Tiger Woods

[Ole]

Cup contenders

From Thursday this week Tiger Woods would like to become the first player to win the FedEx Cup in its inaugural year. You can follow the progress of the matches via Cable TV or on radio via the internet through XM Radio during the tournament at pgatour.com. Who will bet against Tiger? Very few ofcourse. Enjoy his best play ever to happen!

You Could See This Coming

LEMONT, Ill. — There are certain truths here in the Tiger Woods Age. When Tiger putts well, he wins almost without fail. When Tiger drives it straight (you need a good memory to recall this part), he wins almost without fail. When he's near the lead, he wins almost without fail. So it was bad news for the rest of the field on Saturday when Woods hit 13 of 14 fairways in the BMW Championship's third round, posted a 65 that he said was as high as he possibly could've shot and was one shot off the lead. Like tracking a hurricane on the Weather Channel, you could see this one coming.

Sunday, Woods won the BMW and took back the lead in the FedEx Cup points race by surviving a how-low-can-you-go shootout with Aaron Baddeley and Steve Stricker. He made a 48-foot putt on the 12th hole to start his charge, then birdied three of the next four holes to assume command.

Stricker made four straight birdies in the middle of the round. Baddeley made three in a row. But by the time Woods reached the 18th hole, he held a two-shot edge over Baddeley and already had one hand on the trophy, the fourth time he has won the tournament previously known as the Western Open. Only Walter Hagen won five Westerns. Woods played remarkable golf. After a slow start, he made a pair of four-footers for birdies at the seventh and eighth holes, then struggled at the par-5 ninth. He pulled his tee shot left into the trees, had to pitch out and was still more than 200 yards from the green. No problem. He ripped a 6-iron shot onto the green and canned an 18-foot birdie putt.

He failed to birdie the relatively easy 10th and 11th holes, then hit a not-so-great shot at the par-3 12th. Again, no problem. He drilled a 48-foot birdie putt, possibly a turning point in the day's round. "There isn't much you can do," said Stricker, who played with Woods in the first two rounds. "I would have had to shoot 63 today to beat him. I mean, it's possible, but you have to play mistake-free. It's tough."
Baddeley agreed. "I feel like I did well in that I didn't lose the golf tournament," he said. "Tiger won it."

Woods was already going to be player of the year, but by winning for a sixth time this year, he erased any doubt about who rules this tour. He also put himself in position to win the inaugural FedEx Cup. Remember when he skipped the first week of the playoffs to get rested for the next three events? Apparently, it was a good idea. Not only did Woods play some of his best golf of the year on the weekend, but that break also kept him from running away with the FedEx Cup. Five players still have a mathematical chance, but if Woods wins the Tour Championship in Atlanta this week, it'll be his title and his $10 million in deferred compensation.

This was victory no. 60 for Woods, 31. No one has ever reached 60 wins this quickly. He is just two behind Arnold Palmer on the all-time list.

Woods is a .279 hitter. That's not great in baseball, but in golf it's an astounding winning percentage — he has 60 wins in 215 starts as a pro and passed $75 million in career earnings.
"I never, ever would have dreamed that this could have happened so soon," Woods said. "I've been out here what — 11 years? And to have this many wins, I never could have foreseen that. I've exceeded my expectation and it's been a lot of fun. It's been a lot of work. There have been some changes along the way, you know? But I think that's all been great."

BTW any small Tigers in Bongo?

 

[PanguPakavu Amy]

i would bet on tiger if i have to!!!y the hell would i bet on any one else???unless am nuts!!hahahhaa!!!

we can't play golf in TZ when we don't even have a full size course!!do we??

But i really see the potential out there than in anything with a mob to take care-off (like football,basketball)

its time for our government to pave ways to constructions of golf courses..,

and other sports,like tennis!!

 

[Ole]

Tiger has taken the lead at the FedEx you can listen on line here right now. He is 10 under at the moment on second round.

http://www.pgatour.com/multimedia/xmplayer/index.html

 

[Ole]

Woods is tearing up the field with an eagle at No. nine hole. He goes out with birdie at 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 an eagle on 9. What a show.............................

 

[PanguPakavu Amy]

Tiger has taken the lead at the FedEx you can listen on line here right now. He is 10 under at the moment on second round.

http://www.pgatour.com/multimedia/xmplayer/index.html

tiger is now 7 under for the tournament!! just after 9 holes!!he has been making back to back birdies since hole 4!!!cant believe what am seeing now!!he just made an eagle on the 9th!!if things goes right,we are going to see a 59!!

The FEDEX is for him to lose it now!!

 

[BAK]

Woods flirts briefly with 59, settles for 3-shot lead at Tour Championship

Published: September 14, 2007

ATLANTA (AP) - A stunning six-hole stretch that Tiger Woods played in 7 under par gave him control of the Tour Championship on Friday. He followed that with nine holes of mediocrity, which gave everyone else a chance.

Tearing apart a defenseless course at East Lake, Woods made five straight birdies and capped off his amazing run with a 70-foot eagle putt on the par-5 ninth hole to make the turn in 28. But he went five holes before his next birdie, and he had to settle for a 7-under 63 that gave him a three-shot lead over Woody Austin.

Woods was at 13-under 127, his best start to a tournament since he was 15-under through 36 holes at Firestone in 2000, which he went on to win by 11 shots.

At least at East Lake, he has some competition.

Austin had his second straight 65 and will play in the final group with Woods, thankful he wasn't too far behind.

