Tiger Woods - Can he rise again ? - Page 4

Tiger played better on the second day at the Dubai Classic. a 6 under.

first day only 1 under. He is still in the hunt.

 

 

 

11 Feb 2011

 

Tiger Woods moved up into the top ten on his return to the Omega Dubai Desert Classic - as Lee Westwood moved into a tie for third.

Resuming on one under par following his first round closing eagle, Woods birdied the 12th, 13th and 18th to reach the turn in a three under 34.

Westwood, meanwhile, birdied the two par fives on the back nine and on five under was only two behind overnight leader Rory McIlroy, one of the second round's later starters.

It was not such a good start for German Martin Kaymer, the third member of the world's top three grouped together for the final leg of The European Tour's Desert Swing.

Kaymer, needing a top-two finish to have a chance of dethroning Westwood, also made four on the 549 yard tenth after hitting the hole with his bunker shot, but then came bogeys at the 14th and short 15th.

That sent him down to two under, but a chip to six feet from over the green at the 18th brought him back to his starting position of three under and he was joint 16th.

McIlroy, meanwhile, had been joined on seven under by South African Thomas Aiken, who birdied the tenth and 15th and had still to card a bogey after 24 holes this week.

Woods added yet another birdie on the second despite driving into the rough, and after a par on the 568 yard next he was in a tie for sixth and only two behind McIlroy, Aiken and also Dane Anders Hansen.

Westwood also birdied the second and shared fourth spot with Ryder Cup team-mate Peter Hanson.

Woods continued his charge with a 25 footer on the short fourth and a wondrous approach to two feet at the 485 yard par four sixth not only brought him his sixth birdie of the day, but took him into a share of top spot.

After five holes of his first round yesterday he was two over and tied for 96th.

Westwood, though, bogeyed the sixth after driving into the rough and slipped back to sixth place on five under

 

Tiger Woods burst into contention with a second round 66 at the Omega Dubai Desert Classic brought the former world number one within two shots of the lead.

Looking far more like the player who won 14 Major Championships than during his "scratchy" opening 71, the former World Number One was again partnering Lee Westwood and Martin Kaymer, the two men who have overtaken him on the rankings.

Woods even charged into a share of the lead at one point - and this after he had been down in 85th spot 12 holes into his opening round.

Given a huge boost in confidence by a closing eagle in his opening round, the American resumed six adrift of overnight leader Rory McIlroy, but took only 15 holes to wipe out that deficit as McIlroy waited to tee off again.

Woods' run started on the 467 yard 12th, the hole he double-bogeyed on his previous visit, and further birdies came on the 13th and 18th - both par fives - to take him to the turn in 34.

After saving par from a bunker at the first he pitched to seven feet from the rough on the next, rolled in a 25 footer at the short fourth and then produced his shot of the day.

The par four sixth hole measures 485 yards, but the 2006 and 2008 champion cut the corner with a 314 yard drive and then hit a brilliant approach to two feet.

That was the moment he was briefly joint leader, but by finishing with three pars Woods reached halfway on 137, seven under, and found himself two behind South African Thomas Aiken.

McIlroy, though, was only just setting off and had the chance to open some daylight.

It is almost 15 months since Woods last tasted victory, and Westwood, who took over as World Number One last October, is in the hunt too, but a closing bogey left him on five under following a 70.

Kaymer, meanwhile, added a 71 to his opening 69 to be one further back.

Aiken, yet to win on the European Tour despite six top 14 finishes in seven appearances this year, still had three holes to play, but he too birdied the difficult sixth

 

Never able to mount any momentum, Tiger Woods closed with a 3-over-par 75 Sunday and tied for 20th in the Dubai Desert Classic. He finished with a 72-hole score of 4-under 284, seven strokes behind winner Alvaro Quiros of Spain. "There were a few positives this week but a couple of glaring examples of what I need to work on," Woods said of his second tournament of the 2011 season. Woods, who began the final round one stroke off the lead, struggled early, making bogeys on the par-4 second and par-5 third holes. Paired with Sergio Garcia in mostly blustery conditions, his short game let him down. After making pars at four and five, Woods secured his first birdie of the day at the 485-yard, par-4 sixth, knocking his approach shot about three feet from the hole. He followed with three straight pars to make the turn in 1-over 36, but was still only three shots off the lead. On the par-5 10th hole -- which Woods eagled on Saturday -- he drove into the right rough, gouged his second shot short-left of the green into thick rough, flopped his third shot 30 feet beyond the cup and two-putted for a par. Woods hit arguably his best shot of the day at the 161-yard, par-3 11th, when he flagged a short iron two feet left of the hole for an easy birdie to pull within two strokes of first place. But Woods gave back the shot quickly at the par-4 12th, thanks to a poor drive that found a right fairway bunker. He had no choice but to play back out into the fairway and wound up making a five-foot putt for a bogey. Again, Woods rallied with a birdie at the par-5 13th hole. But he bogeyed the par-4 14th, ruining his comeback hopes. At the 187-yard, par-3 15th, Woods' tee shot landed in the left greenside bunker. He hit a nice explosion shot eight feet past the hole and converted the par-save. After pars at 16 and 17, Woods drove into the left rough at the par-5 18th and had no chance to reach the green in two. He played a lay-up shot down the fairway, then misjudged the wind on his third shot and the ball failed to clear a fronting water hazard. After taking a drop, Woods hit his fifth shot to the back of the green and two-putted for a double-bogey. "All my old feels are out the window when the wind blows," he said of his clubs. "That's the thing when you are making change. It's fine when the wind is not blowing, But when you have to hit a shot when the wind blows the new swing patterns get exposed." Patience, consistency and confidence are the keys going forward with his new swing changes. Woods made eight bogeys and two double-bogeys on the weekend and still gave himself a chance to win on the back nine Sunday.

