September 19, 2020 By Pete McDaniel
Freelance Writer
The sands of time often shift in ways ironic, leaving us to ponder the meaning behind the bizarre rewind of fate and history. Although bizarre, Tiger Woods’ continued woes at Winged Foot Golf Club’s West Course, site of the 120th U.S. Open Championship, are not mysterious to those of us used to reading the tea leaves concerning arguably golf’s greatest player.
Fourteen years ago Tiger arrived at Winged Foot with a heavy heart. His father, Earl, had died several weeks earlier, and the mission was clear in Tiger’s mind: Gift Pops with a final victory in the 106th U.S. Open. He had failed to make good on his promise to himself of a win in the Masters as a tribute to his terminally ill father.
The obsession was palpable. And so was the pressure. The extremely difficult West Course made Tiger’s mission all but impossible. His true fans sympathized with their fallen hero roughed up and sent packing by the fabled layout after two extremely forgettable rounds.
However, the championship was anything but forgettable, not because of the eventual winner, Geoff Ogilvy, who was more survivor than conqueror. No, what made the championship memorable was the calamitous 72nd hole that cost fan-favorite Phil Mickelson a first U.S. Open title. The 50-year-old Mickelson is still chasing that title after missing the cut on Friday.
After licking his wounds from the failure 14 years ago, Tiger fulfilled the promise by capturing the 2006 British Open memorialized in an emotional embrace between the victor and caddie Steve Williams. Mission accomplished.
The Tiger that returned to Winged Foot this week was only a shadow of the player who was tortured by the West Course in 2006. In fact, he was only a shadow of the player that shocked the world by capturing major championship No. 15 at the 2019 Masters.
Tiger taught us this week that 44 is not the new 24.
This iteration of Tiger had to birdie two of his final three holes to shoot a second-round 77 and miss the cut by four strokes. It was ugly but not unexpected for career Tiger watchers. As usual, the desire to compete was there. The game, however, appeared to be still sheltering in place.
The obvious culprits in Tiger’s demise at Winged Foot were inaccuracy off the tee and a balky putter. The less obvious remains Tiger’s physical condition. He has admitted that a sore back has limited practice sessions, especially short game. A reduced schedule this year, whether because of his back or the pandemic, translates into a lack of preparation through competition.
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The self-proclaimed hardest worker in golf must now face reality. Without sufficient practice and competitive toughness, a “C’’ game is about the best for which he can hope. And that won’t win a club championship let alone a major championship.
Winged Foot didn’t spare newcomers either. Young Cameron Champ was also victimized by the tight fairways, penal rough and severely undulating greens of the West Course. He finished 11-over for a missed cut in his second U.S. Open. Chalk it up to a learning experience for the two-time tour winner.
My attention was divided this week between golf and basketball. Surprisingly, my beloved Boston Celtics survived in the bubble to advance to the Eastern Conference final against the Miami Heat. Not surprisingly, though, was Boston faltering down the stretch en route to consecutive losses in the first two games against Miami. An inability to handle the Heat post players plus a lack of mental toughness surely will make my Celtics fall a series short of a matchup against the rival LA Lakers, who appear too tough for the Denver Nuggets in the Western Conference final. That might not be a bad thing for us Boston fans as I don’t think I could handle another loss to those hated Hollywood pretty boys.
ABOUT PETE McDANIEL
Pete McDaniel is a veteran golf writer and best-selling author. His blogs and books are available at petemcdaniel.com
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