Zach Johnson, who has won seven times on the PGA Tour, including the 2007 Masters, offers these quick drills to groove your downswing.
Permalink: How To Get Back To The Ball
On a Mother’s Day when just about everyone associated with the Players — from tour pros to volunteers — wore pink to celebrate Breast Cancer Awareness Day, the closest Tiger Woods came to honoring that was the colorful energy drink he occasionally pulled from his golf bag. Apparently, Woods is in his own world when it comes to discussing his golf game as well.
Following a final-round 73 that included a dismal front-nine 40, he offered this stunning assessment:
“Just one of those things where Joe (LaCava) and I were talking about that on the front nine, I didn’t really hit any bad shots, and all of a sudden, I had a bogey, a birdie and a double,” Woods said.
Photo by Getty Images
LaCava is Woods’ caddie. He also just might be the world’s most patient listener. Then again, he is getting paid a lot more than most psychiatrists.
No bad shots? Excuse me? Did we hear that right? How about the sand wedge over the green on No. 1? How about the 9-iron from the middle of the fairway into the water on No. 4? How about the drive on the par-4 fifth? Or your tee shot on the par-3 eighth, both of which could barely be tracked on the computer screen by the PGA Tour’s ShotTracker?
Permalink: Stingers: It’s getting tough to listen to Tiger Woods
Ever let your clothes do your talking for you? Watching Rickie Fowler in his head-to-toe Sunday orange makes that old adage “silence is golden” pop into my head. If clothes can actually speak, Fowler’s get-ups…
Permalink: The Style Blog: Bright Ideas
Editor’s Note: Every Monday Kevin Hinton, Director of Instruction at Piping Rock Club in Locust Valley, N.Y. and one of Golf Digest’s Best Young Teachers, tells you how a tour player hits a key…
Permalink: How He Hit That: Kuchar’s 5-iron bunker shot
In a new weekly podcast in Golf World Monday, PGA Championship winner and victorious U.S. Ryder Cup captain Paul Azinger will discuss the week in golf with Golf World Editor-in-Chief Jaime Diaz.
This week, Azinger and Diaz talk about Matt Kuchar’s swing overhaul, Kevin Na’s steady maturation, and what continues to plague Tiger Woods. The entire May 14 issue of Golf World Monday can be read here.
Listen to the podcast.
Permalink: Podcast: Paul Azinger and Jaime Diaz talk Matt Kuchar’s win, Kevin Na’s slow play, and Tiger’s troubles
I want to write about slow play but I can’t get started.
Wait.
There.
OK, I’m good.
Wait.
Pull the trigger!
Here’s an idea: How about Commissioner Tim Finchem pulls the trigger? How about the game of golf pulls the trigger? How about we realize that as the world gets faster in every conceivable way, our game — tour and amateur alike — plods along at an excruciating pace. We’re inching to a stop. We’re pathetic. Golf has become not what you do when you hit the ball. Golf is what you do after you toss the grass in the air, look at your yardage book, make sure there’s no one within four holes who might make a putt, and rehearse your swing. For the first of four times.
Kevin Na’s painful pre-shot routine is a notable example of golf’s slow-play problem, but it’s not the only one. Photo by Getty ImagesThis is not a plea to speed our game up so that we don’t lose players. This is a HOWL to speed play up so we don’t lose our game.
Permalink: Stingers: Why golf needs a shot clock
I want to write about slow play but I can’t get started.
Wait.
There.
OK, I’m good.
Wait.
Pull the trigger!
Here’s an idea: How about Commissioner Tim Finchem pulls the trigger? How about the game of golf pulls the trigger? How about we realize that as the world gets faster in every conceivable way, our game — tour and amateur alike — plods along at an excruciating pace. We’re inching to a stop. We’re pathetic. Golf has become not what you do when you hit the ball. Golf is what you do after you toss the grass in the air, look at your yardage book, make sure there’s no one within four holes who might make a putt, and rehearse your swing. For the first of four times.
