Tiger Woods' Red-Carpet Night Reveals Players P.O.V.

Tiger Woods' Red-Carpet Night Reveals Players P.O.V.











Ryan Ballengee May 6, 2013 9:05 PM


COMMENTARY | Red is a pretty important color to Tiger Woods. It's the color he wears on Sundays, the day they hand out trophies and big, ceremonial checks.



It's fitting, then, that Woods is walking a red carpet in New York City instead of laying up in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla., ahead of The Players Championship.



Woods and girlfriend-slash-champion-skier Lindsey Vonn are together in the Big Apple for the Met Gala at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. That's 800-plus miles away from TPC Sawgrass and its Stadium Course, where the PGA Tour's crown jewel will be played starting Thursday.



Had this been the Masters, U.S. Open, Open Championship or PGA Championship, Woods wouldn't let the venue out of eyesight. Ahead of the Masters, Woods went into semi-seclusion after winning the Arnold Palmer Invitational at Bay Hill, refusing contact with the media and pretty much anyone else so that he could lend maximum focus to his efforts to win a 15th major. It didn't pay off at Augusta National, but that's neither here nor there. Woods gave it everything he had, the best way he knows how to prepare.



Yes, Woods is a 37-year-old man. He certainly can handle a night out on the town -- even at an affair as high-profile as the Met Gala -- and still manage to play golf by Thursday morning.



The world No. 1 has the means to flight in his private jet to and fro, making the fairly short flight to Jacksonville before heading over to the home of the PGA Tour on Tuesday.



None of this is to insinuate Woods can't or won't win The Players this week. He won here in 2001, though he hasn't been much of a factor since the tournament's move to May in 2007. The best in the world already has three wins on the '13 campaign; predicting a fourth wouldn't be much of a reach.



Rather, Woods' night at the museum (hopefully, this will not inspire another film in that series) probably settles once and for all any debate about The Players as the proverbial "fifth major."



The tournament is an excellent one. It's well-run and well-attended. The Stadium Course is an iconic venue, even if the par-3 17th had no water surrounding it. The field is one of the deepest in golf. The purse, at $9.5 million, is the most lucrative in the game.



All of that, however, is not enough for Woods to consider it in the same company as the four tournaments per year that, from here to the end of his competitive days, will be the only measure that matters in determining his legacy.




The majors are what matters to Woods. The math is simple. He has 14 majors to Jack Nicklaus' 18. If he wins five more, then he is the greatest golfer ever. Woods would have 19 major titles, and, even if he never won another non-major PGA Tour event again, he would tie Sam Snead for the most PGA Tour victories at 82.



For all of his domination at tracks like Bay Hill, Firestone C.C. and Torrey Pines, as well as his struggles at places like Dove Mountain and TPC Sawgrass, they ultimately weigh little. That's why Woods can stand to be at the Met Gala or play in the Tavistock Cup in the same week as Arnold Palmer's tournament.



Then again, maybe it would be in Woods' best interest for The Players never to creep into the Grand Slam (or Grand Slam Plus One) discussion. Pete Dye's signature course does not seem to suit Woods well, which he shared in a somewhat-veiled criticism last year.



"Some of Pete's other golf courses are a little bit different, and this one in particular, you have to hit the ball well; and we're all playing to the same spots and then obviously to the same spots on the greens," Woods said.



"You really can't get down there on some of the holes with big drives or anything like that. There's really no room to do that because of his angles."



It's not exactly a ringing endorsement of the course. The distance advantage Woods held over the PGA Tour in his early career rarely materialized that way at Sawgrass. For better or worse, imagination is replaced by prescription. The design and setup democratizes the championship, affording a chance to any player who can shine in all facets of the game.



Woods did say the best player seems to win The Players each year, but the course does little favors to him in identifying him as champion. Tiger took his lone pro title at the Stadium Course a dozen years ago. (He won the 1994 U.S. Amateur at the venue.)



If The Players were to someday become a major , Woods would fall further behind Jack Nicklaus in the major tally. Jack won three of the first five Players, albeit none of them at TPC Sawgrass. That would leave the score at Jack 21, Tiger 15. For now, at least, Nicklaus can't claim an extra major field goal.



