A fun read by former Charlotte Observer columnist Tommy Tomlinson
2. The 15th is a par-5 full of temptation and doom. Long hitters can reach the green in two. Gene Sarazen famously holed a double-eagle there on the way to winning the Masters in 1935. But there’s a pond in front of the green, and many a player’s Masters dream has died right there in the water. With a three-shot lead, and your ball in the rough, the only thing it makes sense to do is lay up.
3. Bubba Watson does not lay up.
4. Ask a friend who doesn’t follow golf to name three active golfers. Everybody will get Tiger Woods. Most everybody will get Phil Mickelson. Who’s next? I bet most people who don’t watch golf would say John Daly.
5. Tiger is 38 and basically done. Phil is 43 and fading. John Daly is hanging out at a Hooters somewhere.
6. Yes, Tiger is basically done — at least by his standards. Once he returns from back surgery, he might win some more tournaments, might even rise to No. 1 in the world again. But those things don’t matter much to Tiger. The majors matter. He hasn’t won one in six years. And now he’s facing not just the slow erosion of time but a body that is breaking down like an old Gremlin. Tiger practiced harder than anybody else, for longer than anybody else, to make it to the top. But now maybe all those hours on the range are catching up to him. Maybe you’ve got only so many golf shots in you. And maybe Tiger’s almost on empty. He needs four majors to catch Jack Nicklaus’ record, five to pass him. I’d say it’s even money that he doesn’t win even one.
The rest of Tommy's list is here
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