By Jonas Mount

Several Angles From The PGA Championship

Let me just start by saying that my prediction of 6-over par for the winner of the PGA Championship was not drug- or alcohol-induced by any means, I’m just horrible at making predictions. Most people who know me will tell you that. But I don’t get paid to be right, I’m just paid for my opinion.

Agree with me or not, I thought that the hundreds of employees and thousands of volunteers made the PGA Championship at The Ocean Course a memorable one.
Tales from the Driving Range…

Let’s start with distance off the tee. Regardless of who hits it further than whom, all of these guys can bomb it! Bubba is ridiculously long at 315 off the tee, while David Toms averages only 275. Think you’re longer than Toms? You’re not. The consistency of their ball striking is really what grabs you though. Not only can they get it out there, but it’s going where they want it to go. That being said, you wonder why they ever miss cuts. The answer is simple: Nerves. They have them too; they just handle it better than we do.
Groupies….

We obviously know they exist in golf. Don’t immediately think of Tiger because I’m not sure how many if any were actually on the course or range and got his attention. I honestly don’t think he notices much outside of his immediate sphere. I don’t think the young lady from a popular breakfast restaurant chain was seen trying to get his autograph in her work clothes. Getting an autograph from Tiger is like pulling teeth.

The ladies enjoy several golfers on tour but on this day (Tuesday) they seemed particularly interested in Alvaro Quiros. Several young ladies were taking his picture and enjoying the view. Apparently, so was he. While on the range he and the ladies exchanged a few words and flirtatious looks. After about 30 minutes the ladies made their way down the steps to leave the range with Quiros calling out to them, “Don’t go!”  Then, it appeared one of Alvaro’s handlers chased after them and they returned a few minutes later. Hmmmm…

Speaking of the Latinos in attendance on the range, they were accompanied by Angel Cabrera who is the most relaxed individual (with the exception of Quiros) you will find on the range. You’ll see him smoking cigarettes, laughing and bombing drives with ease. He proceeds to launch about 20 drivers down the pipe and just when you think he’s done, he takes that same driver and starts hitting 280-yard shots with a slight draw off the deck!
Tiger and Vijay may not care for one another that much but they have a lot of similarities. Neither is too interested in fan interaction, both are very private and have a ton of people around them to help them with that (caddies, trainers, swing coaches, etc.). But the one thing that sets them apart from everyone else is what they do to prepare for a round. They are machines on the range! They hit a certain number of balls, they take the same amount of time in between shots and they do not talk to anyone while they are in range mode. They may speak to one another before or after but not during. There may be exceptions to the rule depending on who they are next to on what day, but not often.
The Course…

Well, it didn’t play as hard as I expected it to. With the exception of Friday where the course truly showed its teeth, it was just another tournament for these guys. The course played extremely long but these guys hit it a mile and they are much better with the rescue and fairway metals than ever before.

The greens were more receptive than I thought they would be. They played a little over 10 for the Championship…they were over 11 when I played the course seven weeks ago.
Now I will be the first one to admit that I don’t particularly care to see the best golfers in the world get their teeth kicked in but had the course played as hard all week as it did on Friday, I’m still convinced it would have been an over par finish for the winner. Even Rory playing as well as he did, I believe would have been hovering around even par or worse. Remember, he shot 75 on Friday.

What a great three-hole stretch to finish the final major of the year! Sixteen is a birdie hole that makes you feel like you can take on the world, and then you have 17, a par 3 that was playing 233 on Sunday. And we finish up with the very long par-4, 18th hole. Sunday it played the shortest of the four days at a mere 493 yards. I watched Tiger hit his drive on Sunday morning to finish his third round 350 yards! Apparently he bogeyed 17. We should not be surprised… even the most in control golfers have a tendency to take their frustrations of making a bogey or worse out on the golf ball with their drivers.
Tiger….

Not a bad tournament for Tiger. He played well in bad conditions on Friday to where the masses truly felt it was his time to shine once again.

It wasn’t until I watched him Saturday morning on the range then on the course that I realized this guy has a long way to go. And it has nothing to do with his swing.