"He's not hard to beat if you're playing as well and you're right there," Austin said. "But if you let him get in front of you, like I said, he's hard to catch."

Not hard to beat?

Remember, it was Austin who suggested he outplayed Woods in the second round of the PGA Championship, the day Woods tied a major championship record with 63 and Austin shot 70.

Austin went on to finish second at Southern Hills, and he'll get a chance to play with the world's No. 1 player on Saturday in presumably sunny conditions. Woods and 19 other players had to return Friday morning to complete the first round, and he wound up play 25 holes and finishing in time to beat the rumble of thunder.

Woods' string of birdies, which included a bunker shot he holed from 60 feet on No. 5, filled East Lake with plenty of electricity. But it might have taken all the drama out of the FedEx Cup finale.

Woods is atop the playoff standings, a victory would give him the cup and the $10 million prize. Steve Stricker, who needs to win to capture the cup, shot 67 and was nine shots behind. Phil Mickelson, who can only claim the FedEx Cup if he wins the Tour Championship and Woods finishes worse than second was seven shots behind after a 66 on Friday.

http://www.golf.com/golf/tours_news/leaderboard/0,28360,r2007060,00.html?folder=r2007060

 

[Ole]

Woods takes another spectacular display of golf in stride

Sep. 14, 2007

PGATOUR.com Chief of Correspondents
ATLANTA

Someone inquired as to what Mark Calcavecchia was thinking when he saw that 28 Tiger Woods threw out on the front nine during the second round of THE TOUR Championship presented by Coca-Cola.

Tiger Woods

INSIDE THE NUMBERS

TIGER WOODS THRU 36 HOLES
Category Total Rank
Eagles 1 T1
Birdies 15 1
Pars 16 30
Bogeys 4 T12
Double Bogeys 0 N/A
Other 0 N/A
Driving Accuracy 46.4% T23
Driving Distance 294.3 yds. 8
Greens in Regulation 83.3% T4
Putts per Round 27.0 T2
Putts per GIR 1.500 1
Sand Saves 66.7% T13


"Trying to figure out which holes he parred, actually," Calcavecchia said. Told that Woods had parred the first three at East Lake, the veteran feigned shock.

"First three? He got off to a bad start," Calcavecchia said. "He could be in a slump. I noticed he made a bogey. I think he's losing it. ... I was kind of hoping he'd shoot 59 just for interest's sake."

Actually, Woods couldn't keep up the torrid pace on the back -- but he did manage to make birdie on the final hole for a 63 that left him at 13 under and three strokes ahead of Woody Austin. Calcavecchia, Tim Clark and Adam Scott are tied at 9 under

"That's pretty impressive," Scott, the defending champion, admitted. "Luckily for all of us, he kind of slowed down a little bit and kept a tournament of it."

Phil Mickelson, Steve Stricker and K.J. Choi now need a Tiger-esque weekend if they are to overtake him and win the inaugural FedExCup. Choi is five strokes behind, Mickelson seven and Stricker nine in the final event of the PGA TOUR Playoffs for the FedExCup.

"Winning always takes care of everything," said Woods, who is seeking his seventh of the season and second straight. "The whole idea of this week is to go out there and get it done. At the halfway point, I'm in good shape for that."

Scott said he wasn't intimidated by Woods' performance, he was inspired to keep up. "When he's out there running, we don't fear it, we've just got to get after him, but sometimes he's just better than us," the young Aussie said.

And Friday was one of those days. The 28 was his lowest ever on the PGA TOUR and included a stretch of five straight birdies capped off by an eagle putt of 70 feet. Woods' 13-under total was a record for the opening 36 holes at East Lake.

"What can you do?" said Woods' playing partner, Steve Stricker. "I mean, he's making it from everywhere, he holes out a bunker shot. I have it inside of him a couple times, and I walk off with par and he makes a birdie. I'm grinding like heck just to make those putts.

"I just kept trying to play the way I play. I was playing my own game. We had a lot of fun, not much else I can do, just keep trying hard. But it was unbelievable after a while, what he was doing." While others searched for superlatives, though, Woods took things in stride.

"I didn't know I shot 28 on the front nine until we got to the scoring tent, until we added it up," he said. "You just play shot for shot. You place the golf ball and you don't worry about anything else." Woods got things going when he rolled in a birdie putt from 10 feet on the fourth hole. He holed a prayer of a bunker shot on the next, then rolled in birdie putts of 14, 11 and 7 feet before the dramatic eagle completed the run.

Woods called the eagle putt "pure luck. If you could have been right behind the golf ball and seen how that ball was bouncing all over the place, it was actually quite funny." And he didn't see the bunker shot at the fifth hole find the cup, either.

"I had a terrible lie," he said. "There was a bunch of sand there. I was just trying to get the ball within 10 or 15 feet, give myself a putt at it. By the crowd's reaction, I thought it came screaming in there and hit the flag and ricocheted off and I had a one-foot putt or something. I got up there and it was gone -- nice surprise."

Woods said he didn't know whether he was in a zone, but he felt there was a nice rhythm to the day. He'd like nothing better than to continue that pace with the stressed and slow East Lake greens uncharacteristically yielding low scores.

Woods is only four strokes shy of Bart Bryant's 72-hole record -- with two rounds remaining to be played. "Certain tournaments, you've just got to make a bunch of birdies, and this is one of them," Woods said. "I mean, (Padraig) Harrington is a shot back going into the second round, shoots even par and gets run over by most of the field.