Kevin Na’s painful pre-shot routine is a notable example of golf’s slow-play problem, but it’s not the only one. Photo by Getty ImagesThis is not a plea to speed our game up so that we don’t lose players. This is a HOWL to speed play up so we don’t lose our game.
Permalink: Stingers: Why golf needs a shot clock
Mergers, acquisitions and consolidation have been a part of the headlines on the golf manufacturing side in recent weeks, but now the golf retail space is getting in on the game and in a big…
Permalink: Golf Town buys Golfsmith for $96 million in retail mega-merger
Here’s what you need to know from this past weekend’s NCAA Women’s Regionals and the 24 teams that are advancing to the NCAA Women’s Championship May 22-25 at Vanderbilt Legends Club outside of Nashville, Tenn….
Permalink: NCAA D-I Women: Next stop, Nashville!
It was an odd Sunday at the Players Championship, one in which the final-round focus was bookended by men responsible for the most groans and grins.
The winner by a smile was Matt Kuchar, whose two-stroke victory at the TPC Sawgrass buttressed the notion that he is a major champion in training.
Kuchar, 33, has become an assembly line mass producing top 10s — 20 in the previous two seasons (which would explain his grinning year to year) and five already this year. More importantly for the months ahead, four have come in the most important tournaments with the strongest fields to date: the Players (first), the Masters (a tie for third), the WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship (T-5) and the WGC-Cadillac Championship (T-8).
A month from now, Kuchar will be returning to U.S. Open at the Olympic Club outside San Francisco, where as an amateur in 1998 he tied for 14th and was tied for fourth through 36 holes. It doesn’t make him a favorite, but he isn’t a long shot, either.
Kuchar’s happy nature, even on a TPC course capable of inflicting so much misery, gave the Players a happy ending that wasn’t inevitable in the wake of the negative reaction to the man everyone was lamenting.
Related: Players tabbed as the next great American star
Kevin Na dominated the weekend conversation at the showcase event of a tour that steadfastly declines to address the issue of slow play, as do many of the players responsible. Na, for instance, was graciously apologetic on Saturday for the pre-shot twitches that Johnny Miller described as “the heebie jeebies,” and insisted he’s working on correcting it. Is he? Six months ago, Na posted this on Twitter: “Trying my best to speed up. Working on a new pre shot routine. I am not playing so on purpose. Hope the viewers understand.” It’s a slow process, apparently.
Na, the 54-hole leader, attempted to quell the criticism by picking up the pace on Sunday, which might have contributed to a final-round 76 that left him in a tie for seventh.
Permalink: Kuchar puts a happy face on a ‘slow’-news weekend
A year after one of the toughest losses of his life, David Toms hoped returning to TPC Sawgrass would help jump start his 2012 season and it did. It just took 59 holes to get going.
At one-over par through five holes of his final round at the Players, Toms holed a wedge for eagle from 123 yards on the par-4 sixth. A couple hours later, he’d made the biggest move up the leader board on Sunday, closing with a 65 to jump into the top five at the time of signing his card.
“I was so far back, and I was just trying to have a decent finish,” Toms said. “So, you know, no reason why I shouldn’t shoot at a flag. What’s the difference in 44th and 34th? That’s the way I was playing out there, and I just happened to play a great round of golf.”
Permalink: Toms finishes strong in return from difficult loss
PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. — Playing alongside Rickie Fowler and among a gallery that will surely be a sea of orange, Ben Curtis will probably feel like an invisible man during the final round of the Players. But for a guy who has played most of the past six years in obscurity, that shouldn’t be a problem.
After nearly six years without a victory, Curtis came out of nowhere to win the Valero Texas Open last month. He’s proving that performance was no fluke.
Since then, the 2003 British Open champion has been on the best stretch of his career with a T-13 in New Orleans, a T-5 at the Wells Fargo and now this effort at the Players, where he’ll play in the penultimate pairing.
On Saturday, Curtis fired one of two bogey-free rounds (Kevin Na had the other) in the field despite gusty conditions at TPC Sawgrass. He missed a bunch of birdie opportunities, including two from within 10 feet on his final two holes.
