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1 Like 
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For a long time people have been asking whether or not Tiger is back. I have always thought that he is not really back until his putting returns to where it used to be.
At this point he is sinking clutch par putts like he used to. Just like #1 and #18 today. This was true of his last win as well. As far as him only winning at courses he is used to....he is used to Augusta! Not saying he is going to win, but as Tiger pointed out, most of these guys play the same courses each year, so its a poor argument. If he continues to putt this way, or even 75% of this good. He will have no trouble winning more majors. Keep in mind he hardly hit a Fairway today (3rd round at Bay Hill) yet he shot 6 under! This included an 8 ft birdie putt miss, and a few uncharacteristically bad fairway bunker shots. He has been striking the ball beautifully for a long time now, but until recently his putting was holding him back. |
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| # 1 3/23/2013 8:29:34 PM |
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He can thank Stricker for his improved putting. By the way, on #18 today on his par save, it looked like his hands were leaning way ahead of the ball. That is the main adjustment Stricker gave him. Tiger is a very good student of the game. And he appears to be playing with a calmness I have never seen before with him. Maybe its easy for him when he's winning, but IMO, its good to see just the same.
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| # 2 3/23/2013 8:40:42 PM |
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I had been saying during the slump it was more critical for him to start hitting fairways again, then get the putter going. That's something that rarely happens, Cofish was wrong. ;-) Other than the putt on #11 he missed, there was not one putt he had today within 20 feet he missed. That's insane. And even when he missed, most notably on #12 and #17, they looked like they had no chance of missing. Miller said at the end of the round it's one of his Top 10 putting rounds in his career, which is scary, considering I've heard him and other analysts say the same thing about 25 times since I really got into the sport in 2008. He's been my Masters pick for a while now, and sadly with his putter performing the way it is, there's nothing that can convince me otherwise right now of him not winning that 5th green jacket. Chalk him up at #1 in the world after tomorrow. Now Rory has helped him a lot through his poor play thus far, but I didn't see McIlroy losing that spot this year. Tiger's going to get it back in March, which is extremely impressive.
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| # 3 3/23/2013 8:58:37 PM |
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His scrambling is really the big thing. That is what he has always lived on. When he scrambles well he wins. He hits so many amazing approach shots that if he can save par on the bad shots, its hard for him to lose. He had some pretty bad breaks today (one really good one on #9, but it was about time given all the bad ones lately), and he still shot 6 under.
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| # 4 3/23/2013 9:36:31 PM |
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.. no.. guys.. it's everything.. He just gets the job done.. just like he will do at Bay Hill..
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| # 5 3/23/2013 9:50:36 PM |
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I think he's good again because he's back with a blonde chick...
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| # 6 3/23/2013 9:51:52 PM |
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I think he's good again because he's back with a blonde chick... For real. That's what I first thought when Mr. and Mrs. Vonn became official this week. |
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| # 7 3/23/2013 9:52:57 PM |
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He can thank Stricker for his improved putting. By the way, on #18 today on his par save, it looked like his hands were leaning way ahead of the ball. That is the main adjustment Stricker gave him. Tiger is a very good student of the game. And he appears to be playing with a calmness I have never seen before with him. Maybe its easy for him when he's winning, but IMO, its good to see just the same. Forward tilt is a very good method in putting. I find it locks me in my stroke. You do see a few of these guys make that move in the stroke. Phil Mickelson you see do it pretty obviously. |
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| # 8 3/24/2013 10:36:18 PM |
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.. no.. guys.. it's everything.. He just gets the job done.. just like he will do at Bay Hill.. well obviously, but his much better putting (and short game in general) is key to him winning majors. He has been hitting the ball fairly well for a long time, it was the short game that wasn't right. |