"Just keep working," said Woods. "I'm getting better, but this is a process and it takes time."

His erratic driving was a bit of problem. Anyway it was won by someone who had not won for 5 years, and he truly deserved it, Mr. Luke Donald of England.

Congrats Luke.

He is one of my favourites too.

• Tiger's scorecard
• 2011 Accenture: Rd. 1 - 18th Hole
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• WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship: Feb. 23, 2011
• Tiger's WGC-Accenture Match Play press conference: Wednesday
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For only the second time in tournament history, Tiger Woods did not survive the first round of the World Golf Championships-Accenture Match Play Championship. Seeded No. 1 in the Sam Snead Bracket and third overall, Woods lost to No. 16 Thomas Bjrn of Denmark on the 19th hole Wednesday afternoon at the Ritz-Carlton Golf Club in Marana, Ariz. Woods, the only three-time winner of the event, previously lost a first-round match, 1 down, to Peter O'Malley in 2002. "Disappointed," a dejected Woods said afterward, when asked to describe his mood. "Very disappointed. I had all the momentum going to the 19th hole, and I blew it." Woods trailed 1 down going to the par-4 18th hole in the back-and-forth match that saw only six holes halved, but drilled an eight-foot birdie putt to force sudden death. Returning to the par-4 first hole, Woods blocked a 3-wood into the desert and prickly sagebrush on the right, failed to get his second shot back to the fairway and eventually made a double bogey, conceding Bjrn a par putt and victory. "It's easy to put the ball in the fairway, and I couldn't even do that," Woods said. Bjrn comforted Woods for several moments following the match. Asked what he said, Woods replied, "Thomas is one of my good friends. He was saying some awfully nice words. He's just a class act." Bjrn, who has had more than his share of ups and downs in professional golf, thinks Woods should be encouraged in only his third start of the season. "He's not playing his absolute best," Bjrn said. "But there were a lot of good swings today. The driver was a lot better than it's been. He's taking strides. There's a way back for him, and he'll get there." The start of the match was also delayed three times by matches that went to sudden death, which were given priority on the first tee. While Woods didn't use it as an excuse, he started poorly and played catch-up much of the day. Typical of how the day went for Woods, Bjrn drove into trouble on the first hole, punched out, stiffed a long third shot for a gimme par and won the hole when Woods missed the green long with his approach and failed to get up and down. Woods won the par-5 second hole by blasting his third shot from a greenside bunker to within 10 feet and made the putt. But he hit a poor 6-iron into the water at the 199-yard, par-3 third and gave away the hole by making double bogey. After halving the fourth hole with pars, Woods bogeyed the fifth hole to fall 2 down. Bjrn helped out Woods by failing to escape from a greenside bunker at the 175-yard, par-3 sixth, and his lead was trimmed to 1 up. That's how it stood until the par-5 eighth, when Bjrn got up and down from a greenside bunker for birdie and Woods couldn't match him, as his five-foot putt attempt took a big hop after apparently hitting a bump in the green. Woods battled back, making an eight-foot birdie putt at the par-4 ninth, and trailed 1 down at the turn. At the par-4 10th hole, Woods pulled even with a conceded 10-foot birdie putt after Bjrn found a fairway bunker, came up short of the green in two and chipped well past the hole. Woods won the par-5 11th hole to take his first lead in the match. He then made a clutch 15-foot par putt to salvage a halve at the par-3 12th after blocking his tee shot way right. Bjrn won the par-5 13th with a nice up-and-down birdie from the left greenside bunker to even the match. Woods hit a poor chip for his third shot and was unable to convert a long birdie attempt. The 14th hole was halved with pars before Bjrn regained a 1-up cushion by winning the 324-yard, par-4 15th hole in one of the key holes of the match. Woods hit driver and caught a bad break when the ball landed on the green and curved to the right, settling into a chipping area. Woods was unable to get up and down, but Bjrn hit a great chip one foot from the cup and won the hole. "Tiger hit such a good shot and got a bit unlucky bounce," Bjrn said. The next two holes were halved with pars, with Woods just missing a 10-foot birdie try at the par-4 17th. "That's a putt I should make every time," he said. Overall, Woods was pleased with his ball-striking. He wasn't happy about two poor pitch shots on the back nine.

"Atrocious," Woods said.

I think it's wrong of people/media to judge him on the basis of what he has done outside Golf. That's incredibly stupid.

& it's even more stupid of the media to give coverage to such topics. It only discourages people..& especially people who idolise Tiger Woods for the right reasons (his Golf).

He has played the world's best Golf, no taking away credit from that. If he has to be judged, he should be judged on the basis of Golf because that's the reason he is known for. Whatever he does outside Golf should not be considered. & there are many people who have done similar things like Woods, & have gotten away with it. But Woods has to pay, because he is famous.

Woods at the end of the day is a human, thus, he needs some time to get out of all this. There is a lot of mental pressure obviously, so he needs time. I am sure there are many counsellors who are working with him, eventually he will come out and be the same player that he was before all these things came out. If he has been incredible in the past, there is no reason why he can't be incredible again.