"That's the nature of this tournament this week, which is so different than most TOUR Championships. You've got to be aggressive. You've got to make birdies, and if you don't, you're going to get passed."

Especially when Woods has it in high gear.

Bofya hapa

36 holes to go and Tiger is right in the thick of it.............come on guys catch me.......

 

[Ole]

Wakuu Pangupakavu na Bubu ataka kusema

Golf naipendelea kwa sababu haina longolongo kama cricket, mpira wa rugby na aina nyingine ya michezo kwa sababu huwezi kudhulumiwa kipaji chako, ni wewe mwenyewe kuweza kuonyesha ujuzi wako. Hata kama hupendwi kipaji ndicho kitakachoonekana. Kwa namna ingine hata Tennis iko karibu hivyo na mwanamichezo anakuwa analipwa vizuri tu licha ya kuwa popular ulimwenguni kote.

Tunao Watanzania wengi tu ambao hawana uwezo wa kufanya mambo mengine lakini wamejaaliwa vipaji vya michezo. Hii ni taaluma ambayo tukiiendeleza tunaweza kuwa hazina kubwa ya kulitangaza taifa katika kipindi chini ya miaka 30 tukianza sasa. Mfano Golf Tiger, tennis William sisters n.k. ingawa tunahitaji uwekezaji kwenye vifaa. Serikali yetu ikiweka japo kiasi kidogo cha pesa na kurudisha michezo na mashindano ya UMISETA tunaweza kupiga hatua kwa haraka zaidi. Tumesahau mwaka 1980 wakati Taifa Stars walipokwenda Nigeria kwenye mashindano ya Afrika ni kwa sababu ya mashindano yaliyokuwa yanaanzia kwenye shule mbali mbali na wakati ule mashindano ya UMISETA yalikuwepo. Mtakumbuka tuliweza kuchukua vikombe vyote vya East Afrika Challenge cup kuanzia cha vijana hadi Taifa na hata timu zetu ziliweza kupokezana vikombe vya challenge cup champions.

Wizara pamoja na serikali wanafanya makosa kumlipa mtu moja pesa nyingi kwa matumaini ya ushindi ambao haupo. Hatuwezi kushinda kwa kuwapeleka Taifa Stars kuwaona wabunge? Kuwapeleka Brazil kwa mazoezi? kuwapeleka popote hapa ulimwenguni kwa mazoezi? Ushindi ni kipaji kwanza na mafunzo mazuri kutokea ngazi za chini. Mtoto umleavyo ndivyo anavyokuwa.

 

[PanguPakavu Amy]

Wakuu Pangupakavu na Bubu ataka kusema

Golf naipendelea kwa sababu haina longolongo kama cricket, mpira wa rugby na aina nyingine ya michezo kwa sababu huwezi kudhulumiwa kipaji chako, ni wewe mwenyewe kuweza kuonyesha ujuzi wako. Hata kama hupendwi kipaji ndicho kitakachoonekana. Kwa namna ingine hata Tennis iko karibu hivyo na mwanamichezo anakuwa analipwa vizuri tu licha ya kuwa popular ulimwenguni kote.

Tunao Watanzania wengi tu ambao hawana uwezo wa kufanya mambo mengine lakini wamejaaliwa vipaji vya michezo. Hii ni taaluma ambayo tukiiendeleza tunaweza kuwa hazina kubwa ya kulitangaza taifa katika kipindi chini ya miaka 30 tukianza sasa. Mfano Golf Tiger, tennis William sisters n.k. ingawa tunahitaji uwekezaji kwenye vifaa. Serikali yetu ikiweka japo kiasi kidogo cha pesa na kurudisha michezo na mashindano ya UMISETA tunaweza kupiga hatua kwa haraka zaidi. Tumesahau mwaka 1980 wakati Taifa Stars walipokwenda Nigeria kwenye mashindano ya Afrika ni kwa sababu ya mashindano yaliyokuwa yanaanzia kwenye shule mbali mbali na wakati ule mashindano ya UMISETA yalikuwepo. Mtakumbuka tuliweza kuchukua vikombe vyote vya East Afrika Challenge cup kuanzia cha vijana hadi Taifa na hata timu zetu ziliweza kupokezana vikombe vya challenge cup champions.

Wizara pamoja na serikali wanafanya makosa kumlipa mtu moja pesa nyingi kwa matumaini ya ushindi ambao haupo. Hatuwezi kushinda kwa kuwapeleka Taifa Stars kuwaona wabunge? Kuwapeleka Brazil kwa mazoezi? kuwapeleka popote hapa ulimwenguni kwa mazoezi? Ushindi ni kipaji kwanza na mafunzo mazuri kutokea ngazi za chini. Mtoto umleavyo ndivyo anavyokuwa.

kwa kweli mie nashindwa kuelewa kwa nini hata vitu rahisi kabisa vinatushinda..,nadhani labda ni "management crisis" bado sikubaliani na utaratibu wa kuchagua viongozi just because waliwahi kushiriki michezo bila ya kuzingatia vigezo vyao kama viongozi..,

hili swala la Taifa stars bora ninyamaze tu...,kichwa kitauma..,maana..,"we always get it wrong!!!"

nna uhakika gharama za kuipeleka stars trip zoote hizo za kitalii zingetosha kabisa kufadhili michezo kama ya UMISETA kwa mwaka mzima!!

