I know it’s late but I’ve been gone for a week and I have to get some things off my chest.
Tiger Woods looked absolutely awful in the Player’s Championship during the last round, hitting just five of 14 fairways and shooting a 73. Woods was so wild off the tee that I actually started to feel his frustration after each errant drive, which invariably brought some muttering. This bad round just shows how wide the gap is between Woods and the rest of the PGA Tour. I haven’t seen Woods spray it like this since 1998. That was during his post Masters swing make over under then coach Butch Harmon. Woods had stormed to a 12 stroke victory at Augusta in 1997. Woods wanted a “more versatile and consistent swing”, according to his then coach Butch Harmon. Back to the Players Championship. Woods played poorly and still finished tied for eighth and plays in the final group. Phil Mickelson, ranked second in the world, plays badly, barely makes the cut and finishes 55th. That, my friends, is the difference between Woods and the rest of the PGA Tour. When he finds his swing, which he invariably will, it will be lights out for the rest of the Tour.
One more Woods tidbit: He was so absolutely close to perfect in 2000 — hitting greens and fairways under Butch Harmon — that I believe it’s fair to wonder how it would’ve gone for him had he not decided to retool his swing under Hank Haney. Woods won three majors and eight tournaments that year.