The Stark Contrast

By Jim O'Shea

Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson entered the Farmers Insurance Open coming off disappointing finishes the previous week. Tiger didn’t even make it to the weekend, missing the cut at the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship. Phil, on the other hand, did make the cut, but only finished in a tie for thirty-seventh. It’s safe to say that both came into Torrey Pines with a chip on his shoulder. One shoved the chip way off his shoulder and the other added another chip to his shoulder.

(AP Photo/Lenny Ignelzi)

The first round went well for one, Tiger, and not-so-bad for the other, Phil. Tiger finished his round with a 68, four-under. Phil finished, just like the previous week’s first round, with a 72, even-par. Tiger was only three strokes behind the leaders, K.J. Choi and Brandt Snedeker, who both shot a seven-under 65. Phil was still in contention if he produced a better second round.

He did produce a better second round, but not much better as he cut one stroke off his first-round score as he finally got into red numbers after a 71. Tiger, on the other hand, remained in red numbers as he surged to the top of the leaderboard after a second-round 65. But, he only led by two strokes over Billy Horschel.

Phil got a much-needed break on Saturday thanks to Mother Nature as fog postponed the third round to Sunday. But, the break appeared to hurt Phil as he fell down the leaderboard after a third-round 75. Tiger did what seemed impossible during the majors last year as he increased his lead on the weekend after a third-round 69 to go to 14-under overall.

The fourth round got under way on Sunday as Phil had no chance of contending and Tiger continued his great play as he birdied three of the seven holes he completed on Sunday. This left him at 17-under, six strokes ahead of the field.

On Monday, it was more of the same for Tiger as he knew his lead and focused on paring every hole. He accomplished this in his first five holes, which were not one-through-five but instead were eight-through-twelve. He got sick of pars as he birdied the par-five thirteenth to improve to 18-overall. Another improvement was his lead, which blossomed to eight strokes with five holes remaining. It appeared that Tiger took his foot off the gas on these final five holes as he went bogey-double bogey-par-bogey-par. Tiger blamed it on the slow pace of play in his news conference, emphasizing his impatience with the group ahead of him. But, he couldn’t help but smile after he won, for the seventh time, the Farmers Insurance Open.

Tiger answered any questions that the skeptics had with his whopping four-stroke victory that reminded a lot of people of the old Tiger that finished tournaments on the weekend. Phil reminded the skeptics why they are questioning him as he finished in a tie for fifty-first. After their first tournaments of 2013 were about the same, Tiger and Phil went in opposite directions at the Farmers Insurance Open as Tiger reminded all of us why he has won 75 times on the PGA Tour and Phil reminded us why he hasn’t won more than one PGA Tour tournament in each of the past three seasons.

3 Big Names, 3 Big Headscratchers

By Jim O'Shea

“Wow!” This was the expression that was swirling in my mind last Wednesday, Friday, and Sunday, but for completely different reasons.

(Photo/Ross Kinnaird)

On Wednesday, I was contemplating finally being able to see Rory McIlroy, Tiger Woods, and Phil Mickelson tee it up in 2013. These are arguably golf’s biggest stars and they shared the same weekend together, although only one played on the weekend. These three have combined for 20 majors and 159 wins around the world. This is exactly why I couldn’t wait to see all three begin their 2013 journey.

But, it didn’t go according to plan as both Rory and Tiger missed the cut at the Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship. Rory couldn’t find his groove from the very beginning as he shot back-to-back 75’s. Tiger, on the other hand, was still in contention after the first round when he was even-par but only five strokes behind the leader. He continued to play pretty average golf in the second round as he finished with a one-over 73. The cut line was two-over so Tiger made the cut, right? Well, he did before a rules referee informed him of a two-stroke penalty incurred on him because of wrongly taking a free drop. At least Rory and Tiger could enjoy the beautiful Abu Dhabi.

So it didn’t work out for Rory and Tiger, but how about Phil?

Well, he couldn’t enjoy Abu Dhabi because he played in California at the Humana Challenge. But on the course, his play wasn’t much better than Rory’s or Tiger’s. Like Tiger, Phil shot a first-round 72, which was one of only two even or over-par first rounds in the final top 55. From the first round on, Phil played much better, with no round over 67. But a T37 finish isn’t what Phil wanted coming in, especially when that means you finished eight strokes behind the champion.

Rory, Tiger, Phil. MC, MC, T37. Anyone see that coming because I surely didn’t. Hopefully Tiger and Phil can make me say “Wow!” this Sunday for a different reason as both compete in the Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines in La Jolla, CA. 

The Great (Non-Presidential) Debate

By Jim O'Shea

(AP Photo/Gerry Broome)

Now that the election is over and with that the end of the presidential debates, it’s time to turn to another hotly contested debate. Any guess? No, not Kobe vs. MJ. I’m talking about Rory vs. Tiger. This is not a debate of who’s had a better career because that answer is easy. Instead, this is: Who’s better right now?

Yes, Rory is ranked #1 and Tiger actually is #3, recently surpassed by Luke Donald for #2. But, let’s look beyond the rankings. Let’s look at on-course performance.

Rory had 4 PGA Tour wins in 2012. Tiger had 3. So, Rory 1, Tiger 0.

Rory had 10 Top-10 finishes, while Tiger had 9. Rory 2, Tiger 0.

Rory made the cut 81.25% of the time. Tiger, on the other hand, made it 89.5% of the time. Tiger gets one back, making it Rory 2, Tiger 1.