nadhani tunahitaji miaka kama 5 ya kujijenga katika mwelekeo sahihi..,kazi wanazofanya kin akipingu sidhani kama kuna mtu anaye-"give concerns" ,tunahitaji shule za michezo atleast kama hatusrudishi UMISETA na UMITASHUMTA!!nakumbuka waziri aliyezuia haya mashindano alikuja na one "sick" explanation kuwa michezo mashuleni huzuia mambo ya "academics!!" hivi sijui alikuwa anamaanisha nini..,nadhani ali-imply kuwa wale waliosoma kabla ya uongozi wake hawakuwa wanashiriki kwenye "academics ipasavyo".pia anamaanisha nchi zinazo-emphasize michezo mashuleni like US,they never care about academics..,nadhani mh.alishindwa solve setback ndogo sana ya control kwa kuchukua hatua kubwa mno ambayo italicost taifa kwa miaka mingi sana kwenye sector ya michezo.

narudia tena..,ni wakati muafaka kwa watunga sheria ya nchi yetu tukufu ya tanzania kuanza kuvitumia vipaji vya watanzania..hasahasa kwenye michezo inayohitaji individual commitment kama golf..,tennis n.k!!tumesahau kina matumla walivyotunyanyua??

 

[Ole]

Signed, Sealed, Delivered

Woods wraps up FedEx Cup a day early

Tiger Woods made seven birdies and one bogey.

Streeter Lecka/Getty Images

Published: September 15, 2007

ATLANTA — You don't need a tracking number to see where the FedEx Cup is going.

After Geoff Ogilvy tied the course record of 62, Zach Johnson broke it with a 60, and 47-year-old Mark Calcavecchia defied his age and waistline with a third-round 63 to briefly catch Tiger Woods, the world No. 1 reeled off three late birdies for a 64 to keep his three-shot lead after 54 holes.

"If I'd have gone out and shot even par today," Woods said, "the whole field would have had a chance going into Sunday." It was a day of fireworks in the third round of the Tour Championship at East Lake, but when it was over one thing remained the same: Woods, the consummate front-runner, still had the lead, by three over Calcavecchia, five over Sergio Garcia (64 on Saturday) and six over Johnson.

"The main thing is the greens aren't nearly, even remotely, as out of shape as they were made out to be early on in the week," Johnson said. He was hardly the only beneficiary, but at 19-under Woods stood alone among those with a chance to take the $10 million first prize in the FedEx Cup. Rory Sabbatini was his closest pursuer at 7-under, 12 shots behind.

"The greens are soft, the pins are pretty easy," said Woods, who has gone 64-63-64 over the first three days. "You're firing at every flag, 5-iron, 6-iron, you're taking a run at it."...................................................................................................................

Bofya Hapa

Waiting for today shootout...................

 

[Ole]

All Tiger, All the Time

S.Greenwood/Getty Images
Tiger Woods has six wins and 11 top 10s this season.

Sometimes Tiger Woods can be too much of a good thing. We are in the midst of one of those stretches in which Woods is making history in real time, a day-after-day display of unrelenting brilliance that is as dazzling as any golf he has ever played. Enjoy it. Wallow in it. This is the kind of transcendent athlete that comes along once every quarter century, if you're lucky.

And yet there is an unfortunate side effect to Woods's dominance. He has taken the FedEx Cup — indeed, the whole golf season — and turned it into a one-man show. The other players are blotted out by his virtuosity, and final rounds are turned into little more than filler. It's all Tiger, all the time.

Woods's recent run has been long on great shotmaking and short on drama, the latter being the essential element to a memorable sporting event. Firestone was an eight-shot blowout. The PGA Championship was basically over on Friday when Tiger shot 63. It was certainly a done deal on Sunday when he took a five-stroke lead with eight holes to play. By granting himself a bye for the first round of the so-called playoffs, Woods gave everyone else a glimmer of hope, but he has roared back to put a death-grip on the FedEx Cup. His spectacular closing 63 to win at Cog Hill last week statistically eliminated 25 of the 30 players assembled here at the Tour Championship, and two of the remaining guys could win only if Woods finished 20th or worse.

Instead, he's lighting up East Lake, and the tournament and the FedEx Cup are all but over on Saturday afternoon. With a ho-hum third-round 64, Woods is now three shots clear of Mark Calcavecchia and five up on everybody else, and recent history tells us someone is going to have to shoot sixty-nothing to beat him.

In his last ten rounds Tiger hasn't posted anything worse than 67, and his five most recent scores go like this: 65-63-64-63-64. Pretty sporty. After witnessing Woods's 63 in the second round of the Tour Championship, his playing partner Steve Stricker sounded like he had post-traumatic stress syndrome.

"I mean, what can you do?," Stricker mumbled. "He's making it from everywhere. I have it inside of him a couple times, and I walk off with par and he makes a birdie. I'm grinding like heck just to make those putts and not getting them in there. You know, what can you do? I just kept trying to play the way I play. I was playing my own game. But it was unbelievable after a while, what he was doing."

"On number 5," — where Woods hit his worst shot of the day only to follow it with a yo-mama slam dunk of a sand shot — "it actually looks like he's going to make a bogey. I've got 15 feet for birdie, and now all of a sudden he makes birdie and I make par. You sit back and think to yourself, how does that happen? I just lost a shot there and I played the hole perfectly and he makes a birdie and I make par. It gets to you after a while. But you just tell him, 'nice shot,' and you go on."

