Capelle On Golf

I get such a kick out of those kiss of death stats. First, on the tenth green of the final round at the Arnold Palmer Invitational, the announcers mentioned that Woods was 51 for 51 for the week on putts inside seven feet. Woods then defied the odds and missed from 6’, 7”, then missed again from under three feet to let a handful of players back into the tournament.

He responded to these twin miscues by playing near perfect golf till the eighteenth tee, at which point he was tied with Bart Bryant, the leader in the clubhouse. Woods then hit a bullet like 3-wood down the left side of the fairway. After a lengthy conference with his trusty sidekick, Steve Williams, he drilled a 167-yard approach into the wind to within 24’ of the cup.

Here came the stat guys again, this time informing us that Woods was 0 for 21 for the week on putts outside of 20’. But NBC’s Roger Maltbie said to hell with the stats, they just mean that “He’s due.” And darned if Woods didn’t drain his first long putt of the week, a twisting rollercoaster that, according to Johnny Miller, had four feet of break. So much for stats.

But then again, I mentioned in my last post that Woods’ theoretical odds of winning going into the final round must not be all that great. After all, he was tied with four other players with six more lurking within two shots. Except for one thing; He’s Tiger and they are not.

One sure way to eliminate those within charging distance is to shoot a low enough number that they couldn’t go low enough to pass him. His 66, which tied him with two non-contenders for the day’s low, took care of that.

As for the fearsome foursome that were tied with Tiger going into the final round, they mostly didn’t fare so well as expected. Sean O’Hair, his playing partner, lost two shots to Woods at the second hole and found himself five back at the turn with a 37, before recovering to trail Woods by three at the end.

Vijay Singh had trouble on the greens, lost three shots to Woods on the front nine, and ended up losing by that margin. Bubba Watson self-destructed early, piling up four bogeys between the second and eight holes. Only a back nine 33 kept him in the top 10 (8T).

In the end, Tiger’s big competition came from 45-year-old journeyman Bart Bryant, whose 15 GIR performance led to a super solid 67. So, over 72 holes of play, the only difference between him and Woods was that stat busting 24 footer on 18. The putt led to one of Woods’ most enthusiastic celebrations ever in which he slam dunked his cap onto the turf. We’ll no doubt be seeing this one10,000 times on the Golf Channel in the years to come.

Tiger Woods’ career has been about defying the odds, and his start to the 2008 season continues that legacy. Three starts on the PGA Tour, three wins, and two of his favorite venues are next up on the docket: Doral C.C. and Augusta National.

Will any Tiger stoppers come forward and assert themselves? Bart Bryant didn’t get the job done, but he played like a stopper will have to. He was cool, calm, and collected down the stretch and he made Tiger win this one. If one of the other pros can keep the pressure on till the end like Bryant, perhaps one of those odds defying putts won’t find the cup next time.

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