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Tiger Woods Says He Is Not Ready For Ryder Cup, Frees Up Tom Watson To Pick

Ryder Cup Captain Tom Watson has said for the last several months that he is seriously considering picking Tiger Woods as one of his selections.

He won’t be able to anymore.

On Wednesday, Woods officially withdrew his name from consideration by Watson as a Ryder Cup Captain selection for the event which begins at the end of September from Gleneagles Country Club.

It’s not all surprising that Woods made this decision, at the advice of his doctors. It was the right decision, as this will give him plenty of time to recover from his back injury, which he likely reaggravated by coming back too soon. Woods is most recently coming off of a missed cut at the 2014 PGA Championship. Prior to that, he had did not play a factor at the WGC Bridgestone where he was the defending champion, and one good round at the British Open over the course of four days.

With Woods withdrawing from 2014 Ryder Cup consideration, it probably takes a lot of pressure off Watson and makes his job easier. Either way Watson went with it, there was going to be a big story that followed. This now alleviates that potential storyline, and gives the U.S Team and media plenty of time to prepare for the Ryder Cup knowing well in advance Woods will not be a part of the team.

This also means that we might see Watson pick his team earlier than the September 2 deadline. If Woods had remained steadfast in wanting to be picked, Watson would have probably wanted to give him the maximum amount of time to heal and get his game in shape.

The U.S. team will be facing an uphill challenge regardless of whether Woods would have been on the team. In fact, they might be better off, but still will be the underdogs against the European squad.

Europe happens to have the last three Major winners in Rory McIlroy (twice), and Martin Kaymer. They also have Sergio Garcia, who has been playing very well over the last six months in contending for Major Championships.

To be fair though, Europe has been perceived to be underdogs over the last decade or so in each Ryder Cup, and have contended very well, dominating the U.S. squad on the whole. And let’s not forget the the U.S. has guys like Bubba Watson, Jordan Spieth, Phil Mickelson, Matt Kuchar, and more. These players are all well prepared to take on the hostile environment that they will face.

The Ryder Cup remains one of the premiere in sports, and should be chock-full of intensity and pressure.

It’s Time To Start Talking About Rory And Jack, Not Tiger And Jack

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Rory McIlroy is the third player in history to win three majors by the age of 25. The other two are Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods.

While the majority of focus on Jack Nicklaus’s record of 18 Majors has centered around if Woods can break it or not, perhaps we should start taking a look at McIlroy.

At just 25 years old, McIlroy is one Major win from the career slam if he were to win the Masters. His next opportunity to close out all four Major woulds be in April. But his next opportunity to win a Major will be in a couple of weeks for the PGA Championship. McIlroy captured the 2011 PGA Championship by a whopping eight shots.

The win at the 2014 Open Championship has shifted the way that McIlroy is being thought of, and more importantly the way that he thinks of himself. It’s been no secret over the course of the last 18 months that McIlroy has struggled with his game. It was just over a year ago that he walked off the course in the middle of the Nissan Open. It is a move that he regrets, but has learned from.

It hasn’t been a fast process, but McIlroy looks like he is well on his way back to the top of the golf world. He is now the No.2 ranked player in the world, and has Adam Scott in his sights to chase down No.1 and reclaim that top spot once more.

He will get the chance to do that at the 2014 PGA Championship, and there is no doubt that he will come in confident.

What is he wins?

That would give McIlroy four Major victories, still 14 behind Nicklaus. But if McIlroy is somehow able to get a couple more Major over the next two of three years, that would legitimately put him in the conversation of becoming the all-time leader.

McIlroy has the talent to win every Major that he enters. But what’s more important, is that he is one of only a handful of players that can win a Major Championship when he isn’t playing his best. Only Woods, and a couple others out there can make that claim.

McIlroy appears to have turned a corner, and if he is able to seize the moment and turn it on over the next few years, we could be looking at a player that has the opportunity to become golf’s next superstar.

And with golf trending down in popularity, that is exactly what the sport needs right now.

What Can We Expect From Tiger Woods At The 2014 British Open?

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Tiger Woods returned to the PGA Tour a few weeks ago at the Quicken Loans National at Congressional Country Club, a tournament that benefits Woods’ foundation. He admitted that had it not, he would have not played in the tournament.

The goal since the surgery has been the British Open.

But with Woods missing the cut at Congressional, it certainly raises questions about what kind of form he will be in when it comes time to tee it up at the Open Championship next week. The good news is that this is a golf course that Woods has won on, capturing the 2006 British Open.

The bad news, or rather the uncertainty of it all is what game Woods will bring with him overseas to Hoylake. It’s a good thing that he was able to get competitive rounds in, but can we realistically expect woods to be in the mix on Sunday?