Little wonder that Stricker came out on Saturday and shot a lifeless 71 to skid to 22nd place, 16 strokes back of Woods. Mickelson, after a 70, is 13 back. These were the two schlumps immediately behind Woods in the FedEx Cup points standings, meaning Tiger has now clinched the points race unless he gets hit by a bus in the East Lake parking lot. The inaugural FedEx title will go nicely with his soon-to-be player of the year award, money title, Vardon trophy for low scoring average and every other bauble that will inevitably fall into his lap.

What was most striking about Woods's third-round 64 was how utterly routine he made it look. Unlike his 63, which included a series of long putts punctuated by a 70 foot bomb for eagle on the 9th hole, he made only one putt longer than seven feet today. It was a round built on superb driving and monotonous conversion of opportunities.

Look for more of the same during the final round. Even Woods's closest pursuer is already waving the white flag, setting up another drama-free Sunday of boring brilliance.

"I gotta beat him by four tomorrow? Not likely," Mark Calcavecchia. "It's gonna be a race for second."

It always is, for better or worse.

Bofya Hapa

 

[Ole]

He wasn't at his eye-popping best, but Tiger Woods was plenty good enough to win both the Tour Championship and the FedEx Cup on Sunday.


A Mere Formality

ATLANTA (AP) - The FedEx Cup didn't change anything but Tiger Woods' bank account. The PGA Tour's "new era in golf" came to a familiar conclusion Sunday when Woods captured the Tour Championship in record-setting fashion, closing with a 4-under 66 for an eight-shot victory at East Lake and his seventh title of the season.

The only difference? This was the first time Woods walked away from one tournament with two trophies.

Along with winning the Tour Championship and its $1.26 million prize, Woods was a runaway winner of the FedEx Cup and the $10 million that goes into his retirement account.

If this was supposed to be the "Super Bowl" of golf, Woods spent most of the final round running out the clock.

He stretched his three-shot lead to five at the turn, and the only drama was whether he would break the 72-hole scoring record on the PGA Tour. He had to settle for a 23-under 257, his career low on tour and breaking the Tour Championship record by six shots.

Masters champion Zach Johnson closed with a 68 and tied for second with Mark Calcavecchia, who shot a 71.

Steve Stricker and Phil Mickelson were the only players with a realistic chance of capturing the FedEx Cup, and their hopes were gone by the weekend. Stricker closed with a 67 and wrapped up second place in the PGA Tour Playoffs, giving him a $3 million retirement boost.

Tiger's The First

Bofya Hapa

 

[PanguPakavu Amy]

history in the making!!nitawasimulia wajukuu zangu wataniambia acha uongo we mzee!!that couldnt have happened!!yani...,the guy just gave us one hell of a season!!bravo tiger!!
i wonder if federer is going to emulate your run for 11 years!!!since he is the only other sportsman out there who can claim Tigers superiority status in the sports his/her field.

 

[Ole]

Woods hitting stride, but has he hit his peak?

Four victories in his last five starts is proof enough that Tiger Woods is more dominant than ever, especially considering he won those four tournaments by a combined 20 shots and shattered tournament scoring records in consecutive weeks.

More evidence came from his caddie as he waited for Woods to arrive for the final round of the Tour Championship.
"He hasn't hit a practice ball since the British Open," Steve Williams said. "I've been with him nearly 10 years now, and this is the best I've ever seen him hit the ball."
No practice? Not quite.

What he meant was that Woods has such command over his game that he stopped going to the practice range after his rounds since returning home from Carnoustie. Woods confirmed as much when he left East Lake with his two trophies - one for the Tour Championship, one for the FedEx Cup.

"Hey, there was no need to go," he said with a shrug and a smile. Whether this is the best he has ever played is up for debate, but don't expect Woods to participate. He is always looking forward, always trying to figure out a way to get better. That's what makes it so daunting for the guys trying to reach his level. They know they have to get better, and that's assuming Woods doesn't continue to improve himself.
So far, that hasn't happened.

Since his latest round of swing changes took root at the end of 2004, Woods has won 21 times on the PGA Tour. That's more than Phil Mickelson, Vijay Singh and Jim Furyk combined over the last three years. And the truly scary part is that Woods, at age 31, might still be years away from his prime.

"I don't know when it's going to be," Woods said. "The whole idea is to try and keep improving. When all is said and done, when you rack the cue and go home and retire, you can honestly say, 'These were my best years, when I was at my peak.' But when you're in it, you're always trying to improve that a little bit to get to the next level."

As the trophies keep piling up, the numbers are simply staggering. Woods now has won 61 times in just more than 11 full years on the PGA Tour. Jack Nicklaus was 36 when he captured his 61st tour victory. He has won 28 percent of the time since turning pro, and that if that number is hard to fathom alone, consider than Mickelson has won 9 percent of his tournaments, Singh is at 8 percent and Ernie Els at 6 percent.

Woods' final putt for par at East Lake put him at 23-under 257 for the lowest 72-hole score of his career, and six shots better than the previous record at the Tour Championship. A week earlier at Cog Hill, he broke the tournament record by five shots at 22-under 262, winning by two over Aaron Baddeley.
With his 2007 season in the books - all he has left is the Presidents Cup and his Target World Challenge in December - Woods finished with a 67.79 adjusted scoring average, equaling his record from the 2000 season.

