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David Shedloski
David Shedloski is a columnist for GolfBrief.com. He also writes for PGATour.com and is the author of "Golden Twilight."
Masters exposes putting woes
- By David Shedloski
- Published 04/14/2008
- Commentary
- Unrated
AUGUSTA, Ga. — Not be an alarmist, but the recently completed Masters Tournament didn’t have the kind of result that would put a smile on the face of U.S. Ryder Cup captain Paul Azinger.
Tiger Woods is committing scorecard hari kari with his blade. Phil Mickelson can’t find the hole with two hands and a miner’s helmet. Jim Furyk is practicing with a long putter and missing increasingly shorter putts.
These are your veteran American stalwarts for the 37th Ryder Cup matches this September at Valhalla Golf Club in Louisville, Ky.
The 72nd Masters, like most major championships, was set up to identify the best player. But the unique and uncompromising greens at Augusta National Golf Club don’t necessarily identify the best putter. They do, however, tend to expose those players with less than punctilious putting strokes.
“It’s frustrating, because I did hit the ball well enough to give myself a chance,” said Woods, who owns four green jackets, but has finished 3-2-2 in his last three trips to the National. “I didn't putt well all week; I kept dragging the blade. I wasn't releasing it, wasn't getting the overspin like I normally do. Out here if you're not starting the ball perfectly on line, you're not going to make any putts.
“I just didn’t quite have it this week,” he added glumly.
Statistics in golf can be misleading, but not this week. Woods, who leads the PGA Tour in greens in regulation, tied for fourth in the statistic at Augusta National, but he needed 120 putts over 72 holes, tied for 29th among the 45 men who made the cut. Woods didn’t make many in his last start, either, at the World Golf Championships-CA Championship, so this isn’t a one-off problem.
Mickelson, who tied for fifth, went one worse with 121 putts. Furyk had a similar amount in a tie for 33rd. Mickelson is 72nd in putting average on the PGA Tour, and Furyk 52nd.
Furyk spoke with disillusionment Saturday afternoon following another frustrating day on the greens. After four holes he found himself 1 over par. He was in shock; he had used nine putts in that span.
“I basically flagged it for four holes and I miss three makeable birdies and then three-putt,” said the former U.S. Open champion, who has long been considered one of the game’s steeliest on the golf’s shaved areas. “It really takes a lot of wind out of you.”
The U.S. hasn’t fared well against Europe the last two meetings — a vast understatement when the margin of defeat has been nine points in each — and it’s putting that has been the primary factor. The Euros make their share. The Americans, meanwhile, seem to share their makes.
There is plenty of time, of course, between this Masters result and the Ryder Cup, and Azinger can use his four wild-card picks to stock up on guys who can shake in the 5-footers.
But Woods, Mickelson and Furyk are the heart of the team, the cream, the purported steel chins to challenge the stiff upper lips of the Brits and Euros. That happens most effectively by scoring, which is the result of putting.
No panic buttons to push — not yet anyway.
But it wouldn’t hurt to know where it is.
Tiger Woods is committing scorecard hari kari with his blade. Phil Mickelson can’t find the hole with two hands and a miner’s helmet. Jim Furyk is practicing with a long putter and missing increasingly shorter putts.
These are your veteran American stalwarts for the 37th Ryder Cup matches this September at Valhalla Golf Club in Louisville, Ky.
The 72nd Masters, like most major championships, was set up to identify the best player. But the unique and uncompromising greens at Augusta National Golf Club don’t necessarily identify the best putter. They do, however, tend to expose those players with less than punctilious putting strokes.
“It’s frustrating, because I did hit the ball well enough to give myself a chance,” said Woods, who owns four green jackets, but has finished 3-2-2 in his last three trips to the National. “I didn't putt well all week; I kept dragging the blade. I wasn't releasing it, wasn't getting the overspin like I normally do. Out here if you're not starting the ball perfectly on line, you're not going to make any putts.
“I just didn’t quite have it this week,” he added glumly.
Statistics in golf can be misleading, but not this week. Woods, who leads the PGA Tour in greens in regulation, tied for fourth in the statistic at Augusta National, but he needed 120 putts over 72 holes, tied for 29th among the 45 men who made the cut. Woods didn’t make many in his last start, either, at the World Golf Championships-CA Championship, so this isn’t a one-off problem.
Mickelson, who tied for fifth, went one worse with 121 putts. Furyk had a similar amount in a tie for 33rd. Mickelson is 72nd in putting average on the PGA Tour, and Furyk 52nd.
Furyk spoke with disillusionment Saturday afternoon following another frustrating day on the greens. After four holes he found himself 1 over par. He was in shock; he had used nine putts in that span.
“I basically flagged it for four holes and I miss three makeable birdies and then three-putt,” said the former U.S. Open champion, who has long been considered one of the game’s steeliest on the golf’s shaved areas. “It really takes a lot of wind out of you.”
The U.S. hasn’t fared well against Europe the last two meetings — a vast understatement when the margin of defeat has been nine points in each — and it’s putting that has been the primary factor. The Euros make their share. The Americans, meanwhile, seem to share their makes.
There is plenty of time, of course, between this Masters result and the Ryder Cup, and Azinger can use his four wild-card picks to stock up on guys who can shake in the 5-footers.
But Woods, Mickelson and Furyk are the heart of the team, the cream, the purported steel chins to challenge the stiff upper lips of the Brits and Euros. That happens most effectively by scoring, which is the result of putting.
No panic buttons to push — not yet anyway.
But it wouldn’t hurt to know where it is.
Enough, already. We get the point. Actually, we got the point four months and 3,762 references ago, because that’s about how many times we have been subjected to this nonsense about something Ben Hogan may have said 57 years ago.
Michelle Wie was on the verge of something big last week at the LPGA State Farm Classic — her first professional win. But a rules infraction got her DQ'd on Saturday. Now she'll go after that first win on the PGA Tour, and likely won't forget to sign her card.
Anthony Kim was a crossroads. He could either continue down the road of laziness and late night carousing or he could shape up and start living up to his potential. He chose the latter — and he’s having way more fun.
Colin Montgomerie, 45, wants to play on yet another European Ryder Cup team. But this once-great, now-mediocre star is becoming a daily headline with his posturing — do I, should I, would I. We love our Euro brethren, but enough is enough.
The LPGA may be at its most vibrant, what with Lorena Ochoa and Annika Sorenstam, but it must keep a close eye on which way the needle is shifting.