Follow-up Doral, how did Tiger Woods fare
Michelle Malsbury, BSBM, MM
March 16, 2009
This past weekend the Doral Resort and Spa in Miami, FL hosted their annual PGA tournament sponsored along with CA Accenture and FedEx. The weather was postcard perfect with blue skies and gusty winds to avert the heat. The many talented, young PGA players from all over the world were ready to go, but in the end who would prevail?
Play began on Thursday and results were mixed continuing into Friday and Saturday. As I watched from the comfort of my sofa I could not help but notice how many new players had moved up through the ranks since Tiger Woods has been away. A young man by the name of Nick Watney was playing neck in neck with golfīs great, Phil Mickelson. Jim Furyck was following close behind. Camillo Villegas, a favorite with the young women who follow the tour and a very good golfer in his own right, was scoring steadily in the top five overall. Scores between the top contenders up until this point, were still fairly tight. This match could go in many directions. Was Phil going to be able to maintain his lead or would Tiger pour on the steam and roll right over him on Sunday?
Sunday opened up as another beautiful day for golfers, spectators, and viewers alike. Spectators were out in the throngs, grouping around the lushly landscaped fairways, following players near the sand traps and water hazards that make the holes on the Blue Monster as treacherous as possible even for that talented lot. Camera crews were rolling. Many eyes were focused on the man who won this tournament three times before, Tiger Woods. How would he do?
Tiger scored 71 on Thursday, 70 on Friday, 68 on Saturday. He stated that he felt he "got better each day" and he was. Tiger has been out of the professional golf scene for the past nine months due to knee surgery and the recovery that follows. He re-emerged a couple of weeks back to join his peers on the PGA circuit. Tigerīs hiatus has allowed many of the lower rung players to move up in their rankings and has seen some of the players near Tiger, in scoring, win in his absence. Was this about to become ancient history? Could Tiger possibly recover and win, as he had so often done in the past?
Tiger scored another 68 on Sunday, which was not low enough to win, but did tie him for ninth place. Sunday was one of the best days ever for Phil Mickelson, Nick Watney, and Jim Furyck, who closed out that tournament in that order. This was Mickelsonīs first win at the Doral. Phil had been battling a bout of the flu and had to be rehydrated via intravenous fluids on Saturday night before his big win. What is amazing is that without feeling 100% Phil managed to keep such a surprisingly respectable lead over Tiger and many others for the duration of play at the Doral. Had he not, perhaps Nick Watney would have overtaken him and achieved his first major win.
Was Tiger disappointed to not have won? I am sure he was, but he is always gracious even in defeat. He also understands that his incredible talent is not to be taken for granted, but something that continually takes hard work and dedication to the sport. May Tiger fare better next time around!!!
References;
Smith, Bill Van. 2009. Tiger Woods pleased with his week. Miami Herald sports section. 3/16/09. Posted on the web site www.miamiherald.com.
Play began on Thursday and results were mixed continuing into Friday and Saturday. As I watched from the comfort of my sofa I could not help but notice how many new players had moved up through the ranks since Tiger Woods has been away. A young man by the name of Nick Watney was playing neck in neck with golfīs great, Phil Mickelson. Jim Furyck was following close behind. Camillo Villegas, a favorite with the young women who follow the tour and a very good golfer in his own right, was scoring steadily in the top five overall. Scores between the top contenders up until this point, were still fairly tight. This match could go in many directions. Was Phil going to be able to maintain his lead or would Tiger pour on the steam and roll right over him on Sunday?
Sunday opened up as another beautiful day for golfers, spectators, and viewers alike. Spectators were out in the throngs, grouping around the lushly landscaped fairways, following players near the sand traps and water hazards that make the holes on the Blue Monster as treacherous as possible even for that talented lot. Camera crews were rolling. Many eyes were focused on the man who won this tournament three times before, Tiger Woods. How would he do?
Tiger scored 71 on Thursday, 70 on Friday, 68 on Saturday. He stated that he felt he "got better each day" and he was. Tiger has been out of the professional golf scene for the past nine months due to knee surgery and the recovery that follows. He re-emerged a couple of weeks back to join his peers on the PGA circuit. Tigerīs hiatus has allowed many of the lower rung players to move up in their rankings and has seen some of the players near Tiger, in scoring, win in his absence. Was this about to become ancient history? Could Tiger possibly recover and win, as he had so often done in the past?
Tiger scored another 68 on Sunday, which was not low enough to win, but did tie him for ninth place. Sunday was one of the best days ever for Phil Mickelson, Nick Watney, and Jim Furyck, who closed out that tournament in that order. This was Mickelsonīs first win at the Doral. Phil had been battling a bout of the flu and had to be rehydrated via intravenous fluids on Saturday night before his big win. What is amazing is that without feeling 100% Phil managed to keep such a surprisingly respectable lead over Tiger and many others for the duration of play at the Doral. Had he not, perhaps Nick Watney would have overtaken him and achieved his first major win.
Was Tiger disappointed to not have won? I am sure he was, but he is always gracious even in defeat. He also understands that his incredible talent is not to be taken for granted, but something that continually takes hard work and dedication to the sport. May Tiger fare better next time around!!!
References;
Smith, Bill Van. 2009. Tiger Woods pleased with his week. Miami Herald sports section. 3/16/09. Posted on the web site www.miamiherald.com.