U.S. Open

[QuasiMondo]

I've never ever ever ever ever watched golf. I've only played one round and damn near threw out my back because the clubs I had were too short. I did play some computer golf, so I know the rules. Other than that, golf does not interest me.

Except for this playoff between Woods and Mediate.

I am inexplicably intrigued by the playoff round and now they're in sudden death.

Underdog vs champ.

Champ making a run on a bum leg.

Miraculous comebacks.

Unknowns hanging tough with the world's greatest.

You can't make this stuff up.

When this is over, I'll go back to not caring about golf.

[The_Jazz]

I have a love/hate relationship with the game.

This is awesome. I wish I could play this well.

[QuasiMondo]

Such an anti-climatic ending. This is why I don't care about golf.

Buzzer beater in basketball? Player goes bananas.
Field goal or touchdown in football as the clock runs out? Player goes bananas.
Walk-off home run in the bottom of the 9th inning? Player goes bananas.
Penalty shots in soccer? Goalie goes bananas if he blocks, kicker goes bananas if he makes it.

The end of a sudden death match in golf? Polite applause.

[spindles]

Originally Posted by QuasiMondo

Such an anti-climatic ending. This is why I don't care about golf.

Buzzer beater in basketball? Player goes bananas.
Field goal or touchdown in football as the clock runs out? Player goes bananas.
Walk-off home run in the bottom of the 9th inning? Player goes bananas.
Penalty shots in soccer? Goalie goes bananas if he blocks, kicker goes bananas if he makes it.

The end of a sudden death match in golf? Polite applause.

Maybe that is why golf is so good. What the best players do is awe inspiring. We were talking as we walked around the local course last week and wondering what kind of scores the top PGA players would do around a regular suburban course. I think my local course is pretty tough, but I could see the US PGA guys having a field day there.

[QuasiMondo]

I prefer to witness the thrill of victory....and the agony of defeat.

[yellowmac]

Originally Posted by QuasiMondo

The end of a sudden death match in golf? Polite applause.

Well, there can (and have been) sudden death playoffs that are won by the sinking of a putt, and not by someone winning via his competitor's miss, like what happened today at the 19th hole. Nevertheless, this was still one of the best showcases of golf in recent memory. I'm glad I was able to catch the last part of it and witness pure brilliance.

Unbelievable the sheer amount of genius and ability that is Tiger. To be able to do this even with a bum knee must be disheartening to everyone else on the Tour.

[Strange Famous]

Tiger wasnt ever going to lose when he went into the final day ahead, was he?

[Glory's Sun]

man, that was probably the greatest open in history. Tiger just shows why he's the best. It's not his shots necessarily, it's his mind.

[sapiens]

I didn't watch any of it. With two young kids, I no longer get the naps in front of the tv that professional golf once afforded me.

Originally Posted by guccilvr

Tiger just shows why he's the best. It's not his shots necessarily, it's his mind.

David Brooks made a similar argument in the nytimes op-ed piece below.

The Frozen Gaze   click to show 

June 17, 2008
Op-Ed Columnist
The Frozen Gaze
By DAVID BROOKS

Rocco Mediate’s head swiveled about as he walked up the fairway of the sudden-death hole of the U.S. Open on Monday. Somebody would catch his attention, and his eyes would dart over and he’d wave or make a crack. Tiger Woods’s gaze, on the other hand, remained fixed on the ground, a few feet ahead of his steps. He was, as always, locked in, focused and self-contained.

The fans greeted Mediate with fraternal affection and Woods with reverence. Most were probably rooting for Rocco, but only because Woods, the inevitable victor, has risen above mere human status and become an embodiment of immortal excellence. That frozen gaze of his looks out from airport billboards, TV commercials and the ad pages. And its ubiquity is proof that every age finds the heroes it needs.

In a period that has brought us instant messaging, multitasking, wireless distractions and attention deficit disorder, Woods has become the exemplar of mental discipline. After watching Woods walk stone-faced through a roaring crowd, the science writer Steven Johnson, in a typical comment, wrote: “I have never in my life seen a wider chasm between the look in someone’s eye and the surrounding environment.”

The coverage of him often centers upon this question: How did this creature come about? The articles inevitably mention his precocity (at age 3, he shot a 48 on the front nine of a regulation course) and provide examples of his athletic prowess: Once Woods tried out four drivers that Nike was experimenting with and told the lab guys that he preferred the heavier one. The researchers thought the clubs were the same weight, but they measured and Woods was right. The club he’d selected was heavier by the equivalent of two cotton balls.

