Fake-Fat Sunny Posted June 20, 2005 Share Posted June 20, 2005 I ask this question in light of the Bills 4 SB losses in the 90s. I'm an American, and am quite lucky to be so. Yet, I find that I have to fight the American tendency (a tendency which I think has made us the world power) to feel a bit disappointed in Woods finish today. Logically there is some basis for this feeling as: 1. I don't really care about golf except as entertainment and like watching the paint drying borigness of auto racing waiting (but not rooting) for a dramatic and flaming crash and watch this "sport" for the drama rather than for the athletic competition (don't get me wrong I think it is phenomenal athletic competition and I can neither consistently drive a ball long distances with accuracy nor drive a car for hours straight mere inches from death). Minus the drama of Tiger going for the Grand Slam golf is of less interest to me. 2. Excellence and new events are really cool and losing Woods being able to pull off a feat not even equalled in quite a while (the Tiger Slam was a phenomenal achievement but all the Majors did not come in one season) would have been phenomenal to watch and his second place finish today makes that impossible. However, logically, the Wood performance this week was simply great: 1. His second place finish after winning the Masters is amazing given that he has remade his game once again after accomplishing unheard of feats with his first game, snd bettering that performance with his redone game and now potentially being on the brink over the next several years of stepping up his accomplishments with yet another redone game and approach. 2. His finish of first in the Masters and 2nd in the open makes him a prohibitive favorite to win the PGA and the British Open and not a bad bet to fail to win the Grand Slam this year but to put up a 1-2- 1(?)-1(?) finish in the 4 majors. 3. He made a bunch of money with today's loss (?) and not only strengthened his hold on the #1 ranking, but is the odds on favorite to be Golfer of the Year only half way through the year. It is doubtful that Campbell wins another major and if other players take the next two then they will only equal the number of majors won this year by Woods who also has a couple of other titles in his belt and a 2nd place finish in the other major. 4. He has done all this with a knockout for a wife who has not seemed to destoyed his game by marrying him. I ask this question in light of the Bills having come up short 4 times in reaching their ultimate athletic goal and many still label them as losers for not winning it all even once. I know that Woods finish today is little short of fantastic, but like any American (It is the US Open afterall) I can't help but feel a little disappointed though logic tells me to save my disappointment for a real issue and for someone who didn't perform far better than every other golfer in the world save one. Was Woods finish disappointing to folks? Was the Bills failure to win an SB after an unprecedented four straight trips a disappointment which should not go away with time or in broader context? Logic tells me that Woods is a winner despite his loss today, however, maybe sports is not supposed to be logical at all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fake-Fat Sunny Posted June 20, 2005 Author Share Posted June 20, 2005 Whoops, just noted that even Campbell was not below par over 4 days but "merely" even with par. A slight oversite but I know how persnickety some folks can be. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mead107 Posted June 20, 2005 Share Posted June 20, 2005 if he did not win then what did he do ???? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
michaelimagnus Posted June 20, 2005 Share Posted June 20, 2005 How did he re-do his game? I don't follow the game all that much, but that comment interests me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fake-Fat Sunny Posted June 20, 2005 Author Share Posted June 20, 2005 How did he re-do his game? I don't follow the game all that much, but that comment interests me. 362029[/snapback] After he ran away with his firdt Masters' jacket and won a load of tournament and a couple of majors and Player of the Year, Woods enlisted swing doctor Butch Harmon and reconfigured how he approached swinging for altitude and distance and reconfigured his swing and game to increase his accuracy at the sacrifice of some distance. he struggled a bit with is performance as he remade his game and made a couple of other switches in terms of his caddy and also pumped some iron to get some distance back and lo and behold had even greater success and put together his Tiger Slam of holding all 4 Major cups at the same time. Recently he has changed his game again and seemed to be showing a bit of arrogance as he and Harmon had a bit of a falling out. However, in addition to reconfiguring his swing and approach, he has also shuffled the equipment he uses like going to a bigger head driver with more distance but theoretically less accuracy (darn I sound like a golf nut but really have not even attempted to play in years and tend to tune in simply to see the finish of a tourney or check in on occaision). At any rate, the psycho drama has been interesting to watch as theories seem to persist with his game tailing off from his stratospheric achievements that he is in the bag now that his is distracted by shagging his Swedish wife or trying to redo his game without Swengali Harmon. However, rumors of the death of his game seem exaggerated after winning the Masters (which even today on the Sports Reporters Lupica attributed to luck) and his posting a 2nd in the Open. In general the technical details of the redo are beyond me, but generally it seems to revolve around intially sacrificing distance for accuracy and lifting to make up the power issue and the new model seems to be using new technology to restore a distance advantage he has lost as all golfers are now working out and him learning the new equipment to restore accuracy lost when he went to a new driver and golfball. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ExWNYer Posted June 20, 2005 Share Posted June 20, 2005 Logic tells me that Woods is a winner despite his loss today, however, maybe sports is not supposed to be logical at all. 362017[/snapback] Scoreboard. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ExiledInIllinois Posted June 20, 2005 Share Posted June 20, 2005 How did he re-do his game? I don't follow the game all that much, but that comment interests me. 362029[/snapback] Wasn't there something about those Nike clubs? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RVJ Posted June 20, 2005 Share Posted June 20, 2005 Woods finds scant consolation in finishing second http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=...a_open_woods_dc Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MattyT Posted June 20, 2005 Share Posted June 20, 2005 In general the technical details of the redo are beyond me, but generally it seems to revolve around intially sacrificing distance for accuracy and lifting to make up the power issue and the new model seems to be using new technology to restore a distance advantage he has lost as all golfers are now working out and him learning the new equipment to restore accuracy lost when he went to a new driver and golfball. 362037[/snapback] I'm no expert either, but he had been working with an instructor named Hank Haney who promotes a theory of swinging on a single plane throughout the entire swing instead of one plane on the backswing and a second plane on the downswing. As far as the equipment, he has switched to a 460cc driver head and jettisoned the steel driver shaft in favor of a graphite Mitsubishi Diamana. He was one of very few PGA guys still playing a steel driver shaft until he made the change. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beerball Posted June 20, 2005 Share Posted June 20, 2005 I think the announcers had it right when talking about Woods. He was too patient on the course. His lack of a 'charge' yesterday combined with a couple three putts sealed his fate. Kudos(sp?) to Campbell, he was the only one able to consistently make shots. Thank the Lord he isn't an Aussie. As for Lefty(not that you asked)---he talked himself out of this one before it even began. BTW--what ever happened to David Duvall? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OGTEleven Posted June 20, 2005 Share Posted June 20, 2005 Scoreboard. 362108[/snapback] You're right. I checked the scoreboard in the paper today. It had him listed under one guy and over about 150. Next ot his name it said $700,000.00. What a loser. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pine Barrens Mafia Posted June 20, 2005 Share Posted June 20, 2005 Who cares? I'm just happy to see the arrogant bastard lose, much as I am happy to see the Cowgirls suck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kelly the Dog Posted June 20, 2005 Share Posted June 20, 2005 The thing about changing his game, however, is moot in this tournament. For the most part, he was absolutely extraordinary everywhere on the course except the greens and putting, which I don't believe was a big part of his swing or game change. Yeah, he missed a chip or second shot here and there but he was far better than anyone in the field from fairway to green, including the winner, Campbell. Campbell made all the putts and Tiger missed some makeable and easy ones. That was the difference in the championship. The last day, however, it seemed to me that Campbell won it more than Tiger lost it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nervous Guy Posted June 20, 2005 Share Posted June 20, 2005 Logic tells me that Woods is a winner despite his loss today, however, maybe sports is not supposed to be logical at all. 362017[/snapback] I doubt Tiger himself would agree...after all, isn't he the one that said "second place sucks"? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pine Barrens Mafia Posted June 20, 2005 Share Posted June 20, 2005 I doubt Tiger himself would agree...after all, isn't he the one that said "second place sucks"? 362392[/snapback] He *IS* an arrogant bastard, after all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beerball Posted June 20, 2005 Share Posted June 20, 2005 I doubt Tiger himself would agree...after all, isn't he the one that said "second place sucks"? 362392[/snapback] He was quoted today as saying it depends on how you get there. He feels that his 2 seconds in majors should have been wins--if he had made a couple shots here & there. Because he feels that he should have won both, second place sucks. BTW---that avatar gives me the heebie jeebies. (JSP scares me today too) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CoachChuckDickerson Posted June 20, 2005 Share Posted June 20, 2005 Unless the 1st loser is now a winner, yes he lost. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ralonzo Posted June 20, 2005 Share Posted June 20, 2005 He makes $80+ million a year and bangs Elin Nordegren. I'll lose like that all day long. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eball Posted June 20, 2005 Share Posted June 20, 2005 losers? try these: goosen - 81 gore - 84 has there ever been such an utter and complete collapse by the final twosome on a sunday at a major? gore started the day in 2nd and wound up 49th. 49th!! goosen finished in a tie for 11th, but was realistically finished after the 6th hole. their performances make greg norman's masters finale against faldo look like a spectacular exhibition of golf. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Surfmeister Posted June 20, 2005 Share Posted June 20, 2005 I don't care for the way he throws his clubs and his long time loyal caddie has to pick them up. I wish he would show enough class to just hand his club to the caddie after he hits a shot he doesn't quite like. Is that too much to ask ?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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