Does winning the Chevron mean Tiger Woods is officially back?

Written by: Tony Korologos | Monday, December 5th, 2011
Categories: PGA Tour • Pro Golf • Tiger Woods
Tags: Tiger Woods

Staring contest between Zach Johnson and Tiger Woods on the 18th Sunday

I suppose I have to post a Tiger Woods related post today since he won the Chevron and the media and golf broadcasters are going nuts. Not that I don’t want to, I just don’t want it to be the same as a billion other scribes, bloggers, sports reporters etc.

I watched almost all of the broadcast of the Chevron World Challenge this weekend. I wasn’t super impressed with the golf of most of the 18 players. Collectively the field was -3. Perhaps the fast greens and high wind took their toll. Yes, this was a field of only 18 players. Take that for what it is worth. Not a full field. Not a PGA Tour event either. BUT, despite being a small field there were some fantastic golfers in it, including many top 10 players, the FedEx Cup champ for 2011 etc.

After the hot start Thursday I’d hoped that K.J. Choi could keep the train rolling. He’s one of my favorite players. But he lost it a bit. The 15th hole seemed to have his number, as Choi carded a quadruple and a triple on that par-3.

Tiger’s game was good enough to win this week obviously, but whether or not he is “back” is unknown in my opinion. I still see some wild swings, but then again he has always had wild swings. The dip in his swing is pretty pronounced and when that gets out of control, he hits bad shots, like the few fat 3-woods he hit.

Still I think the biggest make or break part of TW’s game right now is his putting. He didn’t make much of anything yesterday. I could see his blade opening in his stroke on some misses. Then suddenly something clicked around the 16th hole. He started to release the putter better, without leaving the face open. Then the putts started dropping.

So is Tiger “Back?”

Many think so. Most golf TV broadcasters, networks and scribes want him back because their ratings are so vastly better when Tiger is playing well and in contention.

Speaking of the broadcasters, the Tiger doting was really over the top this weekend, especially Sunday. It is hard to swallow sometimes–when they go on and on about Tiger, and seem to forget the rest of the field. They’re in a tough position though. I get it. It is hard not to dote over possibly the best golfer ever. Tiger is arguably the 2nd best golfer. Can’t call him the best unless he beats Jack’s record.

When asked if he was back, Tiger said (paraphrasing) he’d never left.

For fun, lets take a look at some headlines:

Finally, a win for Tiger Woods

Tiger Woods Wins First Tournament Since Scandal

Woods puts demon in the hole

Woods ends 2-year victory drought

Hello Again, World

Did Tiger get his groove back?

Does Tiger’s win at the Chevron mean he’s all the way back?

The days of doubting Tiger Woods are over (finally) – complete quote

Tiger Woods starts winning again

Tiger is back to his best

Great story — but is he really back?

Golf doesn’t need Tiger anymore

Tiger Woods Wins! Fan Yells “Mashed Potatoes!”

Angel Tiger or Devil Tiger, either way, I’m glad he’s back!

That’s More Like It

What did Tiger himself have to say about his win? Here’s his latest tweet:

Birdie birdie feels pretty damn good. Fans made it feel better than great.

What’s gear was in Tiger Woods’s golf bag at the Chevron?

Driver: Nike VR Tour 8.5-degree (Graphite Design DI 6X)
Fairway Woods: Nike VR Pro Limited Edition 3-wood/15-degree and 5-wood/19-degree
Irons: Nike VR Pro Blades (3-PW)
Wedges: Nike VR Pro 56-degree and Nike VR Pro 60-degree
Putter: Nike Method 001
Ball: Nike ONE Tour D
Apparel: Nike Golf’s Tiger Woods Collection
Footwear: Nike TW Free-Inspired Prototype Shoe

Final Chevron Leader Board

POS	Player	To Par	1	2	3	4	Total
1	Tiger Woods	-10	69	67	73	69	278
2	Zach Johnson	-9	73	67	68	71	279
3	Paul Casey	-5	79	68	67	69	283
T4	Hunter Mahan	-4	72	68	73	71	284
T4	Matt Kuchar	-4	72	67	74	71	284
T6	Jim Furyk	-1	71	74	73	69	287
T6	Martin Laird	-1	77	74	66	70	287
T6	Rickie Fowler	-1	71	70	75	71	287
T6	Bubba Watson	-1	75	70	70	72	287
T10	Bo Van Pelt	E	74	72	71	71	288
T10	Gary Woodland	E	73	70	70	75	288
12	K.J. Choi	+1	66	73	72	78	289
T13	Webb Simpson	+2	73	79	68	70	290
T13	Bill Haas	+2	78	69	69	74	290
15	Jason Day	+3	74	68	77	72	291
16	Steve Stricker	+4	69	76	73	74	292
17	Keegan Bradley	+10	76	75	74	73	298
18	Nick Watney	+11	71	78	73	77	299

