Capelle On Golf

The big stories in 2009 on the PGA Tour have been the economic meltdown and its impact on the tour’s sponsors, Ryo’s Arrival, and Phil’s Phollies. Well, Ryo Ishikawa played like a 17 year old on a sponsor’s exemption at Riviera in the first round of the Northern Trust, hitting only 9 greens on his way to a 73 in ideal scoring conditions.

Phil Mickelson finally broke 70 this year in his tenth try with a scorching round of 63 that consumed but 22 putts. So just when the golf world was ready to write him off, he goes super low on Hogan’s Alley – only to get upstaged by the news that Tiger Woods is coming back!

Yes, it is official – Tiger Woods will make his return next week at the WGC Accenture Match Play a scant eight months after taking a sabbatical to have  his knee repaired, thus ending all speculation about his probable return.

According to reports from his good buddy John Cook, Tiger is good to go as he’s been smashing his driver on occasion at full force. But Cooks says he still needsto get in walking shape for tournament golf.

Well, he’ll either get plenty of exercise or very little at the WGC Match Play because he could be gone after one round, or he might end up playing seven rounds in five days should he make the finals. So, it’s possible that a competitively not sharp Tiger could get ousted after round one with barely a speck of rust removed. Or he might play so much golf that he runs the risk of straining his knee.

Since by all reports he was ready to play this week, it seems like Riviera would have been a better choice. He could have returned to the game in his hometown and built some goodwill among the natives. He would get in at least two rounds, but no more than four, removing some rust off while reducing the risk of injury. And he would be playing golf under the stroke play format that would best prepare him for Augusta a scant seven weeks away. Finally, the WGC is being held for the first time at the Carlton GC, Dove Mountain, Marana, Arizona, so Tiger can’t draw on memories of past victories at that venue.

But we know Tiger loves match play, having won the WGC three times in the last six years, he’s the defending champion, and he’s never won in eight starts at Riviera as a pro. So I guess some things never change because , even after a long layoff, Tiger’s tracks still lead to the hunting grounds where he smells those precious Ws that he lives for.