And while the $10,867,052 was short by $38,114 of the record Singh set in 2004, the big Fijian played 29 times that year. Woods played in only 16 tournaments. That's an average of $172,493 per round. Woods said the latest adjustment since the British Open, where he tied for 12th, was simply shifting the weight more toward the balls of his feet for better balance. That made it appear he was standing closer to the ball.
Swing coach Hank Haney hasn't seen much change the last two years, with one exception. What he watched with regularity on the range at Woods' home course in Isleworth, he now sees more often inside the ropes on the PGA Tour.
"I've seen him play like this and hit the ball like this the last couple of years - for sure the last year - but most of times I've seen that, it's been at Isleworth," Haney said Sunday from his home in Dallas. "It's only been bits and pieces in tournaments."

It's still not perfect.
Woods lunged at one tee shot on the 16th hole at East Lake in the opening round, scolding himself when it sailed to the right.
"Tiger Woods!" he said through clenched teeth. "Trust your swing." Haney believes that trust was evident at Oakmont in the third round of the U.S. Open, when Woods hammered a driver down the middle of the fairway on his way to perhaps his best ball-striking round of the year. He hit 17 greens in regulation that day.

"I know what that hole feels like to him. It's really tight," Haney said. "On the practice tee, he said, 'I'm driving the ball in the fairway.' And he piped it right down the middle, then did the same thing on Sunday. I felt that was big turning point in his confidence." Woods didn't see it that way.
In his eyes, the turning point came at the Western Open last July. He had just missed the cut in a major for the first time, opened with a 72 at Cog Hill, then spent hours that Thursday afternoon on the practice range. It was hard work, but enjoyable.

For the first time since his father died, it was fun.
"I got over all the things that happened earlier, and I finally got back to just playing golf again," he said. "That mourning period ... I felt I was done with it. Once I got back to playing golf, I felt I was back in my rhythm again. And from then, if you look at my results since then, it's been pretty good."
No one ever thought that 2000 season could ever be topped, and it probably remains the benchmark. Woods won nine times in 20 starts, including three straight majors, and three victories of at least eight shots. But his highest winning percentage was last year (8-of-15), and his adjusted scoring average is the same as it was in 2000.
Instead of looking back, consider the future.
What if he still hasn't hit his prime?

Bofya Hapa

Some of Tiger Woods answers during interview with Joel Schuchmann:

Q. After The Presidents Cup, you've got an extended break and some quality time with your wife and daughter. Just wondered if there was anything in particular you were really looking forward to doing?

TIGER WOODS: Yeah, putting the clubs away, not picking them up, not swinging a club, just getting away from it. Like Stricker said, I can't wait to go hunting. For me, I'm the same way, I can't wait to hop in the water and go driving.

Q. Anything special about your daughter you've missed in recent weeks?

TIGER WOODS: Well, it's not seeing her every day and helping Elin. We don't have nannies, we don't have any other help, she's just doing it on her own. And when I'm there, I can help. But when I'm not there, she's being a complete stud about it and doing it all on her own. You feel guilty for not being there, not helping out. We want to do it ourselves. We don't want anyone helping raise our child because it's our child.

Q. As much as Tim was kind of leading you in that direction, I noticed you didn't kiss the Cup on the green. Do you have a policy on which trophies you kiss?

TIGER WOODS: Damn, Fergie (laughter).

Q. Claret Jugs only?

TIGER WOODS: Have I?

Q. We've got pictures of that, yeah.

TIGER WOODS: There you go.

The big question how many millionares in Bongo could afford to look after their kids without nannies? Sorry not millionares middle class citizens.... teh teh teh .........................................

 

[Ole]

Woods once again earns US PGA Player of Year honors
Tue 11 Dec, 11:40 PM

PONTE VEDRA BEACH, United States (AFP) - Tiger Woods was named the US PGA Tour Player of the Year on Tuesday, earning the accolade from his peers for the third year in a row and the ninth time in the past 11 seasons.

"To earn the respect of your peers is the highest honor you can receive," tour commissioner Tim Finchem said.

Woods was again the dominant force on the US tour in 2007, posting seven tournament victories and 12 top-10 finishes. The 31-year-old also collected his eighth career Arnold Palmer Award as the tour's top money winner, earning just under 10.9 million dollars. Woods captured his 13th major title with his triumph at the PGA Championship in August. He also captured the inaugural FedEx Cup, winning a pair of the playoff series events.

Brandt Snedeker earned Rookie of the Year honors after notching six top-10 finishes en route to placing 20th on the overall FedEx Cup points list. The engaging Tennessean earned 2,836,643 dollars - the third-highest rookie total in tour history.

"This has been a wonderful season for me and to finish it by being voted by my peers as the Rookie of the Year is tremendous," Snedeker said. "When I looked at the list of tour players who have been honored in such a way, I am humbled to have my name alongside them."

This week Tiger Woods is hosting his own tournament at 'Target world challenge' presented by Countrywide, benefiting Tiger Woods foundation. History in the making.

 

[Ole]

An Unfriendly Host

A course record 62 Friday at Sherwood Country Club gives Woods a four-shot lead at the Target World Challenge.

THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. (AP) — Tiger Woods is a gracious tournament host, at least until the tournament gets started.
Woods continued to show midseason form at the end of the year with a 10-under 62 on Friday, setting the course record at Sherwood Country Club and building a four-shot lead over Jim Furyk in the Target World Challenge. Playing for the first time in 10 weeks, Woods looked sharp as ever. He stretched his lead with a couple of long putts, one of them for eagle on the par-5 11th, and finished his record round with an 9-iron into 6 feet on the final hole that brought the fans to their feet.

