Forget the brief, exhilarating moment at the Masters when Tiger Woods looked invincible again. That machine of golf greatness, who fell apart after blowing up his marriage, is gone for good, writes Buzz Bissinger.
Category: Golf
Serving up top turkeys in sports in time for Thanksgiving
Posted by – November 23, 2010
To help celebrate Thanksgiving, a day that has evolved into food and football and more food and football, Real Clear Sports offers its 2010 Top Turkeys in Sports.
This weekend warrior was really lighting it up on the golf course
Posted by – September 1, 2010
Now this is a bad day on the golf course.
In what could have been a scene out of “Caddyshack,” a golfer sparked a 12-acre blaze trying to play an errant shot out of the rough last weekend at Shady Canyon Golf Course in Irvine, Calif.
According to various media reports, the golfer snagged a rock with his club, causing a spark that lit the rough ablaze and eventually attracted 150 firefighters to the scene. Fire officials say the fire burned through the rough, into vegetation next to the course and over two dry, brushy hillsides.
No charges were filed against the golfer, whose name was withheld. No word on whether the golfer finished the hole or the round, or if alcohol was involved. (This wouldn’t have happened had the golfer used the trusty hand or foot wedge to get the ball out of the rough first.)
So, in the future, should you hear a golfer yelling “fire” instead of “fore” ….
If you haven’t gotten your fill of the Tiger Woods story …
Posted by – August 25, 2010
Some excerpts from Elin Nordegren’s interview with People magazine, courtesy of the Associated Press. Nordegren’s divorce from Tiger Woods was finalized Monday. Just a hunch, but People will probably sell a few extra copies of this edition.
On Woods’ infidelities:
“I’m so embarrassed that I never suspected — not a one. For the past 3 1/2 years, when all this was going on, I was home a lot more with pregnancies, then the children and my school.”
On her feelings when she first learned Woods was unfaithful:
“Absolute shock and disbelief. I felt stupid as more things were revealed — how could I not have known anything? The word betrayal isn’t strong enough.”
On the last nine months, since Woods’ infidelities were revealed:
“I’ve been through hell. It’s hard to think you have this life, and then all of a sudden — was it a lie? You’re struggling because it wasn’t real. But I survived. It was hard, but it didn’t kill me.”
On speculation she hit Woods the night of his accident that triggered the revelations about his behavior:
“There was never any violence inside or outside our home. The speculation that I would have used a golf club to hit him is just truly ridiculous. Tiger left the house that night, and after a while when he didn’t return, I got worried and decided to go look for him. That’s when I found him in the car. I did everything I could to get him out of the locked car.”
On why she is speaking out now:
“Before today I haven’t felt ready, but now I see it as a step toward putting it behind me. … I have no intention of addressing these matters again after this interview.”
On whether she’ll be able to forgive Woods:
“Forgiveness takes time. It is the last step of the grieving process. I am going to be completely honest and tell you that I am working on it. I know I will have to come to forgiveness and acceptance of what has happened for me to go on and be happy in the future. And I know I will get there eventually.”
Should Dustin Johnson have been penalized? You make the call
Posted by – August 16, 2010
What if Dustin Johnson had hit his par putt on the 72nd hole of the PGA Championship Sunday evening, accepted handshakes from the PGA brass and a hug from his wife, and had his picture taken with the trophy and the oversized check? And then had it stripped away because he was assessed a two-stroke penalty for grounding his club in a bunker that didn’t look like a bunker (see at right)?
Gene Wojciechowski of ESPN.com believes Johnson has no one to blame but himself.
You can feel sorry for Johnson, but not because a rules infraction cost him a chance at a playoff or championship. Feel sorry for him because his indifference to that sheet of paper will haunt him forever.
Johnson has only himself to blame for committing one of the greatest mistakes in the history of majors golf. It was Roberto De Vicenzo-dumb, a sin of laziness.
James Achenbach of Golfweek had a different take, believing that the almighty rule book has trumped common sense.
Sadly, I am losing my respect for the rulesmakers and the individuals who enforce them. These people seem to have lost sight of a simple observation: Golf should be governed first and foremost by common sense.
The rules have become impossible to know and understand. They are as inscrutable as the Dead Sea Scrolls. The only people who actually know the rules are easy to recognize – they walk around with long-sleeve white shirts and ties, and they have rules books and decisions books tucked in all their pockets.
As embarrassing at it was Sunday evening, it wasn’t as embarrassing as it could have been. At least not as many people are talking about Tiger Woods today.