Tiger can go to the range right now as he did on Saturday and hit 30 3-woods in a row and they’ll all fall to the ground within 20 feet of each other. He can do that with every club in his bag. Then he goes to the course and he can’t buy a fairway. It was also what he said in his Sunday press conference that made me take pause for a moment. He said, and I quote, “I was too relaxed, and tried to enjoy it, and that’s not how I play. I play intense and full systems go. I was trying to enjoy the process of it. But that’s not how I play. I play all out, intense, that’s how I’ve won 14 of these things.”

Now I don’t know about you, but that sounds like a guy who might be tired of dealing with the pressure of being who he is, but can’t give up on the idea of being the best. Tiger didn’t need to wait until he was 36 years old to figure out that for him to win major championships he has to be the Tiger of old. He didn’t just figure that out. He’s played in enough pro-am events and exhibitions to know what he’s capable of, or in this case not capable of, when he relaxes.

I’m no expert but it seems that every aspect of Tiger’s life spiraled out of control when his father died. His golf game is no exception. Please don’t blame it on the swing change. He’s not reinventing his swing. These changes are nothing more than tweaks, things he’s doing to help take pressure off of his knee. If you could see him on the range you’d totally see it. It’s effortless…

I’ve already had conversations with those who compare him to Jordan when I brought this very topic up in the last 36 hours. “But Tiger is driven just like Jordan was!” Negative! The only comparisons you can find are that both of them were the best at what they did for a time, (Jordan the greatest ever, Tiger still trying to catch Jack) and that they are both African American.

Jordan decided on his own he was going to be great, Tiger was told he was going to be great. Huge difference! Jordan wasn’t anything more than a decent athlete when he went to high school and didn’t make a name for himself until he got to North Carolina. Tiger was a phenom at an early age.

I’m not sure that Tiger has the focus to be the best again without the presence of Earl Woods.

The reason Tiger played relaxed and tried to enjoy it? I think that’s what he really wants to do. Tiger Woods is trapped in between the desire to be normal and a guy who is still trying to live up to his father’s expectations. If Earl was still alive, Tiger would probably be tied with Jack…

Rory…

Wow! This kid is the real deal! Saw him on the range before his final round and he looked dialed in. Unlike Tiger, when Rory is relaxed he plays better golf. It’s been said recently that when he thinks too much his game suffers. He looked very relaxed on the range and at least from my vantage point seemed clear of thought. From the first tee shot on he always seemed in control of his game, especially on the greens. Look, we know that that his swing is sweet and he hits it a kilometer (Sorry…tried to change it up a bit), but his putting, well, everyone’s putting is where it matters. When you are 23 years old, bad things can influence you with ease. But so can the good things. He credits Dave Stockton with helping him with his putting, but I have to figure he helped him with his confidence more than anything else. Most really good golfers will tell you that putting is a state of mind. It’s mental. Sure, being able to read greens are important, but unless you are blind, a few rounds into your golfing life and the definition of reading greens is pretty clear. Right to left, left to right, uphill, downhill, going against the grain or with the grain… that’s what you need to know.

I don’t know how many majors Rory will win over his career, but he’s won his second major faster than Tiger did, second only to Jack. Something tells me he’s going to win a few more before it’s all said and done.

U.S. Ryder Cup Captain Davis Love III has said he’d like to see Rory and Tiger face off in the singles matches. If it’s for all the marbles…I’m not sure the Europeans don’t retain the Cup.

Thanks…
…to a couple of people.

First, to Kasey King….. He made it possible for us at the Charleston Golf News to cover this event all week. It was an amazing experience I won’t soon forget.

To the shuttle drivers! I don’t know if you know how hard it is to navigate Kiawah Island’s roads in a luxury tour bus without taking out everything and everyone in its path!
To the thousands of volunteers who helped make the event the success it was.

And finally to Brett Sterba (2012 PGA Championship Director) and Roger Warren (2012 PGA Championship General Chairman and President of Kiawah Island Golf Resort) for working as hard as you did to put on an unbelievable event that all of us locally can proudly say we had in our backyard! Kiawah Island, host of the 94th PGA Championship!
Word!