Capelle On Golf

Tiger Woods’ Winning Streak in Jeopardy
Woods opened with a 33, then parred every hole on the back nine for a 68, and now finds himself seven back of Vijay Singh with 36 holes to play. His putting, which I mentioned would be as question mark on Wednesday, upset him to the point where he tossed his ball into the lake on 18 after missing about a 15’ putt.

Tiger Woods did manage to up his GIR count from 10 to 14. The four missed greens cost him but one bogey, so he’s 9 for 12 in saving par in the first two rounds (yet the PGA Tour has him at only 50%).

As for his last two tee shots, he could not have hit the greens from real rough. At 16 his drive wandered at least 60 yards off line. He was lucky to get relief from a grandstand. He dropped into light rough, then hit the green from 165 yards, about 20’ past the hole. On 18 his 3-wood ventured 35 yards off line into the right rough. However, the lie was good enough that he could take a short iron and go right at a pin that was cut 20 feet over a lake. Today’s game might be known as Bomb and Gouge, but Tiger’s version is Bomb and Go Flag Hunting.

One thing is for certain; Tiger still has the wide right tee shot in his bag. Unless this seemingly permanent part of his repertoire goes into remission, his chances of winning the majors will depend on how often he hits these miscues, and how big of a price he pays for doing so. At Augusta, the penalty is light rough and trees. At the U.S. Open and the PGA it could be considerably worse.

Vijay Singh’s Swing on the Mend
Singh overhauled his swing recently, and the results are beginning to show themselves. After today’s 15 GIR performance, his average for the year is 71.99%, placing him solidly in the top 10. Since Bay Hill’s greens limit a player’s ability to get hot with the putter, hitting lots of quality shots could be the key to winning, and that appears to be Singh’s new game.

Mickelson’s Surge Beats the Cut
Phil Mickelson was sitting at one over with seven holes to play and in danger of missing the cut (the 2 over’s made it) when he reeled off four straight birdies. His 67 was built on the strength of a 15 GIR performance and accurate driving (12 of 14 fairways), which bodes well for the weekend.

Is Sergio Garcia Back?
I mentioned recently that Garcia’s game is a story worth watching, and that he’s sort of at a make or break point in his career. I’m happy to report that he’s gone back to a conventional putter, which is a sign of confidence. The other good news is that his long game may be returning. He birdied two par threes yesterday, always a good sign. Today he hit 15 greens in a bogeyless 66 and close to flawless performance. Let’s hope this is for real.

Jim Furyk Sneaks into Contention
Former US Open champion Jim Furyk has opened with a pair of 67s, and they were no accident, considering that he’s tied for second in GIR following today’s 16 GIR and 12/14 fairways masterpiece. Based on these stats, it’s going to be hard to imagine that he won’t be in the thick of this come Sunday afternoon.

Hey, Els winning last week, Vijay, Phil, Furyk, and now Garcia rounding into peak form. Maybe a Woods victory at August is not a foregone conclusion after all.

Carl Petterson is Charging Towards Augusta
Petterson is alone in second, two back of Singh. If he finishes that way, he’ll earn just about enough points to vault him into the top 50 in the WGR. If he then remains in that position on Sunday evening, April 6, he’ll be on his way to the Masters.