Tag Archives: Tiger Woods

Play To Get Back Underway In Arizona

Play is to get back underway in Arizona after yesterday’s amazing snow deluge as the snow is starting clear. Players  will be heading out to get there matches finished from yesterday with Rory McIlroy and Tiger Woods still yet to tee-off.

The snow was quite a sight as you’re not used to seeing  it happen in the desert or on live television golf coverage, but the snow is still visible today and will make it harder for the players.

Garcia will be hoping to close out his match quickly as he is 2 up with three holes still to play and Ian Poulter will be hoping to do the same being 3 up with six still to play.

Conditions will be suiting the European players more at the moment, so don’t be surprised to see an all European final come Sunday.

Tiger Woods Is On A Mission

Tiger Woods goes into tonight’s conclusion of the final round of the Farmers Insurance Open with a  six shot lead.

The weather has got the better of them this week in America where an entire day of golf got wiped due to fog, but the tournament has virtually come to end despite going to an extra day, as Tiger produced the form that he has promised to for a long time now.

If he does go on to win, it will be Woods’ eighth victory on the public course of Torrey Pines that runs along the pacific coast.

I’m sure the other players will be trying to put pressure on Tiger and hope that he slips up a couple of times which he has been prone to in recent years. But this Tiger looks different, I think he’s on a real mission this year to prove to himself and to many people that he still has what it takes to win big tournaments and even major championships.

My money is going to be on Woods getting back to the number one spot and to win a major this year. You can’t keep a player of his quality down for too long, and lets face it, his bad form is as good as a lot of players good form.

Oosthuizen Wants McIlroy’s Number One Spot

South African major winner Louis Oosthuizen is setting his sights to leapfrog Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy to the World Number One position this season.

Oosthuizen is currently fifth in the rankings after a great start to the season after victory at the Volvo Golf Champions two weeks ago. He tees it up this week in Qatar Masters which is his second tournament of the season.

He seems to have a habit of winning his first event of the season as he has now done it three years running. The 30 year old knows there is a big gap in points between him and McIlroy but is in confident form and believes he can have a very good year and can challenge the Northern Irishman to the top spot.

“I want to climb up the World Ranking to Number One if I can, but I always take it slowly and see how my game is,” said Oosthuizen.

He has always been a good solid player, and last year found himself at the business end of many tournaments and majors, but he seems to have taken the next step and will be a tough man to beat if he gets himself into contention this season.

McIlroy and Woods Struggle In Opening Round

It was the opening round of the Abu Dhabi Championship today and it’s Justin Rose and Jamie Donaldson who share the lead while Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy struggled.

McIlroy playing in his first competitive round with his new clubs was all over the place. He was hitting his new driver wayward and even hit a shot out of bounds. He managed to scrape it round in 75 shots ( +3 ). Tiger wasn’t much better, on the first hole he topped a drive which only went 70 yards! Maybe the pressure got to McIlroy a little bit knowing that all eyes were on him after the Nike deal.

It will be interesting to see if McIlroy bounces back straight away or whether he continues to struggle. One thing is for sure…he won’t be down for very long.

 

Rory McIlroy Finishes Top Of The Pops For 2012

Well  the golfing year has ended and it’s Rory McIlroy who tops the Official World Golf Ranking, with Ryder Cup team-mate Luke Donald finishing second.

McIlroy has ended up finishing 251 points clear of Donald with a grand total of  596.99 points. It’s ended up being a decent season for Luke Donald especially after such a great 2011 season. It was a tough start to the season this time round but he finished strongly and should be very satisfied with what he’s done.

McIlroy, who finished third last year, has enjoyed a superb 2012 by winning the USPGA Championship and the Ryder Cup in a season full of drama and a lot of great golf.  McIlroy did have a slight lull in the middle of the season and questions were asked of him but he came back stronger than ever to claim numerous titles.

Tiger Woods managed to finish third behind McIlroy and Donald which was a great improvement on his 23rd place finish last year.