But inevitably, it is his ability to enter the cocoon of concentration that is written about and admired most. Writers describe the way Earl Woods, his lieutenant colonel father, dropped his golf bag while Tiger was swinging to toughen his mind. They describe his mother’s iron discipline at home. “Old man is soft,” Kultida Woods once said of her husband. “He cry. He forgive people. Not me. I don’t forgive anybody.”

Tiger was the one dragging them out on the course to practice. At age 6 months, he was put in a baby chair and had the ability, his father claimed, to watch golf for two hours without losing focus.

As an adult, he is famously self-controlled. His press conferences are a string of carefully modulated banalities. His lifestyle is meticulously tidy. His style of play is actuarial. He calculates odds and avoids unnecessary risks like the accounting major he once planned on being. “I am, by nature, a control freak,” he once told John Garrity of Sports Illustrated, as Garrity resisted the temptation to reply, “You think?”

And for that, in this day and age, he stands out. As I’ve been trying to write this column, I’ve toggled over to check my e-mail a few times. I’ve looked out the window. I’ve jotted down random thoughts for the paragraphs ahead. But Woods seems able to mute the chatter that normal people have in their heads and build a tunnel of focused attention.

Writers get rhapsodic over this facility. “Woods’s concentration often seems to be made of the same stuff as the liquid-metal cyborg in Terminator 2: If you break it, it reforms,” David Owen wrote in Men’s Vogue.

Then they get spiritual. In Slate, Robert Wright only semi-facetiously compared Woods to Gandhi, for his ability to live in the present and achieve transcendent awareness. Analysts inevitably bring up his mother’s Buddhism, his experiments in meditation. They describe his match-mentality in the phrases one might use to describe a guru achieving nirvana. He achieves, they say, perfect clarity, tranquility and flow. We’re talking about somebody who is the primary spokesman for Buick, and much of the commentary about him is on the subject of his elevated spiritual capacities.

And here we’re getting to the nub of what’s so remarkable about the “Be A Tiger” phenomenon: He’s become the beau ideal for golf-loving corporate America, the personification of mental fortitude.

The ancients were familiar with physical courage and the priests with moral courage, but in this over-communicated age when mortals feel perpetually addled, Woods is the symbol of mental willpower. He is, in addition, competitive, ruthless, unsatisfied by success and honest about his own failings. (Twice, he risked his career to retool his swing.)

During the broadcast of Monday’s playoff round, Nike ran an ad that had Earl Woods’s voice running over images of his son: “I’d say, ‘Tiger, I promise you that you’ll never meet another person as mentally tough as you in your entire life.’ And he hasn’t. And he never will.”

You can like this model or not. Either way, the legend grows.

It's interesting that he is considered a "beau ideal" for golf loving corporate types, he's a spokesperson for buick, and he's considered "spiritual".

[Glory's Sun]

that was a great article sapiens.. thanks for sharing

[highthief]

He's a freaking machine, is Woods.

The average golfer hits and hopes a lot, but even most touring pros, faced with a tricky shot, let that mentality creep into their minds. Woods expects that whatever he sets out to do, whatever shot, he will accomplish it. He sincerely believes it. And that's the difference between him and everyone else.

[dlish]

Originally Posted by Strange Famous

Tiger wasnt ever going to lose when he went into the final day ahead, was he?

he IS only human! besides he was one shot behind on 16th and one shot behind still on 18th. why wouldnt he lose? he only lost because rocco choked on the last two holes (namely the 18 and first sudden death hole)

unfortunately i dont have a TV where i can get any channels on. so i was resigned to watching some blog online while hitting F4 refresh button every few seconds. i was on the edge of my seat!

what a great day of golf.

[Strange Famous]

The difference between great players and champions is the ability to win when you arent playing at your best. Thats what marks Tiger out.

Any other top player can win an big title if they hit top form. Tiger is a threat EVERY big championship whatever his form.

[yellowmac]

Well, the British Open is in a month... not to threadjack, but should Tiger play? I mean, sure, he probably has a 60-70% chance of winning, but what if it seriously hurts his knee long-term? He should sacrifice an Open title this year so that he'll blow Nicklaus's 18 majors out of the water.

[Glory's Sun]

Originally Posted by yellowmac

Well, the British Open is in a month... not to threadjack, but should Tiger play? I mean, sure, he probably has a 60-70% chance of winning, but what if it seriously hurts his knee long-term? He should sacrifice an Open title this year so that he'll blow Nicklaus's 18 majors out of the water.