Whether Woods wins on Sunday, then, is of little matter. It'd be a pleasant surprise for a man that has exactly one Players top-10 finish since 2001.



No one saw Woods' night out on the town coming, so perhaps it'll be the change of pace he needs to notch a second Players trophy.



Ryan Ballengee is a Washington, D.C.-based golf writer. His work has appeared on multiple digital outlets, including NBC Sports and Golf Channel. Follow him on Twitter @RyanBallengee.

TPC Sawgrass' 17th Hole Is Perfect as It Is

TPC Sawgrass' 17th Hole Is Perfect as It Is











Ryan Ballengee May 7, 2013 12:43 PM




COMMENTARY | The penultimate hole at TPC Sawgrass' Stadium Course is the ultimate hole in golf.

The island-green par-3 17th hole is the topic of a lot of discussion every year. Is it fair? Would it be better if it came earlier in the round? Could it be lengthene
d or shortened? The conversation has gone on for 32 years, dating back to the first Players Championship contested at the Pete Dye gem in 1982.



As the tournament has aged and the course matured, however, the collective view of the 137-yard demon seems to have softened, even among its biggest detractors. Perhaps that's the truest sign that the architect had it right by inserting such a quirky hole at such a pivotal point on the golf course.

Even with the heart-wrenching double-digit scores it has produced over the years, the 17th has played to a scoring average of 3.14 since 2003. It's only the eighth-toughest hole at the Stadium Course in the last decade.

By comparison, the more-celebrated par-3 12th at Augusta National plays to a historical stroke average of 3.22. For all intents and purposes, the holes score about the same. The 17th at Sawgrass is tougher than it looks, which is precisely what Dye aimed to do with this design: visually intimidate players to distract them from the task at hand.

While Sawgrass' most iconic hole has played some 1,400-over par in three-plus decades of hosting The Players, it also means that a par can be fairly routine.

In the last decade, the field has hit the green at the 17th just about 78 percent of the time. Of course, that other 22 percent mostly finds the water at least once. Rarely, their ball lands in the pot bunker that can occasionally swallow up a pushed tee shot.

Though the tee shot seems the most vexing part of the hole, it really is the putting surface that makes par tricky. It has three very distinct sections.

There's the lower tier which invites players to spin the ball back to the pin, but also into the water if they're not careful. Fred Couples jarred perhaps the most iconic reloaded tee shot in Players history in 1999, when he earned par the hard way with a hole out to a front pin.

The right side of the top tier allows for the same kind of risk-reward if a player can successfully navigate his ball to the dividing ridge, but a poorly struck shot will land in the bunker or float into the water. Remember when Sergio Garcia found that ridge in the sudden-death playoff against Paul Goydos in 2008? Though the California native had found the drink with his tee shot, Sergio was not in the clear until his ball found dry land and trickled toward the cup.

Then there's the back-left portion of that upper tier that can prove to pose a near-impossible two-putt par for a player that goes long or left of their intended target. It's from that position, often considered dead, that Tiger Woods made the "better than most" putt in 2001, leading to his only Players win, by a shot over Vijay Singh.

NBC Sports' Gary Koch found those few-but-potent words for that Sunday birdie because it was nearly inconceivable to him that it would even stop close to the hole, much less go in it.

The beauty of the 17th, then, is that it's more than an intimidating tee shot. Finding the putting surface is good enough to avoid penalty strokes, but in no way does it mean par is a sure bet from there. Dye doesn't allow a player to ever relax at the Stadium Course, forcing them to execute the shots he demands if they want to score well. Some have said that prescription through intimidation is a flaw of the home of The Players. No, it's the genius of it.

For all its splendor, however, the 17th could still be improved -- and, no, it's not by filling in the pond surrounding the putting surface. Rather, it could be by lengthening it.

PGA Tour pro Matt Every grew up in Jacksonville, playing the Stadium Course more than his fair share of times over the years with friends. He told me that his buddies used to play the hole from even further back, walking to the hillside behind the tee to play the hole from nearly 180 yards.

If a 137-yard shot with a wedge or a 9-iron can make the best in the world sweat bullets, imagine taking on the challenge having to club up a few sticks?