"He's not a very friendly host to shoot 10 under," said Henrik Stenson, who played with Woods and was 10 shots worse. Woods was at 13-under 131 as he tries to win his tournament for the fourth time. The previous record of 63 was held by three players, most recently Michael Campbell in 2005. Furyk, coming off a seven-week break, birdied the last two holes for a 67 and will be paired with his Ryder Cup and Presidents Cup partner in the third round Saturday.

Masters champion Zach Johnson birdied the last three holes for a 67 and was another shot behind. Never mind that the Target World Challenge is a boondoggle for the 16-man field, with a $5.75 million purse that is larger than some PGA Tour events. Woods treated this like he might even get some FedEx Cup points. "I still expect a lot from myself on each and every shot," he said. "As far as added pressure, it doesn't change. Whether it's this event or all the way up to a major championship, it's still the game. I want to get a 'W.' That's why I enter the tournament." Scores were generally low on a calm, mild afternoon in the foothills just east of the Pacific Ocean. What made Furyk take notice of Woods' round was that it was five shots better than anyone else.

"Hell of a host," Furyk said, grinning.

Woods is coming off the longest unforced break of his career, having not hit a competitive shot since Sept. 30 at the Presidents Cup. Playing this well so soon is nothing new, considering Woods has won his season-opening event four times in his career. This speaks more toward how comfortable and confident he is with his swing."The best way to describe it is a lot of the swing changes, the major swing changes that I had with Hank (Haney), we've already made them," Woods said. "Now you just have tweaks here and there. But understanding what the fix is, that's the biggest thing." One of the looser shots came on the par-3 eighth, a 5-iron that floated well right of the pin and wound up in deep rough. He scrambled for par by making an 8-foot putt, then bounced right back with a 3-iron to the fairway and a 9-iron that covered the flag until it settled about 5 feet from the cup for birdie.

Woods only had a one-shot lead at that point, but not for long.
He reached the 11th in two with a 5-iron and holed a 25-foot eagle putt, then made a 30-foot birdie on the 12th that might still be rolling if the hole had not been in the way. Woods straightened and smiled, realizing the good golf still requires some good breaks. "When things kind of go your way, they go your way," he said with a shrug.

They kept going to the very end, from a tricky 18-foot putt up the hill at No. 17 that dropped for birdie, to his approach to the final hole for a final birdie and his 62. Furyk is far from out of it, the lifelong Pittsburgh Steelers fan did not turn into Anthony Smith and guarantee victory over the world's No. 1 player. Furyk chuckled at the thought. "We all know what happens when you (tick) Tiger off," he said. Even so, he knows a good round when he sees one, even if he could only see it from 300 yards behind him.

"A good round usually is when you separate yourself from the field," Furyk said. "Today he shot five shots lower than anyone else in the field. That's a good round. I would consider that a great round." Most players would say it's tough to follow up a record round with another one. Woods has shot 62 or lower five times on the PGA TOUR, and the best he ever did the next round was a 65 in the 1999 Buick Invitational, which he won. "You want to feel the same, but you never really do," he said. "I've learned over time ... to play shot-for-shot." British Open champion Padraig Harrington tried to keep pace until he ran out of birdies on the back nine and settled for a 67, leaving him seven shots behind and counting the days before he can start his long winter's nap.

Harrington won this tournament five years ago by holding off a late charge by Woods, but he doesn't like the way he is playing, and he's not the least bit comforted by who's ahead of him on the leaderboard. "If the guy who's leading keeps playing the way he is playing, he can't be caught," Harrington said.

DIVOTS: The biggest turnaround belonged to Colin Montgomerie, who followed his 80 with a 67. Runner-up goes to Rory Sabbatini, who opened with a 69 and made three triple bogeys in a second round of 81. ... Woods again hit driver into the rock-and-flower cluster in the middle of the seventh fairway, having to stand in the flowers to play out of the rough. His tee shot Friday landed a foot away from his divot on Thursday.

Readies for 2008 season with a blistering day..............

 

[Ole]

Host with most

You had to figure that after 10 weeks off Tiger Woods would be at least a little rusty. Not so. Woods, who is hosting the Target World Challenge, will take a commanding six-shot lead at 18-under par over Jim Furyk into Sunday's final round.

 

[Ole]

Hidden Meaning in Tiger's reaction to Tilghman's 'lynch' remark Tiger's response to the L word gives a clue to who he really is

Tiger Woods has been reluctant to take on racially sensitive issues.

Writer-Reporter, Sports Illustrated (Golf Plus)Published: January 18, 2008
When Golf Channel commentator Kelly Tilghman joked on-air during the second round of the Mercedes-Benz Championship that ambitious young players should "lynch (Tiger Woods) in a back alley," she set off yet another incidence of the stagecraft that passes for racial discourse in this country, with a tragic moment followed by the requisite scenes of accusation, remorse and demands for the protagonist's head, all backed by a chorus of conflicting voices echoing to the rafters.

There were plenty of soliloquies but distressingly little dialogue and no catharsis. For her part Tilghman was held accountable through a public scolding by the punditocracy and a two-week suspension by her employer; but for me, there's another, far more interesting character in this drama — Tiger Woods.

For Woods the controversy over the use of the word lynch has graver implications, and not for the reasons one might think (especially since the last year has brought a rash of incidents in which nooses were placed in buildings and schoolyards across America to reinforce campaigns of hate, fear and intimidation).
Whether Woods likes it or not, the episode serves to remind him, and everyone else, that regardless of how he attempts to transcend race with his accomplishments on the golf course, he can never fully escape his status as a person of color.

