Tiger is Down and Out
With his last chance to win a major in 2010 coming in a few days, and indeed his last chance to win a tournament at all, Tiger Woods’ game in disarray at the Bridgestone Invitational, the World Golf Championship event at Firestone Country Club.
Nothing’s working for the current world number one, and the grip he’s had for what seems like forever on that title, is slipping away. Woods has held the number one ranking for 611 weeks in total and 269 consecutive weeks, both records. Put in perspective, only two other golfers have spent an entire calendar year atop the rankings: Nick Faldo and Greg Norman. And they only did that for one calendar year each. Woods has done that in eight separate years.
But it’s falling apart at Firestone, a course he has dominated, winning seven times previously. On Thursday, recorded his career worst score at Firestone, a four-over-par 74 despite playing in ideal conditions. He hit only five of 14 fairways, and after the round said his only goal was to get to even par for the tournament by the end of his round on Friday.
He didn’t manage it. He didn’t even make even par for his round on Friday, hitting only three fairways, consistently missing to the right, and ended his round 13 shots off the lead, amongst the bottom four. Because this is a no-cut tournament, he will have a chance to make up ground on the weekend, but his number one spot is in jeopardy, and that hasn’t been the case in previous years. A top-four finish by Phil Mickelson, who starts the weekend in second place, will see Woods succumb his world number one position to the lefthander.
The 2010 season should have been a dream year for Woods. He played three majors on three of his favourite courses: Augusta National, Pebble Beach, and St. Andrews. In the past, he has demolished the opposition in these tracks, but this year, he really wasn’t close to winning on any of them.
Enter Firestone. Woods has averaged 67.75 in his previous 44 rounds at Firestone, never finishing outside the top five in 11 tries, and winning seven of them. At the British Open, Woods blamed his putting and lauded his driving, but this week even that isn’t working for him on a course that seems ideal for scoring having been softened by rain.
It’s a pity this is a no-cut tournament. Woods could probably do with some time out of the spotlight where he could prepare for next week’s PGA tournament. It’s his last chance to win a tournament this year. If he fails, it will be the first year he’s gone an entire year without winning.
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