Maybe if the wind kicks up this week in Ponte Vedra Beach, the field will get a taste of that very shot. In that case, The Players may come down to a crapshoot.

Ryan Ballengee is a Washington, D.C.-based golf writer. His work has appeared on multiple digital outlets, including NBC Sports and Golf Channel. Follow him on Twitter @RyanBallengee.

What Will Phil Mickelson Do Next?

What Will Phil Mickelson Do Next?
Lefty Will Need Hot Putting to Continue, Tighten Long Game to Contend at Players Championship











Mark McLaughlin May 7, 2013 1:29 PM




COMMENTARY | I've covered Phil Mickelson enough to routinely expect the unexpected. Mickelson plays golf his way, which produces plenty of performance volatility. His highs are spectacular while his lows can be maddeningly frustrating.

Lefty's performance at the Wells Fargo Championship in Charlotte, where he bogeyed two o
f the last three holes to miss a playoff by a shot, was vintage Phil.



What this means for this week's Players Championship and the U.S. Open at Merion next month? Probably not much as Mickelson is a streaky player whose run of good play seldom lasts more than two to three weeks at a time.

In 2010, he carried the momentum of his third Masters victory to Quail Hollow and would have won the tournament if not for a final-round 62 by eventual winner Rory McIlroy. And last year, he narrowly missed winning back-to-back tournaments at Pebble Beach and Riviera when he lost the Northern Trust Open in a playoff.

The pattern of the last few years has Lefty shooting lights out one week - 20-under-par in Houston in 2011, 28-under in Phoenix this year - and then coming close a few other times during the season without winning. Indeed, 2009 was his last multiple-win campaign.

Given Mickelson's age (42), stature - he's already in the World Golf Hall of Fame - and off-course commitments, I expect this hot-cold pattern to continue through the remainder of his playing days. But that's not a bad thing.

Lefty still has the length, guts and short game to produce plenty of highlight reels. More importantly, he's at a point in his career where pundits have given up trying to change him.



Mickelson used to catch flak at every major championship for not dialing down his aggressiveness to suit courses that put a premium on accuracy and control. But despite his infamous meltdowns - the 2004 U.S. Open at Shinnecock Hills and 2006 U.S. Open at Winged Foot come to mind - he has never altered his playing style, never even considered it.During Saturday's round at Quail Hollow, he attempted to slice a 3-wood off a cart path and around a tree on the par-5 15th hole and instead airmailed his ball out of bounds, leading to double bogey. (Rather than play it safe, Lefty dropped in the same predicament and then hit driver around the tree and just short of the green).





Mickelson scored in his typical fashion during the Wells Fargo. He was long but crooked off the tee - finding the fairway on just one of every three drives - but made up for it with a deadly putting stroke and reliable short game, until the closing stretch Sunday.



It's amazing he has won 41 times while putting so much pressure on himself. Being behind the eight ball has hurt him the most at tight U.S. Open layouts and could stress him on a TPC Sawgrass course replete with hazards on nearly every shot.



Priorities in Right Place



Lefty cares deeply about winning but he also realizes how lucky he is to be playing golf for a living. Professional sports are entertainment and golf is no different. Mickelson plays the role of entertainer better than anyone on the PGA Tour.

That's why you'll see him signing every autograph after a round, even if it delays his personal schedule or an interview with the media.



The downside of Mickelson's hot-cold style is reflected in the few milestones he has failed to achieve as a professional. Lefty has never been ranked No. 1 in the Official World Golf Ranking, and he's never won PGA Tour Player of the Year or the Vardon Trophy for lowest scoring average.

But missing accolades, short of a U.S. Open victory, will do little to dampen Mickelson's irrepressible optimism. As long as he continues to win - he holds the Tour's longest streak of years with a victory at 10 - and to draw legions of fans to the golf course, he's right where he wants to be.

Mark McLaughlin has reported on the PGA Tour for the New York Post, FoxSports.com, Greensboro News & Record, and Burlington (N.C.) Times-News. He is a past member of the Metropolitan Golf Writers Association. Follow him on Twitter @markmacduke.