The American’s Ryder Cup losing streak extended to seven, while Tommy Fleetwood became the first ever European to win his first four Ryder Cup matchesNot since the Marshall Plan have the Americans been so generous to Europe. And Tiger Woods has been among the most munificent in this 42nd Ryder Cup.On Friday, he and Patrick Reed gifted a point to Francesco Molinari and Tommy Fleetwood in the opening fourball, 3&1, before he skipped the afternoon foursomes to rest his back. On Saturday, he and Reed gift-wrapped the quiet Italian and his long-haired Southport mate the morning fourball, 4&3. And, as the American team sought to apply a tourniquet to the haemorrhage, the same European combination – Moliwood, as they have...
Earl Woods’s ‘psychological training’ gave his son the reservoirs of resilience needed to recover from a decade of ugly ordealsThey say Earl Woods was a poet laureate of profanity, that he knew so many curse words that he could cuss for 30 minutes straight and not repeat himself once. Earl told Golf Digest that this was “a family thing”, a habit he inherited from his father and passed on to his son. Tiger was 11 when Earl started to swear at him during training. “Fuck off Tiger,” he would say during his backswing, “motherfucker” he’d utter, “you little piece of shit”. Tiger said later he “didn’t mind and even encouraged” his father’s swearing, that “eventually, I started laughing at it”.His...
Woods has performed brilliantly simply to be competitive again but his shortcomings are obviousThere is a recurring danger of sporting dreams blurring reality. The hype around Tiger Woods was once justified but the reality of recent months applies context often missing in the giddy analysis. Woods has performed brilliantly simply to be competitive again after physical trouble so acute he struggled to sit down for dinner. But there, for now, the story ends.Woods’ latest outing at the Players Championship had him finish seven –almost two shots per round – adrift of the winner Webb Simpson. The 42-year-old tied 55th the previous weekend in Charlotte, 32nd at the Masters and trailed the victorious Rory McIlroy by eight at the conclusion of...
There has been needle in the past, with Poulter’s attempt to bracket himself with Woods raising eyebrows, but now they meet in Augusta’s third round amid contrasting comebacksTiger Woods and Ian Poulter have history with capital H. As they formed a four-hour morning two ball at Augusta National on Saturday, with hopes of Masters triumph having evaporated at equal time but with contrasting effect, the hope is they reflected on such jousts of old. Woods and Poulter, for different reasons, also contributed so much to the buildup to this major championship.Poulter infamously laid down his professional credentials in affirmative terms a decade ago. “The trouble is I don’t rate anyone else,” the Englishman said. “Don’t get me wrong, I really...
In his first appearance at Augusta since 2015, the four-times champion showed enough grit to get round in 73 despite struggling with his tee-shotsIt was a chilly morning in Augusta, or what passes for it in these parts. The kind of day when you can spot the tourists because they are the only people wearing shorts. Tiger Woods played like he felt it. He was stiff and creaky in his first competitive round here since 2015. By the time he made the turn, the sun was out and weather hot, but he still had not warmed up. Anything but. His game froze up around Amen Corner, where he hit more patrons than he made pars. At least it meant the...