Capelle On Golf

Tiger Woods’ PGA Tour winning streak of four straight events (and about seven months duration) is on the line this week at Bay Hill. So what are his chances of extending it to five in a row? Good because he’s Tiger. Bad because he doesn’t care for the greens, which are slow and bumpy, but which played a bit faster today than in practice. Bad because he wasn’t sharp with his irons today. And bad because his opening round of even par 70 leaves him tied for 34th. But then again, he’s Tiger, he’s only five back of the co-leaders, and there are 54 holes remaining.

Let’s look under the hood and see why he sputtered a bit today. His GIR was a lowly 10, about three below his average. Included in his eight missed greens were two with wedges. After his round Woods said to ASAP Sports, “I have some work to do this afternoon. Go back and hit some balls and trying to figure this out. I have a sense of what I needed to do. But still need to go out there and actually do the reps and make sure I get nice and comfortable for tomorrow.” As much he practices and as good as he is, and golf is still a day-to-day struggle for the world’s best to maintain peak form.

Eight missed greens might ordinarily lead to an over par score on a par 70 layout, but Tiger managed to save par six times thanks to his short games skills and short putting. He managed to 1-putt for birdie once in nine tries. His other birdie came as a result of reaching the par five sixth hole in two. His lack of birdies indicates that he was not getting his irons close enough for good looks and/or his long putting suffered on the bumpy greens – probably a combination of both.

Driving distance is only measured on two holes, but Tiger was well back at 81t, indicating that he was taking a strategic approach to the major championship like conditions at Bay Hill. He hit nine of 14 fairways, with most of the five misses coming with the big stick.

As for the competition, which is always an issue when Woods is playing, five of the other eight in the WGR’s top 20, the players with staying power, posted solid opening rounds. Vijay Singh (-4), Lee Westwood (-4) and Jim Furyk (-3) broke par while Sergio Garcia and Zach Johnson matched Tiger’s 70. Unless Woods goes on a rampage, which can never be discounted, it appears as if we’ll have some quality names on the leaderboard come Sunday afternoon. With his streak on the line, this could be fun.

Note: Young German sensation Martin Kaymer, playing in his first PGA Tour stroke play event, shot a 71. He did, however, manage to hit 13 of 14 fairways, which is a sign of solid ball striking on a demanding layout.