Final round of the U.S. Open proves painful to watch
Posted by – June 21, 2010
Putting the U.S. Open in prime time was a stroke of genius by the television networks. It meant fans could watch at least the final nine holes without wasting an entire afternoon parked in front of the big screen with the sun shining outside.
But as Jeff Neuman of Real Clear Sports points out, it was a painful final round to watch. Everyone suggested that third-round leader Dustin Johnson would need to come back to the pack to make it a horse race, but who knew he would need only three holes to do it? He’s not going to soon forget shooting an 82 after sleeping on the 54-hole lead in the U.S. Open.
The open is always difficult, and par is considered a winnable score, but there was no drama of a final-round charge. There were no dramatic birdies that will be played over and over in years to come. Instead, there was one train wreck after another — something all of us weekend duffers can relate to — as the contenders failed to capitalize on opportunities to make a game of it.
Isn’t this how the British Open is supposed to play out?
No shortage of stories from first day of the Masters
Posted by – April 9, 2010
So much for Tiger Woods being rusty. Sure, he left a few putts out there Thursday in the first round of the Masters, but he still shot a 4-under 68 despite being under the glare of TV cameras and a normally tame gallery at Augusta National.
Otherwise, it was turn-back-the-clock day. Fred Couples, the 1992 champion (pictured at right with then-wife Deborah) and now a full-time member of the Champions Tour at age 50, became the oldest man to ever lead the Masters. That honor would have gone to 60-year-old Tom Watson, who finished at 5-under earlier in the day, had it not been for Couples.
Couples is one of the nicest guys in professional golf, and he has a swing duffers everywhere would kill for. There will be plenty of sentiment for him to hang around the top of the leaderboard until Sunday afternoon, just as many people were pulling for Kenny Perry a year ago.
And you can bet CBS is hoping Woods will be in contention. His return after five months of personal turmoil and humiliation is THE storyline of the tournament, and winning his fifth green jacket would go a long way toward mending his tattered image.
New Nike ad puts Tiger Woods in different light
Posted by – April 8, 2010
Richard Sandomir of the New York Times writes the new Nike ad featuring Tiger Woods, with a voiceover we’re led to believe is his late father, Earl Woods, has more questions than answers.
No other week in sports compares to this one
Posted by – April 5, 2010
This may be the best single week in sports.
Although the Red Sox and Yankees played the first game of the season Sunday night (and it was relaxing to watch a meaningful game for the first time since November), most Major League baseball teams begin their seasons today. As a friend once told me in comparing MLB to the National Football League, football is an event, while baseball is a companion.
Butler will try to cap its improbable run tonight when it plays Duke for the NCAA basketball championship. Can’t say it has been the most anticipated Final Four of all time, maybe because there really were no great teams this season, but I suspect most of America will be rooting for a mid-major to walk away from the biggest prize of all. And I say that despite having the utmost respect for Coach K.
Finally, the Masters tees off Thursday. The first major is the best of them all, in part because it is played at the same venue every year. There will be the Tiger Woods sideshow, but this is one tournament that can hold an audience no matter who is atop the leaderboard. There’s just something about Augusta National and the history of the tournament. Some of the best weeks of my professional life were spent there. I think Steve Looten will agree.
It’s time for three of the best weeks in sports – four counting Tiger
Posted by – March 17, 2010
* With all due respect to Winthrop and Arkansas-Pine Bluff, the NCAA basketball tournament really begins at 11 a.m. Thursday. On the eve of three of the best weeks in sports, Real Clear Sports offers this list of the top 10 storylines for this year’s tournament. And with Tiger Woods announcing he will play in the Masters April 8-11, it will be four great weeks in a row.
• Give my good friend and golf magazine supplier UMR a gold star for suggesting the following annoying phrases be banished from talk about next year’s NCAA basketball tournament:
“body of work”
“eye test”
“bracketology”
“peel the onion”
While we’re at it, can we tone down Joe Lunardi? I’m sure he’s a fine fellow, but he’s Mel Kiper on steroids. I’m hearing “first three teams in” and “first three teams out” in my sleep. And Mississippi State seems to be on both lists.
* Columnist Bryan Burwell predicts the NCAA will expand the field to a bloated 96 teams for one reason — money. Basketball pays the freight for the NCAA, and it can opt out of its deal with CBS and go on the open market. More teams could mean more money, but it’s not going to improve the quality. Stat of the day: Since 1985, the 14h, 15th and 16th seeds have won 19 of 300 games played. And the teams that would be added to a larger field would be worse.