The likely answer is no.

Look, we are the first ones to praise Woods on his accomplishments, but that is the player that he was. The player that he is now is a wildcard. We simply do not know what to expect and he has shown no signs of finding top form heading into the third Major Championship of the season. And lest we forget this is actually the first for Woods since the 2013 PGA Championship.

Woods missed the Masters and the U.S. Open in the same season for the first time in his career. This layoff is a bit different than those he has suffered in the past, simply based on the fact that he is 38 years old. Father time is bearing down on the number of legitimate chances Woods will have at moving beyond 14 Majors, a number that he has been stuck on since June of 2008. That is more than six years since Woods has won a Major.

To put that into perspective, Barack Obama wasn’t even in the White House at that point, he was merely in the process of running for his first term.

Unfortunately, we really didn’t get the chance to see Woods much because he only played 36 holes at Congressional. It would have been nice to see him make the weekend and show signs of coming back.

For now, his progress is being made away from the spotlight and on the practice tee. You can bet that Woods has this one marked on his calendar as a chance to get No.15.

What bodes well for Woods is that when he won in 2006, he hit just one driver off the tee. Certainly you can expect somewhat of a different setup, but if Woods keeps it in the fairway, he can avoid going off the tee with a driver.

This could give him the opportunity he needs.

Adam Scott Likely To Become No.1 In The World Despite Not Playing At The Byron Nelson

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Adam Scott and Tiger Woods There have been 18 players ranked No.1 in the world since the Official World Golf Rankings were introduced in 1986.

It looks like we are on the verge of the 19th player, despite the fact that he will not even be teeing it up this week at the Byron Nelson Championship.

Adam Scott entered the PLAYERS Championship on Thursday needing just a tie for 16th place to leap in front of Tiger Woods as the No.1 player in the world. Scott recorded a T38 finish, well back of the finish he needed to assume the ranking. That however doesn’t appear to matter if the predictions are true.

Woods has not been able to play since undergoing back surgery at the beginning of April. He missed the Masters for the first time in his career, and was unable to defend his PLAYERS Championship victory from a year ago. Woods has been the No.1 player in the world for more weeks than any other player, and will get one more week before Scott likely assumes the throne.

There were four players in total who had the chance to the top of the golfing ladder at the PLAYERS Championship. They were Scott, Matt Kuchar, Bubba Watson, and Henrik Stenson. Kuchar is the only player of the four teeing it up this week at the Byron Nelson Championship, but even with a win he wouldn’t take over the top spot this week.

A decade ago, it looked like Scott would eventually become the No.1 player in the world, or at the very least the biggest challenger to Woods. After years of underachieving, Scott is back on top and is one of the most consistent players in the world. That play resulted in a victory at the Masters in 2013, his first Major Championship win.

Scott has arguably the best swing in golf. It’s certainly the most appealing visually. It’s been the putting that has held Scott back. Of course, come next year he will not be able to use his current anchored putter. He has yet to change however.

Woods is still sidelined and likely won’t be back before the U.S. Open. The more likely scenario is a return for the British Open and PGA Championship. If he can’t return by then he likely wouldn’t qualify statistically for the FedEx Cup Playoffs. Effectively, Woods’ season would be done.

Scott will likely carry the No.1 ranking into the U.S. Open from Pinehurst, where he will be tabbed as a favorite to win.

Tiger Woods Missing Arnold Palmer Is A Good Sign For His Appearance At The Masters

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The news that Tiger Woods withdrew from the 2014 Arnold Palmer Invitational shouldn’t be particularly concerning for fans of the No.1 ranked golfer in the world.

Woods has won the Arnold Palmer Invitational eight times in his career, and with a ninth would break the all-time record for most wins at a single event by any player in history. Woods loves playing at Bay Hill, probably almost as much as he loves playing at Augusta.

That love for playing in the Masters could be the underlying theme here. With the 2014 Masters less than a month away, Woods and his team probably knew that the only way his back has a chance of being 100 percent for the first Major Championship of the year was to take an extended break and focus on resting.

Woods probably needed some tough convincing to withdraw this week on the advice of his doctors and surrounding cast. If anything, Woods has been stubborn and hard-headed in the past when it comes to injuries. He has routinely played at less than 100 percent and has probably missed more time because of it.

The fact that Woods is 48 and his window of consistently contending for Majors is dwindling likely played a factor here. Woods is not a fast healer like he might have been 10 years ago. The fact is that his body is quite a bit different. While Woods remains in fantastic shape, he is approaching 40 and the body reacts to events differently.

While we might not get a chance to see Woods in action at Bay Hill this week, we all would much rather see him 100 percent at the Masters the second week in April.