I think Tiger's knee will be fine. He has 4 weeks to train lightly and build strength in it. Hell, NFL and NBA players come back quicker than Tiger did from the same surgery. Not saying it doesn't hurt the man, but I think he'll be fine.

[highthief]

Originally Posted by guccilvr

I think Tiger's knee will be fine. He has 4 weeks to train lightly and build strength in it. Hell, NFL and NBA players come back quicker than Tiger did from the same surgery. Not saying it doesn't hurt the man, but I think he'll be fine.

Of course, those athletes tend to have short careers at the top. They make hay while they can. Tiger could still be top dog 8 or 9 years from now - if he avoids serious injury. I think you're right in that he "could" play, but I doubt he'll take any chances on aggravating the injury. 50/50, IMO.

[Glory's Sun]

well, nevermind. Tiger just announced he's out for the season. Guess he's going to have more surgery.

[highthief]

Yup. Cruciate damage:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/golf/7458357.stm

[The_Jazz]

Looks like 2 stress fractures too. Ouch.

[Glory's Sun]

this makes the Open win even more amazing.

[yellowmac]

Originally Posted by guccilvr

this makes the Open win even more amazing.

Agreed. Hopefully he'll actually listen to his doctors this time and not come back until it's fully 100% healed. I'm all for seeing Tiger win many more majors, and I'll wait however long it takes.

Get well soon, Tiger.

Meanwhile, I'm sure everyone else on the PGA Tour will be discreetly excited by this news. They have a chance, now!

[Glory's Sun]

The players may be excited but the PGA will take a huge hit in ratings. I think NBC said they have a 56% jump in ratings where Tiger plays. Tiger just wows people and makes you want to pick up a club..doesn't matter if you love him or hate him.. he's just damn good to watch

[QuasiMondo]

Every time I hear about somebody trying to play hurt, I think of Grant Hill.

He sprained his ankle at the end of the 99-00 season when he still played for Detroit. He played on it in the playoffs against Miami, but the more he played, the worse it got. He only lasted through Game 2 of the eastern conference semi-finals against Chicago, but it was for nothing as they were swept by the Bulls.

The next year, he was traded to Orlando, where he played a total of 57 games in three seasons and sat out the fourth season entirely. The rest of his career was plagued by injuries and his years in Orlando and Phoenix and he was never the dominant player he once was in Detroit. This past season was the first time since his days in Detroit that he's played over 70 games.

It may seem worth it for now since he did win the U.S. open, but I just hope his competitive spirit didn't sabotage his career.

[highthief]

Originally Posted by guccilvr

The players may be excited but the PGA will take a huge hit in ratings. I think NBC said they have a 56% jump in ratings where Tiger plays. Tiger just wows people and makes you want to pick up a club..doesn't matter if you love him or hate him.. he's just damn good to watch

Yeah, I think they got a 13 or 14 rating for the final round on Sunday - those aren't golf numbers, they are NFL numbers!

[Ilow]

One of the cool thing about Tiger is that he is a frontrunner/favorite that is OK to root for. I love to cheer for him, even though he is pretty much even money against the entire field! I guess it is because he is freakishly good and astoundingly driven. This US Open proved how absolutely mentally tough this guy is, playing through pain and pressure for an extra 19 holes. He walked something like 20 miles of course over an extra long weekend on a fractured tibia and no ACL, and won!

[highthief]

You know, today Woods said he hasn't felt healthy in a decade - that's really a silly thing to say as he's quite obviously the fittest guy out there. The fact that he has picked up some injuries along the way is no surprise, but sometimes some of the things he comes out with (like he didn't have his "A" game when he torched the field by a dozen strokes) is just silly.

[Strange Famous]

Originally Posted by Ilow

One of the cool thing about Tiger is that he is a frontrunner/favorite that is OK to root for. I love to cheer for him, even though he is pretty much even money against the entire field! I guess it is because he is freakishly good and astoundingly driven. This US Open proved how absolutely mentally tough this guy is, playing through pain and pressure for an extra 19 holes. He walked something like 20 miles of course over an extra long weekend on a fractured tibia and no ACL, and won!

I agree - Tiger Woods and Roger Federer both have that (although Rafa Nadal maybe is getting close to Roger now)

To me, its the sense that when Tiger or Roger hit their form, they arent playing against the field, their playing against history... every time they are in a big final or a major - you just have the expectation of seeing something really special.