........Pepper says 9 xtra to carry on that line............. Pepper says ball very high on aggressive line.........T says Go right away and repeats Go............

 

in my estimation he needed about 5-8 more yards of carry or of course ONE MORE CLUB!!!the shot was NOT pulled just THE WRONG CLUB into the wind!!!!

 

Sorry for the poor narration but it was/is a rush job!!! :rolleyes:

 

How can you say he didn't pull it? In your narration it even says that he was supposed to have the ball come down 20 ft right of the pin. It obviously came down at the pin. That is pulled or overdrew or whatever by 20 ft. I am not debating that it was the wrong club because it apparently was or he hit it heavy one. I am saying that even with the wrong club, if he doesn't PULL it, he is on the front of the green.

 

 

 

It wasn't even close to be in line with the pin...........watch AGAIN!!! just the wrong club........ball would have landed where Tiger's 3rd shot did if it was the right club....

[Sean2]

while his caddy was talking to him, sean had his head down almost the entire time. the caddy repeated himself a few times and sean finally sort of acknowledged him. i knew right there he was dead..

[Dizz]

Interesting point of view. Sean did not choke (word) though, but did not play well either. He and Tiger have had quite opposite upbringings, and their dads had very different methods of coaching their children.

 

 

If that wasn't a choke then what is choking, he blew a 5 shot lead, he shot a 73 in really good scoring conditions? It is funny how people are scared to say someone choked, his performance was not much better than Norman in the 96 Masters, he was shaking in his shoes the entire day, not thinking clearly and not playing to win. He was playing not to lose.

 

If he would have shot one under and Tiger shot a 63 then fine it was not a choke, but the guy shot over par and hit some bad shots under pressure, he did it throughout the day, he never really pulled it together. And clearly he could not make a putt when needed.

So while I was rooting for O'Hair all day, I would really love to see someone knock off Tiger when battling for the lead, he blew a 5 shot lead, if he shoots even par he wins plain and simple.

 

This tourney was the classic case of Tiger making the putts when needed and others just not being able to handle the pressure even though they clearly outplayed Tiger for the good part of 71 holes.

 

Totally Agree. That was a 100% choke. Granted, I understand choking when Tiger is in your group but it can't be called anything but a choke. 73 on the easiest scoring conditions of the week??

 

If you've watched a lot of O'Hair like I have, you could just SEE how nervous he was out there. Johnny Miller said it more than once, about how uneasy he looked out there. I like O'Hair but his nerves got the best of him. C H O K E.

 

I have one question for both of you guys: Have you ever choked and hit a GOOD golf shot?

 

I guess I want to throw this out to everybody:

 

Anybody ever choked and hit a good or great golf shot?

 

What are you getting at here? Are you trying to imply that because Sean said he hit a good shot and it just came up short that he didn't choke? Sean did NOT lose the tournament on hole 16, a bogey isn't going to kill you over the course of a round. The problem is he already made 3 bogeys prior to the 16th. He also said that the shot on 16 ballooned on him and as soon as he hit it his caddy yelled GO. So obviously something happened if the ball just flat out ballooned on him.

[SpinMill75]

I'm glad to see this post because I put one up about 15 minutes after the tournament was over about how O'Hair choked and coughed up the match.....I got completely flamed for even saying that!

Tiger played awesome.....but I'm sorry, when you blow a 5 shot lead on Sunday its obvious that you were afraid to win. Just imagine the confidence that O'Hair would have had going into the Masters if he had shut the door on Tiger Woods? What effect would that have had on the rest of the field as well? "Wow, O'Hair took out Tiger? Maybe I can too?"

Now, as usual, Tiger regains his aura and will mentally dominate and crush everyone.....he did with Sean O'Hair before they even teed off on Sunday.

:russian_roulette:

[Tim Delgado]

pulled it.. no... if he pulled it it would have go at least pin high.. and it wasn't close.. total misclub.

 

 

 

Agreed.

 

The "pull" that everyone keeps referring to was NOT the problem. Even if he had hit that shot straight at the target line (arched window) it would have STILL foolishly brought the hazard into play by only hitting enough club to reach the FRONT side of the green. :russian_roulette:

 

I agree of course that at the end of the day it is all on the player, BUT, in THIS case, the player was clearly scared to death and was COMPLETELY reliant on the caddy for club selection and direction. The fact is, the caddy did an AMAZING job of holding the scared kid together UNTIL the 16th.

 

He called the wrong club on 16, and O'Hair was NEVER going to overrule him as he was too busy shaking in his shoes!

 

Caddy blew it IMO.

 

Of course the loss/choke is NOT the caddy's fault in the big picture, but this is one of those situations where the caddy actually MAY have been able to save his guy, and he failed by not being smarter about the club selection on 16.

 

Tim

 

As you can see, most people disagree with you.

 

 

 

Nope, I'm not "seeing" that.

 

In fact, it looks like the caddy himself acknowledged that he screwed up.