A friend and inspiration lives

Written by: Tony Korologos | Saturday, December 3rd, 2011
Categories: Golf Life • Life • Miscellaneous

Today is a special day and I can’t wait to visit my very good friend and Iraq war vet Bryant Jacobs. Today is Bryant’s “alive” day. We’ll be celebrating the fact that Bryant is alive this evening at Bryant’s new home, built by Homes For Our Troops.

Seven years ago Bryant was blown up by a road side bomb in Iraq. He barely survived and has lived in great pain ever since. He’s had countless surgeries. Golf brought me and Bryant together and we’ve enjoyed dozens of rounds together. Love the camaraderie we’ve built up. I’ve seen the pain in Bryant’s eyes–seen him limp and struggle, yet NEVER complain.

Bryant is 2nd from left. I'm 2nd from right.

When I feel down or frustrated about life or my golf game, thinking of my buddy Brant puts it all in perspective and makes me realize how unimportant my troubles really are.

Hats off to you buddy. See you tonight.

Crayons De Golf – French Golf Pencils At Staples?

Written by: Tony Korologos | Friday, December 2nd, 2011
Categories: Golf Accessories • Miscellaneous

Valuable trade secrets about to be revealed here… One way to get a lot of free golf in, is become best buds with the director of golf at your home course. Wondering how this leads to French golf pencils at Staples?

“Crayons De Golf”

The other day I stopped by the course to chat with my director of golf buddy. We decided to run a quick errand for the course, along with grabbing lunch. The course had run out of golf pencils and he needed to get some. Somehow he knew that the local Staples had golf pencils. I thought that was quite entertaining, and was even more entertained when I learned that the pencils were French.

Oui Oui! Crayons De Golf!

So if you golf pros or merchandise guys out there are freaking out because somehow you’ve run out of pencils at your local course, you know you can pick up some “crayons de golf” at the local Staples.

The Arnie Experience

Written by: Tony Korologos | Friday, December 2nd, 2011
Categories: Golf Apparel • Miscellaneous

A PR firm emailed and asked me if I’d mention a this promotion. Normally those emails go to the trash bin, but this one brought up a fun memory of me and the King.

The King’s “Palmer Collection” is trying to boost their Facebook likes so they’re offering a chance to win a shirt autographed by the Mr. Palmer. All you have to do is go to the Arniewear Facebook page and “like” it, then share your Arnie Experience, to have a chance to win. Maybe they’ll send me an autograph of the King for posting this… One can hope. Current likes for the page: 35. So once this is posted, get ready for it to blow up…

Speaking of Arnold Palmer, I’ve just made arrangements to play the Oasis “Palmer” course in Mesquite, Nevada next Wednesday. Stoked for that. That course was the home of “Big Break Mesquite.” This brings up my personal Arnie experience, which happened many years ago, in Mesquite:

I was down in the area of Southern Utah golfing with a buddy. We were staying at what the time was called the “Peppermill” across the border a ways in Nevada. It was the only hotel/casino in the tiny border gambling town of Mesquite. We went into the casino to play craps and the table was packed, 3 people deep all around. We decided that we needed to join that game because it must have been hot. When we pushed our way through to the end of the table, we realized why it was so crowded. Arnold Palmer was at the other end, throwing the dice!

We asked why the heck the King would be in this tiny little desert border town and the answer was fantastic news to us back then. He was building a golf course there. The course is the Oasis Palmer.

I played craps with Arnold Palmer.

Tiger Woods answers fan questions on video

Written by: Tony Korologos | Thursday, December 1st, 2011
Categories: Pro Golf • Tiger Woods
Tags: Tiger Woods

Tiger Woods answered a bunch of fan questions on video following his press conference at the Chevron World Challenge yesterday. Everything from swing tips to belly putters to classes he liked at Stanford.

Watch the last 2-3 seconds closely and tell me what your take is.