Will Tiger Woods let the FedEx Cup slip through his fingers?
Submitted by Golf for Beginners Blog
Despite the fact that Tiger Woods missed his final putt at the 18th hole of the Barclays, he still made watching the event a nail-biting experience. Instead of fans cheering Woods to victory, however, this time his legion of die-hard followers were holding their breath as easy two-footers became part of his dilemma.
“Man,” Woods said, “to miss as many putts as I did this week, to still have a chance on the last green with a putt, it goes to show you how good I am at hitting it.”
Yes, Tiger is one of the greatest ball strikers of all time but it cost him just as much on the scorecard to slice one into the woods as to miss short putts. As Ian O’Connor mentioned, Woods’ putter was “completely overmatched”.
Could it be that Tiger has lost his moxie, is becoming less concerned about his game thus practicing his putting a bit less and is allowing his family to consume more of his time? Placing less importance on his game but savoring the important things in life could be the best thing that ever happened to Woods.
In spite of his misses, the number-one golfer in the world still has five wins to his credit this season as opposed to guys like Heath Slocum and Y.E. Yang who struggle to keep their tour cards each week. Woods is also leading the FedEx Cup playoffs in points and is still the hands-down favorite to win the $10 million prize.
So, Tiger Woods’ “B” game is still strong enough to batter his opponents even though, on occasion, secondary Tour players shine. Every once in a while, a Riddick Bowe beats a Mike Tyson…that is what keeps fans coming out to watch.
As far as considering Woods’ year a “letdown” (see link credit below) when comparing him to Roger Federer, each great player has had to defeat their “archrivals” but I believe that these enemies also come from within. Tiger Woods may be allowing this momentary lapse of career interest to occur only because, “our player career is a little bit longer than theirs (Federer).”
As for Jack Nicklaus, the jury is still out but, with time on his side, I think Woods will shake off his malaise and easily surpass the Golden Bear.
September 17th, 2009 at 5:32 pm
I always believe that Tiger Woods is one the best golfers so he can make it. If he missed a putt, it doesn’t mean he’s not good, bad shots happen to every golfer.