Permalink: Ben Curtis continuing his recent revival at TPC Sawgrass
PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. — And dude, he plays fast, too. Rickie Fowler, who shed his Anna Kournikova label last week with a victory at the Wells Fargo Championship, put up the kind of performance Saturday at the Players that, if backed up in Sunday’s final round, could put him in the conversation about the next big thing — joining Rory McIlroy, Bubba Watson and a player to be named later.
Until that win at Quail Hollow, the 23-year-old Fowler was viewed as the entire marketing package, minus the victories. His shaggy hair and bright-colored clothing give him a distinct persona and the number of young fans who now show up at tournaments dressed like him bode well for the future on the game. And it is a scene he relishes.
Fowler’s win last week might have opened the floodgates for more. Photo by Getty Images.
“I love seeing it, especially the little kids running around with my hat on that is kind of flopping around, slightly large for them,” Fowler said after Saturday’s 66 at TPC Sawgrass threw him into the mix at the Players at nine under par through 54 holes.
Permalink: Fowler handles everything right on Saturday, including Sawgrass
PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. — As the world continues to monitor Tiger Woods’ widely talked about “process,” perhaps this is one tournament to omit from the discussion. The 14-time major champion certainly hasn’t played great at TPC Sawgrass this week, but then again, that’s not saying much.
Since his lone win at the Players in 2001, Woods has just one top-10 finish in the event, a solo eighth in 2009. Barring something spectacular on Sunday, he won’t add to that total after a Saturday 72 kept him in the middle of the pack of those playing the weekend.
But as he points out, he’s not alone in not being able to master TPC Sawgrass. In fact, 19 different winners have won here the past 19 years, making it tough to use a litmus test for how anyone is playing.
“I think if you look at it as a whole, everyone who has played here, they have never been really consistent here,” he said. “I mean, everyone, going from the time Jerry Pate won, no one has really contended here or been in contention 70, 80 percent of the time. Like some golf courses you get certain guys playing well there no matter what.”
Related: The Tiger Woods timeline
How much of a struggle has it been for Woods at TPC Sawgrass? His Friday 68 was just the fourth time he’s broken 70 at the Pete Dye course in his last 23 attempts. But as he has all week — and all year for that matter — Woods stayed upbeat about what he’s been working on with swing coach Sean Foley.
“It’s feeling a lot more comfortable out there,” he said. “I’m hitting the shots, I’m shaping the ball again, and it’s just trying to get the timing of the wind out there right now.”
Woods’ third round was relatively uneventful. With bogeys on No. 7 and No. 10, he fell back to even par before getting his first birdie on No. 11. He added a birdie at the difficult 13 and then parred in, barely missing birdie attempts on the final three holes.
“I played well today and didn’t get anything out of that round,” Woods said. “It was probably the most solid I’ve hit the golf ball all year actually.”
That comment seemed to raise a few eyebrows, but a 72 under very breezy conditions and with a high number of difficult hole locations certainly isn’t reason to panic.
“It was a great test,” he said.
Woods’ next test will be completing this event for the first time in three years. After that, he’ll probably play next at the Memorial, a place where he’s won four times. There, we should get a better feel about the status of his game, which has swayed from ordinary to start the year, to spectacular at his win in Bay Hill, to shaky at his last two starts.
Actually, about the only thing that has really been learned about Woods this week is that he’s gone back to metal spikes in his shoes — a change he made last week at Quail Hollow — since his knee is “finally healthy enough.” Then again, we’ve heard that one before too.
– Alex Myers
Follow @AlexMyers3
PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. — As the world continues to monitor Tiger Woods’ widely talked about “process,” perhaps this is one tournament to omit from the discussion. The 14-time major champion certainly hasn’t played great at TPC Sawgrass this week, but then again, that’s not saying much.
Since his lone win at the Players in 2001, Woods has just one top-10 finish in the event, a solo eighth in 2009. Barring something spectacular on Sunday, he won’t add to that total after a Saturday 72 kept him in the middle of the pack of those playing the weekend.