I really can’t wait to see how next season pans out with so many great players in good form and to see if McIlroy can keep doing what he’s been doing or weather Tiger will be back to his absolute best. I think Tiger has played some terrific golf this season but just hasn’t managed to get the putter going. If he can, then 2013 could be a whole different story.

 

Best Ever – Nicklaus? Woods? McIlroy?

Two time major winner and former world number one Greg Norman thinks that Rory McIlroy has what it takes to break Jack Nicklaus’ major championship record, and even more chance than Tiger Woods.

McIlroy who is currently the best in the world has two majors under his belt at the moment and is a long way off getting anywhere near Tiger’s record let alone Jack’s. Woods hasn’t won a major in four years but in my opinion still has a lot of golf left to play, and he more than anybody will be determined to surpass Nicklaus’ record.

McIlroy has had a great couple of years but I think people are getting carried away, sometimes talent isn’t enough to sustain a long career, you need sheer determination, has McIlroy got that? I don’t know but I think the next couple of years are crucial if he is to have any chance in becoming the greatest player to ever play the game.

 

The End Of a Great Year For McIlroy

Well the inevitable happened at the weekend and not even a record breaking round of 62 from Justin Rose (his lowest round on the European Tour by two) could prevent Rory McIlroy from capping his incredible season with victory at the DP World Tour Championship.

The Northern Irishman not only held the challenge from Justin Rose but also from World Number Two Luke Donald who he was paired with. It’s been an incredible year for McIlroy also winning the US Money List, the US PGA Championship and the Ryder Cup.

As seasons go it doesn’t get much better than that and it will be interesting to see how this effects him next year. Will he be as determined? Will the $120 million deal with Nike spur him on or will the new clubs leave him struggling? I’m looking forward to finding out, are you?

Fatigued Woods Takes Extended Break

Former world No.1 Tiger Woods  has said that he is looking forward to a break from golf and blamed fatigue as the reason for not competing in this week’s $7 million WGC-HSBC tournament at Mission Hills in China. 

After a recent busy schedule which has included an exhibition match against Rory McIlroy, Woods decided he needed a break. By his own standards he hasn’t had the best year in golfing terms. He has won tournaments and has always been in contention but the putter has gone a bit cold on him. At times he has looked lost and strained and at times he looks like he’s thriving on the golf course. I for one think a break will do him good.

He will be playing in his own tournament before putting the clubs away until next year. I honestly believe Tiger will be back to No.1 in the world next year. Don’t hold me to that though!

 

McIlroy Sees Off Tiger In Head-To-Head

Today was the eagerly anticipated showdown between Rory McIlroy and Tiger Woods at Jinsha Lake Golf Club in China. It was over 18 holes and was tight all the way with McIlroy eventually winning by a shot over world No.2 Woods.  McIlroy shot a 67 and got off to a fast start with two birdies in the first three holes. Woods carded six birdies and two bogeys in his round of 68 and couldn’t overcome the great start from the Northern Irishmen.

Both players had to make long journeys after they were competing in the business end of different tournaments across Asia, McIlroy finishing second and Woods finishing fourth respectively but that didn’t stop them producing great golf at times. Tiger was fresh off a 63 at the CIMB Classic in Malaysia and is showing signs of being back to his best, he just needs to get that putter working and I can see him overtaking Rory next season.

Tiger To Captain USA In Ryder Cup?

Tiger Woods  has come out and said that being given the chance to captain America in the Ryder Cup would be a “huge honour”  for him and that he would love to have the chance to do so.

The world No.2 who has only been part of one winning Ryder Cup team out of the last seven and was part of the most recent encounter at Medinah when America got thumped in the final day singles.

Woods who was partnered with Steve Stricker, lost all three of his matches  on the Friday and Saturday and only managed a half in the singles on the Sunday when he sportingly gave Francesco Molinari a 5 foot putt to allow Europe to win the Ryder Cup having already retained it after comebacks from Poulter, Rose, Westwood, Garcia and Kaymer.

Woods has a got a very poor record in the Ryder Cup and questions have been asked whether he was really interested in the competition.

Woods said “It would be a huge honour, hopefully it doesn’t happen in the near future as I would like to play in many more Ryder Cups“.