TOUR NEWS: AS THAT old Chinese proverb would tell us, these are interesting times. For one, Tiger Woods is back as good as ever, as confirmed in his mind-blowing final round finish to win the Memorial tournament; for two, Phil Mickelson will resume tournament play in this week's St Jude Classic after, thankfully, a better than anticipated prognosis on his wife's breast cancer; and, for three, there is the on-going puzzle about when Pádraig Harrington will bring his A-game (or even his B one, for that matter) to the course.
While Harrington, the winner of two of the last three majors, missed the cut at the Memorial – the third time in his last four outings – and consequently dropped out of the world’s top-10 for the first time in 11 months, Woods reaffirmed his physical and mental well-being and believes he has peaked perfectly ahead of next week’s US Open at Bethpage Black on Long Island, New York.
Now, with the 67th win of his career on the US Tour banked, Woods has reset his sights on passing Jack Nicklaus in the all-time list of major victories. Woods is on 14, Nicklaus on 18.
“It’s five to pass him, four to tie him. That’s a lot,” remarked Woods.
“Most of the guys in my generation haven’t won more than three. So, it’s quite a challenge . . . . (but) I probably wouldn’t have had as good a chance to put myself in position to tie or pass, whatever it may be, if I hadn’t had the surgery.
“My leg was deteriorating the past couple of years. I’m healthy enough where I think I can give it a go.”
Woods’s victory in the Memorial was his second of the season – following his Bay Hill Invitational success in March – but the manner of this latest win, finishing birdie-birdie and finding every fairway in the final round, provided a much better indication that the world number one was free of any lingering post-surgery concerns and back to his best.
As Woods attested, “I really controlled my flight and felt in control with shaping the ball both ways. I didn’t really have a problem hitting it either way. That’s when you know you feel like you’re in control of what you’re doing . . . . when I first came back (from injury), I was pretty limited in my shot shapes. I wasn’t able to work the ball both ways very well, draw the golf ball. I didn’t have the speed of my body yet. I was hitting the ball pretty short at the time.
“But, you know, I knew all that would come along. Just give me a little bit of time. And I started to feel a little bit better each and every week.”
This pre-US Open win has an eerily familiar feel to 2002, when he won the Memorial before heading on to Bethpage and triumphing there.
“It was nice to play this well going into the US Open. This is how you have to hit it in order to win US Opens. Especially Bethpage. That golf course is as big as they come. You know, with the rough as deep, even with it graduated, it’s super thick.
“From the guys that I’ve talked to who have already played it, you really can’t get to some of the greens if you hit the ball even in the first cut.
“It’s just one of those things where you have to hit the ball well all week. I did that in 2002.”
If Woods is where he wants to be, Harrington – down to 11th in the latest world rankings, the first time since July 13th last year he has been outside the top-10 – is still seeking to get there.
The missed cut in Muirfield Village, Ohio, left him moving on to this week’s event in Memphis claiming he was “fully aware that I need to forget about what I am working on when I get to the course . . . to get back into playing golf and not to work on my swing.”
It is all about Harrington getting to Bethpage next week “ready to play” but for that to happen he must surely rediscover his form – and quickly: you don’t want to be going to arguably one of the toughest courses on any major rota suffering from a lack of confidence.
Harrington will be joined in Memphis by Graeme McDowell, who has received a sponsor’s invite. The Ulsterman – who is also in the field at Bethpage – has reported significant progress on his leg injury which forced him to withdraw from the Irish Open and troubled him in the BMW PGA at Wentworth.
“I am still in slight pain while walking, but I am taking the right precautions and am noticing a definite improvement,” said McDowell, who used his time away from tournament play last week to play a practice round with Rory McIlroy at Turnberry, the venue for next month’s British Open.
Mickelson, meanwhile, has decided to return to action in Memphis after doctors determined that his wife Amy’s cancer was caught early.
Lawrie misses out
PETER LAWRIE narrowly failed yesterday in his attempt to secure a ticket to next month’s British Open at Turnberry. The 35-year-old Dubliner lost out in a six-way play-off for the final two places on offer in the International Qualifying at Sunningdale.
While Argentina’s Rafa Echenique and England’s Graeme Storm topped the 36-hole qualifying on 130, 10 under, over the Old and New courses to secure their places in the field, Lawrie finished in a six-way tie for ninth after rounds of 67 and 66.
With 10 places available, the six went into a play-off, but Lawrie’s bid ended at the second hole. Scotland’s Richard Ramsay and England’s Oliver Fisher secured the final places up for grabs to join Echenique, Storm, David Drysdale, Gary Orr, Branden Grace, Raphael Jacquelin, Paul Broadhurst and Rhys Davies as qualifiers.
Gary Murphy (70, 65 for 135), Shane Lowry (70, 69 for 139), Gareth Maybin (70, 70 for 140) and Michael McGeady (76, 70 for 146) also missed out.
As of now, there are six Irish players in the field where Pádraig Harrington will defend the claret jug. Rory McIlroy, Graeme McDowell, Darren Clarke, Paul McGinley and Damien McGrane.
