Tiger’s a scary sight when his driver’s working
Woods drove perfectly Sunday, which meant everyone else played for 2nd
 Andy Lyons / Getty Images Tiger Woods hits his tee shot on the 15th hole. Woods didn't miss a fairway in the final round of the Memorial on Sunday, which should be a scary prospect to the rest of the PGA, writes Mike Celizic. |
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But those are nothing compared to the horrifying vision that the PGA Tour had to face on Sunday: Tiger Woods hitting from the fairway.
Forget the win at Jack Nicklaus’ little party in Columbus. That was impressive, especially as Tiger shot a 7-under 65 and began the day four shots back. But Tiger had won 66 tournaments before Sunday, so it wasn’t as if his second win since coming back from knee surgery was a shock.
It wasn’t that he won, but how he won — from the fairway. Given his iron play, his phenomenal short game and a putting stroke that is just starting to return to pre-injury form, it’s almost unfair when he’s hitting every second shot from the short grass.
And if he’s going to keep playing this way, what hope is there for everybody else? You can bet that’s what the rest of the Tour is asking now, with the U.S. Open and its demand for accuracy off the tee teeing off a week from Thursday.
It’s been no secret that Tiger’s driving hasn’t been the strongest part of his game. Especially since he came back, he’s been all over the lot off the tee. He was 145th in driving accuracy before Sunday, hitting fairways about 57 percent of the time. He’s had good results — one other win and few Top 10s — but it’s mostly been due to his amazing short game.
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You could see his frustration that was demonstrated when he went to a driver with more loft coming into the Memorial. The change worked. With a slightly higher launch angle, his drives straightened out. When he split the 18th fairway Sunday on his way to the birdie-birdie finish that buried three pursuers, it was the 18th straight fairway he’d hit over the final two rounds.
According to PGAtour.com, the average pro puts his drive in the fairway 61 percent of the time. Most courses have 14 driving holes and four par threes, which means that the average pro hits 8.5 fairways a round. Mark Brooks, the tour leader, hits 75 percent of the fairways — 10.5 a round.
Tiger’s irons were almost as good as his driver Sunday. The seven-iron he hit into 18 stopped less than a foot from the cup for a kick-in birdie and the win. And then there’s that short game, which produced another bit of magic on the 11th when he hit a one-handed flop shot that popped out of the deep hay and rolled straight into the cup for a birdie.
Tiger had been in a four-way tie for the lead going into the final holes. But as he was sinking a nine-footer for birdie on 17 and knocking it cold on the final hole, Jonathan Byrd, Davis Love III and Jim Furyk — all playing behind him — couldn’t keep up. Furyk got one birdie on the final two holes when he needed two. Love blew up like a ’68 Pinto and so did Byrd. That’s what happens to people who try to catch Tiger.
Afterwards, Woods said that it is only recently that his rebuilt knee has allowed him to practice after playing a round, and that’s made a big difference in his game.
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