Much the way the fried-chicken-and-collard-greens joke Fuzzy Zoeller made at the 1997 Masters pushed Woods into the role of African-American Golfer, Tilghman's gaffe reinforces his heritage and its burdens, lumping Tiger in with the estimated 5,000 men who were lynched in America between Reconstruction and the Civil Rights movement of the '60s.

He can continue to call himself Cablinasian — a word he invented to represent his mixed racial makeup of Caucasian, black and Asian. But, significantly, when it came time to decide if and how Tilghman would be punished, it was a leader from black America, Al Sharpton, who took it upon himself to represent Woods and other blacks by calling for Tilghman's firing.
For his part Tiger was quick to forgive and forget, saying through his agent, Mark Steinberg, that the incident was a "nonissue" and later releasing a statement that said, "Regardless of the choice of words used, we know unequivocally that there was no ill intent in her comments."

No kidding.

It's obvious that Tilghman meant no offense — hers was a crime of terminal glibness, not racism. The more pertinent question is: Why didn't Woods take offense? Maybe it was because last week also brought news that Woods made an estimated $100 million in endorsements in 2007, an income derived from his stature as the brightest star in the largely white, corporate-friendly world of golf and not as a minority agitating for social justice.
That's why the implication of Tilghman's words, like that of Zoeller's before them, may be more alarming to Woods than her poor judgment.

In the end Tilghman was brought down by her failure to grasp or respect the undercurrent of meaning attached to the L word. But isn't Woods guilty of the same thing? By so blithely dismissing the incident, isn't he contributing to the offense? Woods doesn't have to become a civil-rights spokesman, but he could have at least acknowledged that he understands the meaning of the word, and how powerful and hurtful it remains. In other words, wouldn't it be nice if for once Woods saw himself as the heir not only to Jack Nicklaus but also to Jackie Robinson?

WELL WHATS YOUR PICK?

BTW Tiger Woods is back this week to kick start his season at the Buick Invitational from Jan 24th - 27th at Torrey Pines GC, San Diego, CA.

 

[Ole]

Woods begins task of running table in 2008 majors

LA JOLLA, Calif. -- Tiger Woods knows he's setting the bar high.As he looked forward to the 2008 season on his website, Woods said that the calendar year Grand Slam is "easily within reason" this year. And it's hard to argue with the No. 1 player in the game.

After all, he's won five times, including the last three straight, at Torrey Pines, which hosts the Buick Invitational this week and the U.S. Open in June. Woods' success at Augusta National is well-documented and well-worn in those four Green Jackets, size 42-long. And the last time the Open Championship was contested at Royal Birkdale, as it will be again in July, a 22-year-old Woods finished one stroke out of the playoff between his buddy Mark O'Meara and journeyman Brian Watts.

Is it any wonder so many think the stars have aligned this year to give Woods the opportunity to be the first to win the traditional, modern-day Grand Slam? "Well, he's obviously a very confident player and he should be," said Phil Mickelson, the game's No. 2 player and a three-time Buick Invitational champ, who is also making his 2008 debut this week. "He's won countless events and double-digit majors. So he should be confident. I think that this year I should be able to put myself in contention, as well, and I look forward to the opportunity to compete against him."

PGA TOUR Commissioner Tim Finchem doesn't figure to bet against Woods, either. "If Tiger Woods thinks he can win something, I don't know if anybody is going to argue with him," Finchem said. "As usual, it's fun to watch. Right now, though, Woods is focused on this year. He knows he has set himself up for second guesses if he falls short of those bold words. Of course, where Woods is concerned, people always have extremely high expectations. "Well, I've had that happen before, won two majors in a row and people say, 'What's wrong with you?'" Woods said. "It is what it is. The question is do I see it as a possibility, and I say yes. As I said, a lot of different factors go into it, and hopefully all those factors line up for me.

"I like all the venues, but I've liked all the venues before in the past. It's just a matter of getting your game coming together at the right time and getting all the right breaks. You're going to have to get lucky every now and then, and hopefully you get lucky at the right times." Oakland Hills, which is where Woods will make his PGA Championship title defense, is the wild card this year. When the venerable Donald Ross design hosted the 1996 U.S. Open, Woods, in the final months of his amateur career, tied for 82nd.

He returned for the 2004 Ryder Cup as the U.S. lost a nine-point decision that featured the ill-fated pairing of him and Mickelson on opening day. The way Woods sees it, he has won at least four tournaments in all but three of the last 12 years. So he just needs to win the right four in 2008 in order to make history. He's already won the four majors in a row over the 2000 and 2001 seasons. "It would be nice," Woods said. "It would be doing it a different way than I had done before. Hopefully I get it done.
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The Buick is underway right now you can follow it here.

So far Tiger is playing his 13th hole and he is joined leader at 5 under.

 

[Ole]

Right on Course

Tiger Woods opened his season with a 67 on the tougher
South Course at Torrey Pines. Woods and Phil Mickelson
are back in action at the Buick Invitational. Follow the second round here.


He's Back

All eyes were on Tiger Woods as he made his 2008 PGA Tour
debut Thursday. See a collection of the day's best images from Torrey Pines.

Tiger Woods struggled in his season debut with driving accuracy. Even with
his troubles off the tee, he shot a five-under 67 and is just two shots back
despite having played the more difficult South Course at Torrey Pines.​

Tiger is Four shots clear (11 under) as the second round LIVE NOW ... ... ... ... ... ... ..at pgatour.com

The best paying job for four rounds. ofcourse you need to train and be a Tiger.