Tiger Woods

Rivalry, What Rivalry?

/ The Grateful Golfer / Leave a comment

No-one will ever have golf under his thumb. No round ever will be so good it could not have been better. Perhaps this is why golf is the greatest of games. You are not playing a human adversary; you are playing a game. You are playing old man par. – Bobby Jones

The 2016 golf season is well under way and the media is desperately trying to create issues where there are none. They talk about the stellar play of Jason Day and bemoan the play of Jordan Spieth. Every week they look for the rise of Rory McIlroy or Rickie Fowler. It is very confusing who is who and what actually the media is trying to portray.

The golfing media continues to drone on about the rivalry between all the young players at the top of the world rankings. The expectation is that élite athletes will try and knock each other off to remain number one. Well, golf is not that type of sport.
Continue reading →

The Players – Is It the Fifth Major?

/ The Grateful Golfer / 6 Comments

The Players Championship played this weekend is lauded as the Fifth Major.  It is the only significant tournament owned and administered by the PGA Tour.  The majors all have different sponsors:  The Masters is owned by the Augusta National Golf Club; the U.S. Open by the United States Golf Association (USGA); The Open Championship by The R&A, and the PGA Championship by the Professional Golfers’ Association of America (PGA of America).

This tournament was created in 1974 and Jack Nicklaus won the inaugural tournament.  This tournament has a short history, but gathers an elite field every year.  The tournament runs every year at about the same time with the final round sometimes being played on Mother’s Day.  It has a permanent home at TPC Sawgrass since 1982 at the Stadium Course.
Continue reading →

The Masters Update

/ The Grateful Golfer / 2 Comments
The Masters

‘A tradition unlike any other’ shirt sold at Augusta. (CBS Sports)

The Masters is two days away! Tomorrow is the par 3 tournament, then let the games begin. The Masters is my favorite Major and over the past few weeks, we have discussed how players qualify, who we picked to be champion, and other aspects of fantastic golf tournament.

Main stream media has most of the news covered at nauseum, so I plan to stay away from most of those topics. As The Masters approaches, there are some news articles that caught my attention. These noteworthy stories are worth repeating because through all the crazy media hype, I do not want any of these great stories to slip by. Continue reading →

Not Just Another Major Golf Tournament

/ The Grateful Golfer / 13 Comments

There are four Major Golf Tournaments in professional golf! For various reasons, each event is unique and offers untold excitement. Regardless of your level of play, the Majors are highlights of the golf season that catches our attention.

Recently, I asked the golfing world which was there favorite Major. I was a bit surprised at the results, but given the events of last year I guess I really should not have been all that amazed.

Spieth Record Masters

2015 Masters Golf Tournament Champion – Jordan Spieth (Masters.com)

I have to admit that I am big Masters fan. Last years performance by Jordan Spieth was what legends are made of. Spieth added to the mystique about that The Masters and is considered the most popular Major in professional golf. I have to admit that Spieth’s play was akin to the greats like Jack Nicklaus, Tiger Woods, Sam Snead, and Arnold Palmer. However, it will take more that one victory to knock Nicklaus off as the greatest Masters Champion of all time; but, another performance like the one in 2015, he might well be on his way.

I am also a fan of The Open which is the oldest Major and probably the most prestigious. There is something about watching players fight the wind, conquer bunkers as deep as caverns, and greens as subtle as a sledge-hammer that brings out my competitive spirit. There is never a shortage of awesome shots and great recoveries! The Open is special and extremely popular to golfing fans.

Regardless of which Major is your favorite. Most golfing fanatics gather around their TV, watch on-line, or are fortunate enough to be there in person to watch the best players in the world slug it out for the top prizes in golf.

If you had an all expense paid trip any Major, which would you choose?

I am a grateful golfer! See you on the links!

Ko and Spieth Against the World – Part 2

/ The Grateful Golfer / 5 Comments

Nearly 2 years ago, I wrote an article predicting that Lydia Ko and Jordan Spieth would take the golfing world by storm in very short order. The real point of the article was to point out how quickly top ranked players can fall from grace. Currently, Ko and Spieth are ranked number 2 in the world in their respective tours and both seem poised to return to the top position.

Congratulations to Lydia Ko on winning her first Major. Setting the record for the youngest woman to win a Major, the sky is the limit for this young phenom. For three years she has enjoyed the rollercoaster ride of professional sports, yet still seems grounded and focused on be the best she can be!

Jordan Spieth has experienced more success since 2013. At 21, he appears to be unstoppable sometimes and a mere mortal others. His media exposure and pressure to perform is greater than Ko’s and he too is handling his world ranking extremely well. With the BMW Championship on the horizon, all eyes will be on Spieth to see if he can play his way out of his current funk.

The fall from grace happens just as quickly. During Ko and Spieth’s rise to the top, players such as Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson slide down the world rankings. Although Woods and Mickelson still have star power, their game does not seem sharp enough to compete regularly with the young lions.

Rory McIlroy took a few body blows in 2013 because of his poor play, but rebounded well in 2014/2015 until his unfortunate injury. The media reports were mixed and it will interesting to see if he can keep his number one ranking with Spieth and Jason Day on his heels.

Ko and Spieth have taken on the golfing world. For now, they are the players to beat! Being so young, the question is how long they can sustain their current prowess! The constant pressure to perform eventually will take its toll on these young superstars. The real question is how long will it be before the media discards these players for someone better!

I am a grateful golfer.