Woods changes putter, Westwood’s bandaged leg
With one more day left until the British Open at St Andrews kicks off, a lot is happening as golfers perfect their swings, change their putters, and nurse their injuries.
Englishman Lee Westwood is practising for the Open despite his right leg being bandaged up. Westwood ruptured a muscle in his calf during the French Open two weeks ago. His right calf swelled so much that doctors feared he had a blood clot, and he was rushed to the hospital.
The 37-year-old golfer was released after it was discovered this was not the case, and after further tests it was revealed Westwood was suffering from ruptured plantaris muscles, which run down the calf.
Tiger Woods has decided to change putters. The world’s number one ranked golfer has 14 major championships on his resume; two of these accumulated on the St Andrews course. Woods has used his tried-and-true Scotty Cameron-Newport putter since 1999, and won 13 of his championships with it. This week he will be sporting a Nike Method 001 putter.
Stuart Clark, defending Open championship winner, will use the same putter this time that he used last year when the Open was held at Turnberry. Lucas Glover also used the same putter when he played and won the 2009 US Open at Bethpage. Woods’ Method 001 has been built to match the specifications of his old putter, and has an identical lie angle, single alignment dot on the bead and PING grip.
“I’ve always struggled on slower greens," Woods said to the press, "This week I have not had to make that much of an adjustment because the ball is coming off the face a little quicker."
The only difference between the Cameron putter and Nike’s is that the Method 001 has about 1% less loft. Loft refers to the angle between the club’s face and the vertical plane. It is an important variant between clubs and responsible for a golf ball leaving the tee on an ascending trajectory, not on the angle of swing.
Nike Golf’s field manager Rick Nichols confirmed the Nike putter has the standard loft for a method putter, 2.5 degrees, and doesn’t think the degree change will impede Woods’ game. Woods has been using the Method 001 as a back-up putter to his Cameron in the past, and has given input to Nike on the Method putter since its inception two years ago.
“I've always been tempted to change my putter on slower greens," said Woods, "I've always experimented with other putters throughout the years, but I never put one in play." Until this week, of course.
The Method putter also differs from Woods’ Cameron in terms of the grooves on the face of the club. They are partially filled with a polymer, to soften the feel, and the exposed metal within the grooves is designed to grab the ball to help move it along the ground quicker.
Switching up his putter isn’t the only change Woods has been making to his recent golf game. At the AT&T National, Woods changed golf balls. He opted for a Nike One Tour ball with a slightly harder cover that has less spin. The change in balls was made in a step towards improving his swing.
Woods is scheduled to play his first two rounds at the Open with AT&T National champion Justin Rose. Rose debuted at the Open tournament when he was a young 16-year-old golf hopeful. He has since risen in stardom and skill, with two PGA Tour victories in his last three stars. While Rose's career is just kicking off, Woods is hoping the Open will breathe life back into his dying one. Rose and Woods last played together at the 2002 Open at Muirfield.
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