Tiger's Prowling

So the last two Sundays I have watched an amazing performance. Tiger Woods has won the last two weeks on the PGA tour. Sound easy? Not so fast my friends (hey a Lee Corso reference means college football must be starting soon, but I digress). First you have to consider what it takes to walk a golf course for four days straight in the summer. Second you have to factor in travel. Third there are charity events and practice rounds and media interviews. It's no wonder these guys don't play every week.

Now consider that Tiger didn't do enough to outpace the field in each of the first three rounds of the last two tournaments. He was in the hunt on Sunday meaning the red shirt would be on, but still he had to execute his game in order to win. The poor guys that play with him. It has to be one of the most stressful times in golf. It's probably akin to guarding Michael Jordan in his prime during the NBA finals. It's intimidating to say the least.

However, yesterday it looked as if Tiger had flinched. On 14 Tiger hit his second shot right of the green and tried to flop the ball over a sand trap to get an up-and-down par. He miss-hit it and landed in the sand. The result a bogey. Had Tiger flinched? Harrington made par on the 14th and both golfers parred the 15th. That lead to the 16th where both players tee shots left something to be desired. Woods hit his second shot to within 181 yards in the middle of the fairway. Harrington hit his further but it was in the rough just outside a fairway bunker. This is where it all changed and Harrington ended up flinching.

Tiger pulled out his 8-iron. I don't know about you but I would have been hitting a 6 or a 5 depending on the wind. An 8-IRON! The announcers were talking about him hitting left of the hole about 25 feet. That's not Tiger's game. Instead Tiger hits the shot about 183 yards (again with an 8-IRON) that landed about 6 to 8 feet left of the hole and spun back to within a foot. I don't know about you but if I'm Harrington seeing that shot I know I have to get it close enough to save par.

Harrington hit his shot to the back right of the green (did I mention the right front of the green was guarded by water?). He had an impossible lie to try and get it close for par. He tried a flop shot, but unfortunately it looked like me out there and came out way too hot. The shot rolled off the green and into the water. Padraig had to walk back down the fairway to the drop zone and ended up making triple bogey. A four shot swing that sealed the tournament for Tiger.

This week the PGA Championship is being played. It is the season's last major. It is also Tiger's last chance to win a major this year. The way he is playing right now I think the field should be thinking of what to do with the second place money. Although it is hard to win on Tour three weeks in a row, Tiger is on his game and may just run away with it to prove the point that he is the best golfer in the world. I will be watching and yes rooting for Tiger to pull this off.