By Leonard Finkel
No question about it, Tiger still moves the needle. I must admit, I’m surprised at how well he did perform. He scored much better than I anticipated, but it could be an illusion. For the most part, he putted very well, which saved him at times. While he hit the ball further than he has in years and hit quite a few fairways with that length, some of the same problems still dogged him.
He continued to have problems with his chipping. But in my mind, what’s most important is that he failed to close out his rounds. He came out very strong in the first round but instead of capitalizing on his great play, he closed with a couple of bogies coming home. That same problem dogged him even more so in the second round. At one point he had taken the lead, but a bevy of bogies had him finish the day far off the lead.
He did turn around a horrible Saturday morning with some closing bogies to give his fans hope. Once again, he started out gangbusters on Sunday, but finished by bogeying his final two holes.
The old Tiger knew how to finish. Closing out a round is the sign of a champion. Will Tiger ever become the overpowering champion he was before? The answer to that question is a resounding no. Can he win again at times? The answer to that question has yet to be determined. I, like every other golf fan, is eager to find out the answer.
Leonard Finkel is the author of The Secrets to the Game of Golf & Life and former editor in chief of Golf Journeys Magazine. His work has been featured in almost 200 publications including Golf Magazine, Golf Digest, The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, Golf Illustrated, Golf Tips and Player Magazine. He has written more than a dozen cover stories for Golf Today Magazine. He has written extensively about golf and travel and has added poker to his writing repertoire. Finkel also works as a marketing and public relations consultant. His specialty niche is writing advertorial copy. Prior to his career in golf, Finkel owned a chain of retail stores and a consulting and import company based in Asia. He attended the University of Utah