But as he points out, he’s not alone in not being able to master TPC Sawgrass. In fact, 19 different winners have won here the past 19 years, making it tough to use a litmus test for how anyone is playing.
“I think if you look at it as a whole, everyone who has played here, they have never been really consistent here,” he said. “I mean, everyone, going from the time Jerry Pate won, no one has really contended here or been in contention 70, 80 percent of the time. Like some golf courses you get certain guys playing well there no matter what.”
Related: The Tiger Woods timeline
How much of a struggle has it been for Woods at TPC Sawgrass? His Friday 68 was just the fourth time he’s broken 70 at the Pete Dye course in his last 23 attempts. But as he has all week — and all year for that matter — Woods stayed upbeat about what he’s been working on with swing coach Sean Foley.
“It’s feeling a lot more comfortable out there,” he said. “I’m hitting the shots, I’m shaping the ball again, and it’s just trying to get the timing of the wind out there right now.”
Woods’ third round was relatively uneventful. With bogeys on No. 7 and No. 10, he fell back to even par before getting his first birdie on No. 11. He added a birdie at the difficult 13 and then parred in, barely missing birdie attempts on the final three holes.
“I played well today and didn’t get anything out of that round,” Woods said. “It was probably the most solid I’ve hit the golf ball all year actually.”
That comment seemed to raise a few eyebrows, but a 72 under very breezy conditions and with a high number of difficult hole locations certainly isn’t reason to panic.
“It was a great test,” he said.
Woods’ next test will be completing this event for the first time in three years. After that, he’ll probably play next at the Memorial, a place where he’s won four times. There, we should get a better feel about the status of his game, which has swayed from ordinary to start the year, to spectacular at his win in Bay Hill, to shaky at his last two starts.
Actually, about the only thing that has really been learned about Woods this week is that he’s gone back to metal spikes in his shoes — a change he made last week at Quail Hollow — since his knee is “finally healthy enough.” Then again, we’ve heard that one before too.
– Alex Myers
Follow @AlexMyers3
PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. — As the world continues to monitor Tiger Woods’ widely talked about “process,” perhaps this is one tournament to omit from the discussion. The 14-time major champion certainly hasn’t played great at TPC Sawgrass this week, but then again, that’s not saying much.
Since his lone win at the Players in 2001, Woods has just one top-10 finish in the event, a solo eighth in 2009. Barring something spectacular on Sunday, he won’t add to that total after a Saturday 72 kept him in the middle of the pack of those playing the weekend.
But as he points out, he’s not alone in not being able to master TPC Sawgrass. In fact, 19 different winners have won here the past 19 years, making it tough to use a litmus test for how anyone is playing.
“I think if you look at it as a whole, everyone who has played here, they have never been really consistent here,” he said. “I mean, everyone, going from the time Jerry Pate won, no one has really contended here or been in contention 70, 80 percent of the time. Like some golf courses you get certain guys playing well there no matter what.”
Related: The Tiger Woods timeline
How much of a struggle has it been for Woods at TPC Sawgrass? His Friday 68 was just the fourth time he’s broken 70 at the Pete Dye course in his last 23 attempts. But as he has all week — and all year for that matter — Woods stayed upbeat about what he’s been working on with swing coach Sean Foley.
“It’s feeling a lot more comfortable out there,” he said. “I’m hitting the shots, I’m shaping the ball again, and it’s just trying to get the timing of the wind out there right now.”
Woods’ third round was relatively uneventful. With bogeys on No. 7 and No. 10, he fell back to even par before getting his first birdie on No. 11. He added a birdie at the difficult 13 and then parred in, barely missing birdie attempts on the final three holes.
“I played well today and didn’t get anything out of that round,” Woods said. “It was probably the most solid I’ve hit the golf ball all year actually.”
That comment seemed to raise a few eyebrows, but a 72 under very breezy conditions and with a high number of difficult hole locations certainly isn’t reason to panic.
