An Open Invitation

A few weeks ago after the Memorial Tournament, in which Tiger came back from four strokes back heading into the final round, a friend of mine asked me, in all seriousness, “How many strokes back would Tiger need to be before you bet on him losing against the field?”

This was quite the question. I remember a few years back when oddsmakers gave Tiger even odds against the field, meaning that you would win the same amount of money by betting on Tiger as you would if you chose every other golfer out there. Heading into any Sunday, if Tiger were even with
the leader, it’s a no-brainer who you’d pick. Even at one stroke back, or two back, Elgin Woods would be your guy. So the question really was: How much faith do you in Tiger?

In the end, my answer was 5. At 5 or more strokes back of the leader, I’d choose the field, and at 4 or less I’d bet on Tiger. The reasoning? Aside from the fact that Tiger has done it (winning) more times than anyone out there, it’s because of something i call the “Tiger Handicap”.

Anyone who has watched Tiger win a major or tournament knows what the Tiger Handicap is. It’s the killer look on his face that he carries with him during that final round on Sunday (or sometimes Monday). He gets a look in his eye and you just know that he’s going to swirl a long putt in, or chip-in off the green in front of one of the stands on the back nine.

And viewers at home aren’t the only ones who notice it. Players recognize this, too. And the impact it has on them is nothing short of amazing. Anyone remember the guy who was paired up with Tiger during the last round of The Memorial? For the record, it was 100th ranked Michael Letzig. Despite being the same four-strokes back that Tiger was, all Letzig could do was stand back and watch as Tiger closed the gap, while he fell further off the lead.

The Tiger Handicap has the greatest effect on those who play closest to him. Letzig fell off the pace, but that probably had something to do with him being a newbie on the Tour (debuted in 2008). But playing with him in a final pair, when players know they’re neck and neck with him for the lead, is a whole different story. Just consider the fact that Tiger has never lost a tournament when leading by 1+ strokes after 54 holes.

That’s what makes the Rocco Mediate story so compelling. Rocco, someone who looks like they should be playing at your local muni course instead of someone doing golf commercials, looked Tiger square in the eyes during Monday golf, and didn’t blink till the 19th hole of the day.

Enough about Tiger, though. He didn’t even win today. Despite its great power, the Tiger Handicap only works when he’s within a reasonable distance from the leader (in my opinion, 4 strokes). Any lead bigger than that, like the ones Lucas Glover and Rick Barnes had, players realize they have some room for error before Tiger can (figuratively) pounce on them. We sat it today as the leaders gave up 3 strokes off their lead. Aside from another bit of evidence to support my TH-theory, here is what else I learned from this year’s US Open:

• It’s tough being Lefty: With everything going on with his family, and in a tie with the leader heading into the last few holes, it looked like this would finally be the year that Phil broke through the the US Open. Instead, Phil finished with two bogeys in the final 4 holes, and finished in second. This will be his record-fifth time finishing second at the US Open. I guess the silver lining (if there was one) would be that with all the clout around other major sports and cheating/fixing games, when a guy with a story like Phil’s doesn’t even win in the end, you know no one is fixing these games.
• I Hate Rick Barnes: Before Monday, there was no way I could have picked Rick Barnes out of a lineup. After Monday’s round, I’d nail him every time for the crime, even if he didn’t do it. Rick Barnes is the worst kind of golf player. After winning the 2002 US Amateur Open, Barnes thought he had this game in the bag. He thought he could just waltz onto a course, rip it n’ grip it, and take him the shiny cup at the end. Then he fell off from grace (as he rightfully should have). Barnes never respected the game. Instead of playing and working on his shots, Barnes would lift weights, to bulk for the ladies (the “Verve” logo he had on his shirt was for one of those high sugar/caffeine energy drinks. Google it). It was his brother, Andy, mentioned to him that you don’t need to be strong to be good at golf, you just need to be good. You know what thanks Andy gets for this advice? He gets the pleasure of lugging around Barnes’ clubs as his caddy. So not only does Rick need to learn some manners towards his family, but he needs to learn some manners for the game. Barnes is the player who you see standing over a shot for far too long, then taking far too many practice swings, than missing it by far too wide a margin. It’s one thing if you’re going to make shots after contemplating them for days, it’s quite another to do all that and miss.
• The PGA Tour has many storylines that need to be played up: While the NBA and NFL spend billions on marketing and higher announcers who like to goad players to “stir the pot”, the PGA is quite the opposite, aside from Tiger. We know about him. And we’ve been hearing more about Phil. But what about David Duval falling from a #1 to #882, and then saying he’s happier this way because he has a wife and kids? How come in the early rounds I didn’t hear a peep about the young guns from the Ryder Cup (Bubba Watson and Anthony Kim)? And what about Rocco?! He finished +2 for the tournament but still, not a word about him. It’s too bad that the PGA doesn’t talk up these people, because they are interesting people and I’m willing to be viewers would still hold interest in players not named Tiger. I just wouldn’t take him out of the picture altogether.