Rory’s scoring average was 69.63. Tiger’s was 69.78. Rory widens the gap, making it 3-1 in favor of Rory.

In tournaments where they both played, Rory’s average score was 4.5 under par, while Tiger averaged 4.36 strokes under par. Advantage: Rory. Now, the tally sits at Rory 4, Tiger 1.

Now, onto stats that go beyond the score or tournament finish. First up, driving accuracy, which is key in a player’s success.

Rory hit the fairway 56.61% of the time. And, surprisingly, Tiger was accurate 63.93% of the time. So, Tiger wins the category in which he is most criticized. Tiger now makes it 4-2 Rory.

Up next, Greens in Regulation where Rory put it on the dance floor 66.36% of the time. Tiger put it there 67.58% of the time. Tiger, as usual, with the comeback to make it 4-3.

In the all-around ranking, Rory ranked 2^nd, but Tiger only ranked 10^th. So, Rory makes it 5-3 now.

And when it came down to the key part of the season, the FedEx Cup Playoffs, Rory gained 2,827 points and Tiger allotted 2,663. Rory, stepping up in the clutch, has made it 6-3. Now, let’s go onto the back nine.

In the scrambling category, which is when a player makes a par or better after not hitting the green in regulation, Rory’s equaled 60.24%, while Tiger bettered him at 63.17%. After 10, Rory has the slim 6-4 lead.

On Par 5s, which are key in gaining ground in a tournament, Rory was 84 under par and Tiger was 92 under par. Tiger is cutting into the lead on the back nine, making it 6-5 Rory now.

Now, putting inside five feet which players, especially Tiger, get criticized for when they miss. Rory made the putt 96.86% of the time, while Tiger put in the cup 97.07% of the time. Tiger has come from three back to even it up at 6 apiece.

Staying on the green in another category that ruins players’ rounds, the three putt. Rory three putted 3.09% of the time he hit the green, but Tiger only three putted on 2.82% of his chances. Tiger has beat Rory on the green, surprisingly, to gain the 7-6 lead.

From the green to the tee where let’s take a look at Total Driving Efficiency. Rory had a value of 95, while Tiger’s was 182. Just like in golf, in this category, the lower the better. So, Rory gains ground on Tiger to even it up at 7.

Now with four remaining, what perfectly fits this? That’s right, the four majors.

In the Masters, both shot 5 over par, but Rory had one round in the 60s, while Tiger had zero, so the slight edge goes to Rory. The score: Rory 8, Tiger 7.

Onto the next major, the U.S. Open, where Rory faltered early, not making the cut after a 10 over par sum after his first two rounds. Tiger made the cut, but only finished at 7 over par, but still beat out Rory to tie the score at 8.

Now let’s go across the pond to the Open Championship. Rory did not use his U.K. heritage in his 8 over par score, while Tiger competed and finished at 3 under par. Tiger takes the lead again, this time at 9-8.

The eighteenth “hole” or category in this situation, the PGA Championship. Rory finished atop the leaderboard at 13 under par. Tiger shot 2 under par in the four rounds here. So, after 18 matchups, it’s still tied at 9-9.

The tiebreaker: Who won a major?

This of course is Mr. Rory McIlroy, who gets my vote for the best golfer right now on tour. 

The Age-Old Question: Is Tiger Back?

By Jim O'Shea

Who else is sick and tired of the old, and I mean old, question of ‘Is Tiger Back?’ First of all, what does ‘back’ mean?

(AP Photo)

If ‘back’ means the 2000-2001 Tiger Slam Tiger Woods, then of course he’s not back. No one will ever be that good. Not Rory McIlroy, not Jack Nicklaus, not Phil Mickelson, not even Tiger Woods. These are unrealistic expectations and people need to accept that Tiger will never return to this unreal, unhuman form. To win four straight majors is unprecedented and has happened only once, yes once, in the history of golf. Therefore, nobody can live up to these expectations.

Others may believe that ‘back’ means the 2008 U.S. Open champion Tiger Woods. Ok, come on guys. Really? The fact that Tiger won the U.S. Open, of all golf tournaments, on a worse left leg than the ex-golfers in the broadcasters’ booth is amazing. Tiger Woods had a torn ligament in his left knee and a double stress fracture in his left leg. The fact that he could even walk is amazing. Better yet win the toughest golf tournament of the year. So, no, of course he’s not back to this form. Who else could win the U.S. Open on a hobbled left leg like Tiger? Nobody, not even 2012 Tiger.

So, you want the answer, right? Is Tiger back?

First of all, stop asking this question. Because whenever someone says yes, nobody ever agrees until he wins a major, right? Does anybody ever bring up the fact that Tiger went from the 2002 U.S. Open until the 2005 Masters without winning a major? No, right? This was during Tiger’s prime, so I think this would’ve been the better time to ask ‘Is Tiger back?’ So, the better question to ask is: Is Tiger back to being one of the elite players in the game?

This question should have no argument. Of course Tiger is back to elite. He won three tournaments in 2012 on the PGA Tour, only behind Rory McIlroy, who won four. Tiger is ranked number two in the world, and finished number two in the 2012 money earnings. Also, the way to determine how any player’s year was is the FedEx Cup. Tiger Woods finished number three in the final FedEx Cup standings. He is back to competing every week and in every major. The only knock on Tiger this year is the way he played on the weekends in all four majors. I believe that will come with time, sooner rather than later.

So, everybody the lesson learned here is: Stop asking ‘Is Tiger back?’ because our expectations for the answer being yes is too lofty, even too Tiger for Tiger.