Woods remains at 14 Major Championship victories, with the last coming in 2008 at the U.S. Open. If Woods does not win the Masters, it will be a full six years since that U.S. Open victory that Woods will have last won a Major Championship. That seems almost impossible considering how he has been in contention over these last six years, only to fail to produce.

The way that the slate of Majors sets up in 2014 though is very appealing for him. Woods has Major wins on three of the four courses, with the only one he hasn’t won on being Pinehurst for the U.S. Open. In 2005, the last time that U.S. Open was held at Pinehurst, Woods finished second to Michael Campbell.

At the very least, Woods has to be confident that he has had plenty of success on the Major Championship venues for this season.

How Will Tiger’s Back Affect Him Heading Into The Masters?

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It’s clear that the last two tournaments Tiger Woods has entered he has not been 100 percent healthy. In fact, one resulted in a withdrawal during the final round, and the other resulted in a final round 78. Actually, had it not been for Woods’ withdrawing at the Honda Classic, he might have withdrawn at the Cadillac Championship for the second-straight week in the final round. But instead he gritted it out to finish the tournament.

Woods will get a week off in between the Cadillac Championship and the Arnold Palmer Invitational, not playing at Innisbrook in Palm Harbor or the Valspar Championship this week. Continue reading →

Tiger Woods Missed Secondary Cut At Farmers Insurance Open; Cause For Concern?

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Many thought that Tiger Woods would come out and win the 2014 Farmers Insurance Open this past week. After all, he had won the event seven times before + Torrey Pines is a golf course that he loves to play.

After the first couple of rounds Woods was right around the cut line, needing a low third round to shoot back up into the conversation.

The opposite happened.

Woods needed an eight-foot putt on the 18th hole Saturday to stay-off an 80. That’s right, Woods carded a 79 during the third round. What’s more, is that Woods missed the secondary cut on the PGA Tour. A secondary cut is a cut made at the 54-hole mark when there are more than 78 players playing on the weekend. Those players still get paid for making a 36-hole cut, but do not get the chance to compete on Sunday.

Now of course the questions center on Tiger and his upcoming events. Woods was rather positive on his performance though. Rather than categorizing it as catastrophic with the big number 79, he merely said he was a fraction off. On a golf course like Torrey Pines’ South layout that can easily turn a 69 into a 79. But it is rather concerning considering the success the No.1 ranked player in the world has had.

I say let’s cut him some slack for this one. It’s one event. And not just that, it’s the first event he’s played in 2014.

If Woods puts up some more mid-70s rounds through February and March on into the Bay Hill, then around that time we can begin to seriously question what in the world is going on. But until that point comes, let’s just sit back and watch him get his year underway.

We probably won’t see Woods until the Accenture Match Play Championship, so that is not even a stroke play round. His next stroke play event will likely come at the Honda Classic near his home in Florida to open up the Florida Swing.

Another player who had difficulties this week was Phil Mickelson. Lefty admitted he had back pain during the tournament and had to get several treatments. This is the first time in his career that Mickelson has undergone back treatments. However, he is no stranger to playing in pain with the arthritis in his joints.

Woods and Mickelson aren’t getting any younger that’s for sure. But still I think we can expect these two to have some good years in 2014.

Tiger Woods And Phil Mickelson Ready To Take On Torrey Pines For 2014 Farmers Insurance Open

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Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson are set to renew their rivalry with each other this week at Torrey Pines for the Farmers Insurance Open. Ok, maybe it’s not a one-on-one situation in their minds, but fans sure like to make it that way. There’s no question that these two players are the most-popular in the sport. While the 2013-14 PGA Tour season has been underway since the fall, this is the first appearance for both in 2014. Continue reading →

PGA Tour Begins West Coast Swing This Week

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The two tournaments in Hawaii have concluded, with Zach Johnson and Jimmy Walker taking home the titles. Now, the PGA Tour opens up with the West-Coast swing for the next month and a half spanning California and Arizona.

The opening event on the West-Coast Swing in the Humana Challenge. The field for this event isn’t the strongest, but there are definitely some headlining players. There will be three courses that anchor the tournament, with the first 54 holes players tackling a different 18 per day. Continue reading →

Tiger Woods Will Make 2014 Debut At The Farmers Insurance Open

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Tiger Woods announced that he will begin 2014 on a familiar venue. As expected Woods will play in the Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines, a tournament he has won seven times + the 2008 U.S. Open held there.

The 2014 Farmers Insurance Open will begin on Thursday, January 23rd. Woods is the defending champion at the tournament, which was the first of his five wins in 2013. Woods won the PGA Tour Player of the Year last season, despite not winning a Major Championship. Continue reading →