Golf

[Stillearly]

Casey out .. back issues 

[galenkia]

Tiger at the Tee.

[galenkia]

Finau group the other feature group on SKY and looks the pick of the group's for me.

4.26 Tee off.

[Stillearly]

9 minutes ago, galenkia said:

Finau group the other feature group on SKY and looks the pick of the group's for me.

4.26 Tee off.

I'm hoping so , £10 ew on him 😉 

[Stillearly]

What has Paul McGinley done to his hair ... 555

[Stillearly]

Smith at -6 🙂 

[Stillearly]

Great to see Tiger playing well. -1 

[Stillearly]

44 minutes ago, Stillearly said:

Smith at -6 🙂 

18th double bogey .... -4 

[Stillearly]

Outstanding round from Rory , looks like SS has the win in the bag 

[AussieBob]

Spent all day yesterday watching the Masters on catch-up IPTV - as always it was great entertainment.  Great win by Scheffler - there were several times when his short game skills were tested and he came through - unbelievable skills for such a big man.  Cam did not do the same unfortunately and folded.  Rory yet again showed how well he can play on any given day - but not for 4 in a row.   Next big one will be the Open at St Andrews in July - the 150th Open.  

[Stillearly]

 

[Stillearly]

Cantlay and Spieth in playoff ... can anyone else join ..

[Stillearly]

Varner unlucky ...

[Stillearly]

Well done to Spieth 🙂 

[AussieBob]

On 4/18/2022 at 8:08 AM, Stillearly said:

Well done to Spieth 🙂 

Amazing thing - Jordan's last win was Easter Sunday 2021 - he just won again on the same day 2022 Clearly he has found the right 'solution' to his swing problems - and long may his 'resurrection' last this time around.  The vast majority of PGA blokes are good guys - but Jordan is one of the best ones. 

[Stillearly]

6 hours ago, AussieBob said:

Amazing thing - Jordan's last win was Easter Sunday 2021 - he just won again on the same day 2022 Clearly he has found the right 'solution' to his swing problems - and long may his 'resurrection' last this time around.  The vast majority of PGA blokes are good guys - but Jordan is one of the best ones. 

Next Easter is the Masters ... is clearly likes this time of year .. 😉 

[Golfingboy]

Good finish brewing in DC at the Wells Fargo. Fitzpatrick at -6 in the clubhouse will probably come up just short…..you never know. 
 

Really disappointed in Rory once again, especially on the greens. He’s basically going to finish Top 5 & lose by 4, or less, after making the cut on the number Friday. I’m just watching Homa and Bradley, and while they are top players……the Rory of 2014 would have been 8 shots clear of this field….

[AussieBob]

On 5/9/2022 at 7:40 AM, Golfingboy said:

Good finish brewing in DC at the Wells Fargo. Fitzpatrick at -6 in the clubhouse will probably come up just short…..you never know. 
 

Really disappointed in Rory once again, especially on the greens. He’s basically going to finish Top 5 & lose by 4, or less, after making the cut on the number Friday. I’m just watching Homa and Bradley, and while they are top players……the Rory of 2014 would have been 8 shots clear of this field….

Your predictions were right - and I agree about Rory. I have said for some time he needs a re-set and change. Whenever the class horse in a lower class field does not win it is usually the jockey or the trainer or just bad luck in running. What I have seen from Rory over the years since he dropped JP for Harry (Rider) and dropped his coach/es (trainer) for himself, has been the occasional glimpse of his true form, but a massive amount of inconsistency and bad results. It is obvious to me that Rory is seeing it all as just bad luck - when in fact it is bad decisions. I too am beginning to get pissed off with him - I am sick of seeing the best player for decades throw it all away - in Aust we call that 'pissing it all up the wall'.  I coached a bit of cricket and saw a few talented ones go far, including some to the Australian team. But I also saw some seriously talented dickheads who would not listen and basically threw it all away.  

Sure Rory doesnt have that self-control and a pure will to win of blokes like Nicklaus and Tiger and Player and Faldo. But he does have the sheer talent and natural genius to play golf like Watson, Trevino, Mickelson, Ballesteros and the greatest of them all - Bobby Jones.  When you look at the domination of the game that Rory achieved in that short period of time from 2011 to 2014 (4 Majors) you can see the sheer genius and ability. You can still see it when he constantly recovers from stupid mistakes and somehow gets back into it and comes home late with a wet sail (yet again). But you also see the problem between the ears when you see him stumble and fall when leading easily. He needs to be told what to do, when to do it, and why to do it - he relies far too much on how he can play shots that only a genius can play (and needs that genius far too often).  Rory IMO is the best player since Jones - and I am sick of seeing him pissing it away.

For those that think maybe Booby Jones was not the greatest player ever, you only need to look at his record to get an idea. But if you look harder and deeper you will see just how good he really was.  That he founded Augusta and the Masters is just a part of it. Jones played part-time and as an amateur, and when he competed against the greats of the game at the time, he often beat them (Hagen - 11 Majors and Sarazen - 7 Majors). Both Hagen and Sarazen stated on record that the best golf player they ever saw was Jones, and they were both happy he did not play too often. To top it all off, in 1930 at the age of 28, Bobby Jones won all 4 'Majors' at that time - the 2 US and 2 UK Amateur and Professional Opens. Not all very good players were professionals in that era - many were amatuers. And then after winning the 'Grand Slam' - he retired from golf. 

