Capelle On Golf

Tom Watson had won his second Duel at Turnberry in the biggest upset in the history of sports.

Going into the Open the 59 year old Watson was, as memory serves me, a 1,000 to 1 to win while Tiger Woods was listed at 7/4 when I penned my preview on July 11th . But, after a series of improbable events, Watson has earned a share of the 36 hole lead with Steve Marino with a score of -5.

His miraculous deeds included 40+ foot bombs on 16 and 18 for birdies. Meanwhile, Tiger Woods suffered from two of the worst way wide rights of his career on 9 and 10 that led to a bogey and a double including a lost ball in the gorse. All told, Tiger played holes 8-13 in seven over par. Though he managed to close with three pars and two birdies, he closed with a 145, one over the cut line.

So, no matter what Watson scores on the weekend, he will have beaten the two greatest golfers in history over a span of 32 years at Turnberry (he bested Jack Nicklaus in 1977, as you’ve not doubt been reminded 100 times this week). And, without Tiger to stop him, who is to say that he won’t become the oldest major winner in history, replacing Julius Boros, who won the 1968 PGA at age 48 (though I certainly wouldn’t be on it). Finally, Watson’s little reminder of his past greatness makes us wonder all the more what Tiger’s record would look like if he’s had the likes of him to deal with in his prime.

As for Tiger, everything he does is a big part of golfing history and his quest to become the best ever. As a result, he suffered multiple losses on Friday afternoon.

• Woods was working on a streak of five straight top 10s in the majors (his best streak is eight) and he would dearly have liked to have beaten Nicklaus’ best of 13 straight. Now he must start over.
• His streak of winning of at least a major a year is in serious jeopardy as he’s now down to his last chance.
• He failed again to win his first British Open in real Open weather – that is, cold and wind, proving once again that he is not a foul weather golfer.
• He missed his second cut in a major, pulling within one of Nicklaus’ MCs at a similar point in his career. Nicklaus didn’t miss his fourth cut in a major (as a pro) until his 17th season.
• After 13 years into their careers, Nicklaus still leads Woods in top fours at the Open, 9-5.

Tiger’s poor play may also have left leave some scar tissue on his game. He failed to win the Masters due to sub standard ball striking and poor putting. Then he lost the US Open thanks to repeated failures on the greens. And now he’s back to hitting wide rights and to, once again, putting like a mere mortal.

All of this raises so many questions. Is his knee still bothering him, though he says it’s not?
Does he have serious swing issues that are next to incurable? Is the pressure of grinding over putts for so long starting to get to him? Has playing for a number (19) taken the joy out of the game?  Is Haney still the man? Is he tiring of being in the public eye? Would he rather just stay home on the couch with  Elin and kids?

Tiger could, of course, rebound strongly and win the PGA. But if he doesn’t, he’ll be facing a long eight months till the Masters and his quest to win 19 won’t seem near so certain. And maybe he doesn’t even care as much as he once did.