 

And no, I'm not buying the lame excuse that the caddy was just falling on the sword to help the player "feel better". The simple fact is he screwed up on the 70th hole of a big tournament with his guy leading by one.

 

Not sure why YOU have trouble accepting this when the caddy himself has already admitted it. :rolleyes:

 

Of course this sort of thing happens all the time and it's not the end of the world or anything, but I just think that the guy should have been a little more focused on his job at that critical point of the tournament.

 

The caddy's TOP priority, and really only REAL job is to get the club selection right after all. :russian_roulette: While O'Hair lost the tournament over the course of the entire 18 holes, the caddy brain cramp on 16 sure didn't help much.

 

Tim

[bladestriker]

I personally think some of the tour guys are too dependent on their caddy.  

 

If I needed advice from my caddie, he'd be hitting the shots and I'd be carrying the bag.

 

- Bobby Jones

 

 

+1

[Tmiller72]

pulled it.. no... if he pulled it it would have go at least pin high.. and it wasn't close.. total misclub.

 

 

 

Agreed.

 

The "pull" that everyone keeps referring to was NOT the problem. Even if he had hit that shot straight at the target line (arched window) it would have STILL foolishly brought the hazard into play by only hitting enough club to reach the FRONT side of the green. :russian_roulette:

 

I agree of course that at the end of the day it is all on the player, BUT, in THIS case, the player was clearly scared to death and was COMPLETELY reliant on the caddy for club selection and direction. The fact is, the caddy did an AMAZING job of holding the scared kid together UNTIL the 16th.

 

He called the wrong club on 16, and O'Hair was NEVER going to overrule him as he was too busy shaking in his shoes!

 

Caddy blew it IMO.

 

Of course the loss/choke is NOT the caddy's fault in the big picture, but this is one of those situations where the caddy actually MAY have been able to save his guy, and he failed by not being smarter about the club selection on 16.

 

Tim

 

As you can see, most people disagree with you.

 

 

 

Nope, I'm not "seeing" that.

 

In fact, it looks like the caddy himself acknowledged that he screwed up.

 

And no, I'm not buying the lame excuse that the caddy was just falling on the sword to help the player "feel better". The simple fact is he screwed up on the 70th hole of a big tournament with his guy leading by one.

 

Not sure why YOU have trouble accepting this when the caddy himself has already admitted it. :rolleyes:

 

Of course this sort of thing happens all the time and it's not the end of the world or anything, but I just think that the guy should have been a little more focused on his job at that critical point of the tournament.

 

The caddy's TOP priority, and really only REAL job is to get the club selection right after all. :russian_roulette: While O'Hair lost the tournament over the course of the entire 18 holes, the caddy brain cramp on 16 sure didn't help much.

 

Tim

 

You just don't seem to get it, but that's fine. You're entitled to your opinion. Paul didn't screw up a bit. He and Sean both agreed on a shot and a club. Sean simply didn't pull the shot off. Of course Paul wishes he had told Sean to hit one more club. We all wish we hit one more club when it comes up short. What would you be saying had Paul talked Sean into 1 more club and he hit it over the green? You would be saying he screwed up. Had Sean hit the shot that they wanted to, this thread wouldn't exist.

[Tim Delgado]

pulled it.. no... if he pulled it it would have go at least pin high.. and it wasn't close.. total misclub.

 

 

 

Agreed.

 

The "pull" that everyone keeps referring to was NOT the problem. Even if he had hit that shot straight at the target line (arched window) it would have STILL foolishly brought the hazard into play by only hitting enough club to reach the FRONT side of the green. :russian_roulette:

 

I agree of course that at the end of the day it is all on the player, BUT, in THIS case, the player was clearly scared to death and was COMPLETELY reliant on the caddy for club selection and direction. The fact is, the caddy did an AMAZING job of holding the scared kid together UNTIL the 16th.

 

He called the wrong club on 16, and O'Hair was NEVER going to overrule him as he was too busy shaking in his shoes!

 

Caddy blew it IMO.

 

Of course the loss/choke is NOT the caddy's fault in the big picture, but this is one of those situations where the caddy actually MAY have been able to save his guy, and he failed by not being smarter about the club selection on 16.

 

Tim

 

As you can see, most people disagree with you.

 

 

 

Nope, I'm not "seeing" that.

 

In fact, it looks like the caddy himself acknowledged that he screwed up.

 

And no, I'm not buying the lame excuse that the caddy was just falling on the sword to help the player "feel better". The simple fact is he screwed up on the 70th hole of a big tournament with his guy leading by one.

 

Not sure why YOU have trouble accepting this when the caddy himself has already admitted it. :rolleyes:

 

Of course this sort of thing happens all the time and it's not the end of the world or anything, but I just think that the guy should have been a little more focused on his job at that critical point of the tournament.

