Sunday, June 20, 2010

Did Tiger Blame Stevie For His Mistakes?

While Graeme McDowell was celebrating his U.S. Open victory, Tiger Woods, Ernie Els and Phil Mickelson were left to think about one that got away from each of them.

Did Tiger Woods throw his caddie, Steve Williams, under the bus Sunday night after his disappointing tie for fourth?

Talking about the mistakes that cost him, Woods pointed to a bogey he made at the 10th hole as a critical error.

"Steve said take dead aim right at it and, in my heart, I said no," Woods said. "There was no chance. I have a sand wedge in my hand and I can't play at that flag...

"I went against my own...I know things and hit the ball to the right and then hit the wrong club at 12...I made just an awful swing."

In a television interview, Woods said three mental errors "cost us the Open." The third was a 3-wood tee shot that ran over the edge of a cliff at No. 6.

He might make technical mistakes with his swing but Woods rarely makes mental errors. A forced driver at the third hole in the final round of the Masters a few years ago comes to mind but it's one of the few.

Maybe it was frustration boiling over. Maybe Woods was angry with Williams. But, as Tiger knows, it's the player who makes the final judgment call and I can't imagine a better guy on the bag than Williams.

What Woods can take away from Pebble Beach is how close he is to being back in full competitive form. He's finished tied for fourth in both majors this year. He will be the favorite at the British Open at St. Andrews next month and I expect he'll win there.

Els melted when it mattered Sunday. It was right there for him to win and he blew a driver down a cliff on the 10th hole to make a double bogey then he added on another bogey at 11 to back away from the lead. Needing to make a handful of key putts down the stretch, Els couldn't make enough of them. Sadly, it didn't come as a big surprise.

Mickelson had another great chance to win an Open but couldn't do it. He was ragged at the wrong time. On a course as severe as Pebble Beach was Sunday, there's no room for ragged. It exposed everyone but it was a chance for Mickelson grab the Open and he didn't do it.

As for Dustin Johnson's 82, you wonder what it does to him long-term. Maybe nothing but that's tough to believe. As good as he'd been for three days, he was almost unbelievably bad Sunday. It broke his spirit and the Open's good at that. It felt almost uncomfortable to watch him trying to finish.

That one's going to leave a mark -- on several players.

17 comments:

SeaShark said...

Tiger Woods disintegrated at Pebble Beach because he isn't TIGER WOODS anymore.

Tiger Woods doesn't live on Mount Olympus today. Woods isn't the faithful family man that he and his management handlers portrayed him to be, and he isn't the golfer he was ten years ago when he won the Open at Pebble by 15 strokes and later comnpleted the TIGER SLAM.

Woods isn't invincible. His fellow tour competitors aren't intimidated by him, and no one shows him the worshipful deference that he once thought himself entitled to. Woods is just another Top 20 golfer who may or may not be in contention on any given Sunday, and therefore needs a new nickname.

Call him Rick or Ellie or Cheetah, but don't call this mere mortal Tiger---he's declawed and toothless.

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John said...
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Wayne in Charlotte said...

You anti-Tiger people will be the same ones going to see him play when he wins another B-Open, PGA, Wachovia, US-Open, Masters, in the years to come. You will appreciate him and his game once more when he gets MAJOR 19 under his belt. Tiger is human, and he did things that I am sure he isn't proud of. Who among us has not! Get over yourselves, and leave Mr. Woods alone. I am honored to have lived during the Tiger Woods, Michael Jordan, Jerry Rice, Joe, Montana, Kobe Bryant, Larry Bird, Magic Johnson, Barry Bonds, Greg Maddux era. I have seen all of them play in their prime, and watch their accomplishments. I think you as a human being, and a sports lover should also recognize the moments. And Leave history to it's only writer, itself.

Anonymous said...

He should not blame his caddie. It was the fault of the sports announcers who all had their heads up his rear bragging how great he is. Can't play golf with them hanging on him. Hope he never wins again!

Anonymous said...

I wonder if any of you Tiger-haters have ever played 18 holes of golf. The best in the world play one of the toughest courses ever and after 4 rounds Tiger is a TOTAL of 3 shots behind the winner. That's less than one shot a day and people wonder if he still "has his game" or not. Gimme a break. Try teeing it up from the tips for four days in a row and that come back and tell me how three shots is a big difference in total score....

Robert R. said...

No one ever rooted for Tiger except the marginal casual golf fan. The PGA Tour always knew Tiger was a phoney, and now the rest of the world does. Blaming his caddy? Sounds like Tiger, never accetping responsibility for anything.

The class of the PGA is Phil Mickelson and now the rest of the world is recognizing this.

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Robert said...

Tiger has no class! Below is an excerpt of David Fay, a PGA Exec. slapping Tiger down.

"Tiger Woods was wrong to criticize the Pebble Beach greens as "awful," U.S. Golf Association executive director David Fay said Saturday at the U.S. Open.

Fay couldn't resist making a comparison between Woods and Phil Mickelson, who shot 75 in the first round.

"I think two players used the word awful on Thursday," Fay said. "Phil said he putted awful. Tiger said the greens were awful."

Wayne in Charlotte said...
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Robert said...

Class vs trash. Wayne likes trash.

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Kingward said...

It doesn't matter anymore what Tiger does or doesn't do. He will never receive the adulation he might have received, even if he wins 25 majors. He has sullied his legacy irreparably.

Anonymous said...

Phil may have not have complained about the greens at Peeble, outwardly. He had already criticized the greens at Quail Hollow, to death. Poor loser here, in Charlotte.