He’s baaaack! Just like I predicted in my last post Tiger will rise again. With a four shot lead going into the final round, looks like he’s winning his first PGA event this year. To be continued…
McIlory & Woods Miss Cut
Both Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy missed the cut at the Abu Dhabi Championship. Tiger missed it by 1 stroke and Rory by 4 strokes. I watched a some of the tournament on The Golf Channel and they weren’t playing horribly bad, just a little off. I don’t think it’s the clubs for Rory. He has probably taken a lot of time off and there is a little rust. He switched back to his old Titleist putter for the second round but it didn’t help.
As for Tiger its the same old thing, he is a wild man off the tee. I have the same problem sometimes and you can still shoot even par or a stoke over but you can’t score if you don’t have a clear approach shot. Tiger will come around and probably have a better year than last. I think he could actually regain the #1 ranking in the world. He has always wanted to beat all the records held by Jack and Arnie. That may be what separates the young McIlroy from the Young Woods. Fire and drive to dominate the world of golf. Rory is no doubt an awesome player and could do similar things young Tiger did but will he have the drive and desire to dominate? I hope so, it will give us a ton of entertainment for the next few years.
Tiger’s situation is kind of like Jordan’s when his father was murdered and he retired from basketball. Tiger had knee surgery and lost his wife and kids after his sex scandal was revealed. Jordan came back to basketball a couple years later and won three more championships. It could have been four but he was tripped by Nick Anderson’s “steal” against the Magic. I could see Tiger doing some thing similar.
MJ
Back in the Saddle Again
Nice little tune by Aerosmith. Today was my first full swing since the back/rip injury. It felt great to play a few holes of golf and hit the driving range for a bit. My swing felt great, I had three pars and one bogey. I have to say Bill Johnson’s impact drill that I did faithfully during my down time has really made an “impact” on my ball striking, especially my iron play. I can really feel the club face at impact and I am getting a better weight transfer than before. The coming days should be fun.
MJ
Layed Up
I made a lot of progress yesterday with Bill Johnson on the range but I over did it. I was on the range for about five hours yesterday working on various shots and I should have quit after three. I have had a little pinched nerve in my back that would give me trouble from time to time when I swung the club. Yesterday at the end of my practice it was killing me but I still hit a few more and now I am suffering the consequences. I can’t take a deep breath. It sucks. I have been trying every remedy I can find on the world wide web and the pain is very slowly decreasing. I have taken Motrin, iced it, cooked it, stretched, and drank a few beers. Still the pain is insane. I hope to be back on the course ASAP.
MJ
Putting
I spent a lot of time practicing putting Friday and Saturday. I usually only spend 10-15 minutes practicing putting and when I play I one or two putt every green. With my new practice schedule created by Bill Johnson,I spent 2.5 hours on Friday and almost 3 hours on Saturday putting. My back was killing me by the end of each day but my putter and I did have quite the bonding experience.
I recently switched from the famous Ping Answer 2i with the clear insert in the face to the new Titleist Scotty Cameron Newport 2. So far the switch had been fine, we have been getting along well but we just hadn’t spent much time together. After spending over 5 hours with Doc (my new putter is named after Doc Holiday) I have molded the grip to my hands and feel more than comfortable in any putting situation.
Practice routine – 3,6,9 Ft drill, 5 footers, 10 footers, 40 ft plus lag putts.
MJ
Congratulations Rory McIlroy!
A huge finish to an already amazing year in golf. Rory McIlroy won the DP World Tour Championship in Dubai on Sunday with five straight birdies to end the final round. He had already captured the European Tour’s Race to Dubai, this was just an extra nail in the coffin after it was already buried and the grass had started to grow on it.
Some are starting to wonder if he is even human or some type of Irish A.I. experiment. The man is number one on both the PGA and European tour money lists, won the FedEx cup, and on the Ryder Cup winning team. Well done Rory, I hope you continue your success next year it has been great watching you compete this season.
Michael Johnston