 

The caddy's TOP priority, and really only REAL job is to get the club selection right after all. :russian_roulette: While O'Hair lost the tournament over the course of the entire 18 holes, the caddy brain cramp on 16 sure didn't help much.

 

Tim

 

You just don't seem to get it, but that's fine. You're entitled to your opinion. Paul didn't screw up a bit. He and Sean both agreed on a shot and a club. Sean simply didn't pull the shot off. Of course Paul wishes he had told Sean to hit one more club. We all wish we hit one more club when it comes up short. What would you be saying had Paul talked Sean into 1 more club and he hit it over the green? You would be saying he screwed up. Had Sean hit the shot that they wanted to, this thread wouldn't exist.

 

 

 

Like I said, it really is not a big deal, we are just talking (and sometimes debating :lol: ) golf.

 

BUT, if O'Hair had not said that he hit the shot perfectly (not fat, not "didn't pull the shot off", not "it ballooned on me") or anything other than saying that he hit the shot well, then I would accept that it was not a terrible club selection by the guy whos job it is to recommend the club.

 

I know you are sticking up for the caddy and I respect that, but my opinion will always be that...with Tiger trailing by one AND in the junk looking at bogey on the 70th hole, a good caddy should have taken NO chance and made 100% sure that the club selection took the hazard COMPLETELY out of play. Hell, he could have blasted it into the stands, taken a drop and still made a par. The ONLY thing he CANNOT afford to do there is hit it in the hazard.

 

If it were a major, I would seriously say that O'Hair would have justification to fire him. Again, just my opinion, and I'll leave it at that.

 

Tim

[Mr. Herbert]

pulled it.. no... if he pulled it it would have go at least pin high.. and it wasn't close.. total misclub.

 

 

 

Agreed.

 

The "pull" that everyone keeps referring to was NOT the problem. Even if he had hit that shot straight at the target line (arched window) it would have STILL foolishly brought the hazard into play by only hitting enough club to reach the FRONT side of the green. :russian_roulette:

 

I agree of course that at the end of the day it is all on the player, BUT, in THIS case, the player was clearly scared to death and was COMPLETELY reliant on the caddy for club selection and direction. The fact is, the caddy did an AMAZING job of holding the scared kid together UNTIL the 16th.

 

He called the wrong club on 16, and O'Hair was NEVER going to overrule him as he was too busy shaking in his shoes!

 

Caddy blew it IMO.

 

Of course the loss/choke is NOT the caddy's fault in the big picture, but this is one of those situations where the caddy actually MAY have been able to save his guy, and he failed by not being smarter about the club selection on 16.

 

Tim

 

As you can see, most people disagree with you.

 

 

 

Nope, I'm not "seeing" that.

 

In fact, it looks like the caddy himself acknowledged that he screwed up.

 

And no, I'm not buying the lame excuse that the caddy was just falling on the sword to help the player "feel better". The simple fact is he screwed up on the 70th hole of a big tournament with his guy leading by one.

 

Not sure why YOU have trouble accepting this when the caddy himself has already admitted it. :rolleyes:

 

Of course this sort of thing happens all the time and it's not the end of the world or anything, but I just think that the guy should have been a little more focused on his job at that critical point of the tournament.

 

The caddy's TOP priority, and really only REAL job is to get the club selection right after all. :russian_roulette: While O'Hair lost the tournament over the course of the entire 18 holes, the caddy brain cramp on 16 sure didn't help much.

 

Tim

 

You just don't seem to get it, but that's fine. You're entitled to your opinion. Paul didn't screw up a bit. He and Sean both agreed on a shot and a club. Sean simply didn't pull the shot off. Of course Paul wishes he had told Sean to hit one more club. We all wish we hit one more club when it comes up short. What would you be saying had Paul talked Sean into 1 more club and he hit it over the green? You would be saying he screwed up. Had Sean hit the shot that they wanted to, this thread wouldn't exist.

 

 

 

Like I said, it really is not a big deal, we are just talking (and sometimes debating :lol: ) golf.

 

BUT, if O'Hair had not said that he hit the shot perfectly (not fat, not "didn't pull the shot off", not "it ballooned on me") or anything other than saying that he hit the shot well, then I would accept that it was not a terrible club selection by the guy whos job it is to recommend the club.

 

 

Tim

 

But O'Hair DID say that the shot ballooned on him.

[Anton]

Interesting point of view. Sean did not choke (word) though, but did not play well either. He and Tiger have had quite opposite upbringings, and their dads had very different methods of coaching their children.

 

of the 73 players that started the round only 13 shot worse then O'Hair (with another 8 shooting the same).If this is not a choke I don't know what is...

 

In terms of numbers you probably could suggest that, BUT he lost on the 18th green by one shot whereas his opponent 1-putted 4 of the last 5 holes. But you're entitled to your choking opinion of course.

 

Sean's father is not in the circle anymore I believe, but did Sean now run the X miles for the X bogies he did in the 4th round? I sure hope not.