“It was a great test,” he said.
Woods’ next test will be completing this event for the first time in three years. After that, he’ll probably play next at the Memorial, a place where he’s won four times. There, we should get a better feel about the status of his game, which has swayed from ordinary to start the year, to spectacular at his win in Bay Hill, to shaky at his last two starts.
Actually, about the only thing that has really been learned about Woods this week is that he’s gone back to metal spikes in his shoes — a change he made last week at Quail Hollow — since his knee is “finally healthy enough.” Then again, we’ve heard that one before too.
– Alex Myers
Follow @AlexMyers3
Seven notable third-round Players Championship stats from Golf World contributing writer Brett Avery, who compiles the Rank and File statistical sections for the magazine’s coverage of the major championships and other significant events:
1. Two men who traditionally play their best in the third round, Matt Kuchar and Rickie Fowler, excelled Saturday and put themselves in position to win the Players Championship. Kuchar’s three-under-par 69 bore everything from a 2 to a 6 and only a bogey at the 17th, where his tee ball splashed short of the island green, cost him a share of the lead at 12-under-par 204 with Kevin Na. Kuchar has posted his best scoring average in the third round in nine of his 11 PGA Tour seasons. Fowler posted his third consecutive sub-70 third round, a day’s-best 66. It followed his 69 at New Orleans (finished T10) and a 67 last week at Wells Fargo (won). It was the first time Fowler’s shot in the 60s in the third round of three consecutive official tour starts since May and June in 2010 (Colonial, 64, T-38; Memorial, 69, second; Travelers, 69, T-13). If their 2012 form holds for Kuchar and Fowler, they may struggle in the fourth round, their worst scoring day this season. Kuchar came into this week ranked 23rd on Sunday (70.25) while Fowler stands 63rd (71.11). Leader Na? The last round is statistically his strongest, although he ranks 47th at 70.78.
2. Kuchar and Na remain the only players eligible to end one of the longest-standing droughts in Players history: No player has posted four rounds in the 60s since Steve Elkington won in 1997 (66-69-68-69). Kuchar (68-68-69) has made five cuts in eight starts at Sawgrass but Saturday was only his second weekend score in the 60s (68, fourth round in ’09). Na (67-69-67) put up his first weekend sub-70 in five tries. Elkington is joined in the all-sub-60s club at Sawgrass by the three top finishers in 1994: Greg Norman (63-67-67-67), Fuzzy Zoeller (65-67-68-67) and Jeff Maggert (65-69-69-68).
3. There’s an outside chance the tournament record at TPC Sawgrass for most birdies could be tied or broken. It was set by Fuzzy Zoeller, who made 26 in 1994 while finishing four strokes behind Greg Norman. Na (20), Fowler (19) and Kuchar (18) have an outside chance — although what’s most interesting is that they are among the less-likely candidates in a field of 144 of the world’s best. Na went into the week tied for 34th among PGA Tour players this year in total birdies (151), while Fowler stands T-39 (149) and Kuchar T-93 (122). Season leader Cameron Tringale (180) has made only a dozen at the Stadium Course, which gives him a share of 21st for the week.
Sergio Garcia had just posted what will surely be one of Saturday’s lowest rounds. After an early double bogey dropped him to two-over par, he rallied with eight birdies at a wind-swept TPC Sawgrass to pull within four shots of the leaders who were still an hour and a half away from teeing off.
The only problem? Despite obviously playing well in difficult conditions, Garcia seemed almost surprised by his 68, which included a 31 on the back nine.
Photo by Getty Images
“I don’t know,” he answered when asked what caused the turnaround. “Probably just got a little lucky.”
“It’s just one of those things,” he responded unenthusiastically when asked a couple minutes later about his brilliant back nine.
And that, in a nutshell, seems to be the problem with Garcia these days. Despite the talents that made him a winner at the Players in 2008 and the No. 2-ranked golfer in the world, the Spaniard is still wanting for confidence.
Permalink: Sergio Garcia goes low, but still lacks confidence in game