The Good
Dustin Johnson is pretty darn good! Watching him transform St. Andrews, “the home of golf,” into a putt-putt course was inredible. He seemed completely unfazed by his cringe worthy 3-putt in the U.S. Open, and took care of business in Round 1. Solid 65!
Jordan Spieth picked up where he left off just like everyone thought he would. He is so consistent, so confident, misses small on the rare occasion that he does, and putts lights-out. Jordan Spieth is chasing history and we should consider ourselves lucky to be eager spectators.
Retief Goosen hopped in his time machine and looked a lot like he did in the early 2000’s. People say golf is a sport you can play forever, but not everyone can compete at the highest level like Retief can. Truly impressive stuff!
Luke Donald is a name that people tend to leave out when talking about the best players in the world. He has never won a major before, but has two t-5’s in The Open Championship, and will certainly be a force to be reckoned with going forward. Don’t forget, this man was #1 in the world just 4 years ago!
The Bad
James Hahn has all the talent in the world, but can’t seem to put it together over the course of 18 holes. 3 bogeys and 1 double wont get it done in a major.
Mattero Manassero is another prodigy that is prime to breakout one of these days, but collapsed on the back9 today with a 40. He can make birdies in a hurry so you can never count him out, but with the scores being posted today it looks like Manassero will have to turn in something special tomorrow to be relevant.
Brandt Snedeker, why! I don’t understand what is going on with Sneddy. He looks like a top 10 player one week, then looks like a middle of the road type of guy the next.
The Ugly
Tiger Woods. Is he done? It’s hard to argue otherwise. Millions of golfers can attribute their initial interest in going to El Tigre, but unfornately those are the same people pulling their hair out watching him play today. Yup, I’m one of them!
Enjoy the rest of the day!!!!
Jordan and Dustin are much closer to me in age, so I should be watching for them every time. But alas, my emotions seem to swing back and forth watching Tiger still. His problems are ugly- it seems every week from broadcasters on different networks say the same line of “His shots just don’t seem to make the journey over from the practice rounds and practice range. He was absolutely perfect with every shot earlier”. I grew up watching Tiger be amazing, and it is befuddling how he can be so hot and cold from swing to swing. I really hope he isn’t done- but that is based on my hopes and not what my eyes are telling me at this moment.
That being said… What a great crop of players to embrace! Jordan seems to represent the game tremendously and I’m starting to find myself realizing how much I appreciate the small facets of his game. Seeing him win in person in Tampa was a great experience and a cool memory. If the next decade can finally have a set of young players win consistently, we could have a swell of growth comparable to the Tiger effect of 15 years ago. Hopefully Jordan, Rory, Rickie, Dustin and others can take advantage and continue their upward trajectories!