You only have to see Rory play to his ability and it is obvious that he is far more naturally gifted at golf than any other player in the world - period. From what I saw, Seve was also naturally gifted, but I think Rory is much better in the long game and his equal in the short game (except reading putts).  There has only been 1 Australian winner of the Masters - Scott - and Scott did as he was told by Tiger's old caddy (jockey) when he had a putt to win. 

Lydia Ko won everything quickly and then went to shite because of too many changes too quickly. Bruce Koepka also won everything for a short period, until the inevitable injury.  Rory will probably go down in history as the greatest ever 'could have been' in golfing history - not because of injury or too many swing/club/ball/coach changes, but as one who threw it all away because he decided he no longer needed a caddy or a coach. 

Thanks if you read all that - sorry - venting - he makes me so angry. I think I should stop watching him play. 

[Golfingboy]

@AussieBob There’s so much that can be said about what exactly constitutes a “legend”, and where Rory will rank all time. If you want to talk pure talent, even Tiger would mention John Daly…..no practice, smoked 3 packs a day with insane liquor consumption and won 2 majors. If he was serious about his game….oh my. But then he wouldn’t be John Daly….He’s said himself not everyone is meant to hit 500 balls/day….he might be right

Majors are ultimately how we judge players, but we must use common sense too. Is Monty a worse player than Ben Curtis or Rich Beem, or Andy North who had 2 US Opens? Of course not, we’d all kill for his success and bank accounts!  Norman I’ve never really been fond of, it kind of started when he was flying his chopper straight to the golf course. But talent wise, he deserved much more than 2 majors, very unlucky in final rounds/playoffs. Some guys just get it done….Koepka had more majors than regular Tour wins, very rare.

I just don’t see Rory throwing away shots with the long clubs, still hits that 320 yard bomb with a slight draw, or fade if need be. But you just don’t see him sink the amount of putts the other guys do, as well as not stuffing enough wedges compared to his chances. 
 

Glad we agree on how good he should be, and sadly with all the cash he’s made and now 33, honestly wouldn’t shock me if he finishes on 4 majors. Sad but very possible

[Golfingboy]

Phil Mickelson will not be defending his PGA Championship next week. At 52 and with all the controversy, I don’t see him being very active on either Tour, maybe forever. It’s too bad, I wish he would come out and talk to reporters and play again

Now the next time we all complain about a bad bounce, think of this poor bugger…..

 

[AussieBob]

8 hours ago, Golfingboy said:

Phil Mickelson will not be defending his PGA Championship next week. At 52 and with all the controversy, I don’t see him being very active on either Tour, maybe forever. It’s too bad, I wish he would come out and talk to reporters and play again

Now the next time we all complain about a bad bounce, think of this poor bugger…..

 

Sad about Phil - he will be missed on the PGA Tour.  I believe he is the first ever Major winner to elect not to defend his title, for reasons other than injury. 

I tend to agree with him about the 'super elite tour' concept - the USA PGA are forcing the players to support their own Tour at the expense of growing the game worldwide.  Hopefully the rival events will be a success over the next 2-3 years, and the PGA and ET will be forced to compromise. The Asian Tour has already sanctioned the Saudi/Norman big events as a part of their Tour - I reckon because they have been neglected and held back by the PGA and ET. 

12 or so annual tournaments held all over the World where the top 50-60 players compete for $25+ Million in prizemoney is a great development and a step forward for the game.  4-5 of the events would be in the USA (3 Majors plus Players plus 1) and the rest would be other countries, but the PGA sees that as a 'threat' to their Tour (which it is), so they demand to maintain their control over where and when the players can play. Phil refused to comply, and went public and has been 'punished' for it. Sergio has recently been attacked for speaking out. Lee Westwood summed it up best I reckon, when he said:  "I am an independent contractor".  The players are exactly that and they should be able to earn money and make their living where and when it best suits them - not the people who manage the PGA Tour in USA.  That's my opinion on the matter. 

That is one of the most unlucky shots I has seen. But I have seen balls hitting flags/holes and going into water or other unplayable spots. But I have also seen balls hitting trees and going into the hole. Maybe in the future when the tech develops, they will have 3d laser pins. Then the players will hopefully be allowed laser rangefinders and will have perfect distance measurements and there will be no more wasting time measuring yardages. 

[Stillearly]

115 TOUR wins
22 majors
5 FedExCups

An epic group for the first two rounds at the PGA Championship.

Woods, Spieth and McIlroy tee off at 9:11 a.m. ET on Thursday.
 

 

[Stillearly]

Had a flutter on Spieth ..

[Golfingboy]

And the first 3- ball is……not going to contain the winner on Sunday, methinks. But just the same, 3 champions who performed great under the pressure and got it done, that’s all that matters

 

[AussieBob]

6 hours ago, Stillearly said:

115 TOUR wins
22 majors
5 FedExCups

An epic group for the first two rounds at the PGA Championship.

Woods, Spieth and McIlroy tee off at 9:11 a.m. ET on Thursday.
 

 

Great to see - what a group to watch - will be glued for 2 days watching them play. Hope Tiger makes the cut.  And I also hope that Rory watches him and realises (finally) that it aint about great shots, it is about the score.