It is impossible to talk about golf this week without talking about Tiger Woods returning to the PGA Tour. In fact, it appeared to me that all the players at Riviera last week may have had Tiger on their minds.
Phil Mickelson had a great start for the first time this season, only to dump it under Sunday's pressure and have to regain the lead in the last few holes for the win. Steve Stricker was playing brilliantly, but just couldn't seal the deal on a few 12 foot putts that would have given him the tournament. My main man, Fred Couples looked strong with several 300 yarders off the tee, but muffed his chance under pressure on the 18th.
Were they all just getting tired after a tough golf week? Or, were they distracted by the Tiger lurking in the rough? Could they have been thinking "I better win this one because he's coming back next week...and I'm gonna' be playing for second place"? There is no way of knowing, of course, but I have to believe that thought was floating around out there on Riviera's beautiful fairways and greens.
It was definitely on Jim Nance and Nick Faldo's minds. They brought up Tiger's return numerous times during the weekend, after all the hoopla and PR announcements on Friday that Tiger will be playing in the WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship at the Ritz-Carlton Golf Club in Marana this week, here in our beautiful Arizona desert .
Everyone knows that Tiger has been pounding balls with a zealous, lazer focus. We all know he doesn't just want to come back. He wants to come back and kick some butt. I have no doubt he has been in the gym daily, hitting 500 or a thousand golf balls daily, on the putting green daily and watching every move all the other guys have been making - daily. He has been stalking them on television and in the sports sections, plotting how to take them out. That's what tigers do, and he didn't get the name accidently.
Yeah, he's coming back this week, and everyone on the PGA circuit is holding their breath - hoping that the old Tiger shows up in Marana and lights up our sport once again. Everyone, perhaps, except Phil, Steve, Fred, VJ, Sergio and all those other guys.
Should be a terrific week of golf. Thanks for visiting Golf Talk.
Hit ‘em long, straight and often!
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Tags: golf, golf talk, golf ball, golf club, golf swing, natural golf, talk about golf, arizona golf, tiger woods, phil mickelson, fred couples, golf talking
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