BigLeftyinAZ
Well-known member
NORTON, Mass. -- It had the look and sound of surprise volcanic eruption, full of colorful molten lava, steam and smoking ash. Except that the cleanup was marginally easier.
An overheated Tiger Woods, who has been known to vent his anger with bursts of spontaneous fury that make grown men wince, women cover their ears and children cower, angrily spiked his driver into the ground in frustration on the fifth tee, which was only the beginning of the story.
As his tee ball sailed into an unplayable lie at the Deutsche Bank Championship, Woods' driver itself also headed for parts best left unexplored -- a wetlands area filled with waist-high grass and water situated near the tee box.
While playing one of his weakest rounds in memory, Woods had missed four consecutive birdie putts from inside 13 feet as he stood on the fifth tee, his 14th hole of the day. Then he shoved his drive dead right into the trees and violently flung his mercurial driver clubhead-first into the turf and was darned lucky it didn't snap off at the hosel.
The club sprung several feet into the air and spiraled into in a wetlands area several yards away, where caddie Steve Williams spent several awkward moments looking for the club as his boss strolled past, still fuming. Luckily, the grip of the club was spotted sticking up out of the weeds, and Williams used Woods' trademark Tiger driver headcover to deflect the sticker branches away from himself as he waded 10 or 15 feet into the hazard to retrieve the club.
Moreover, as Woods spiked the club, he screamed two coarse and unprintable expletives at himself, followed by, "release the club." He meant at the point of impact, of course, not after the ball was long gone. He had no problem accomplishing the latter.
Even by Woods standards, it was an unusually incendiary moment, though it was seen by only a handful of witnesses. The fifth tee box is located about 60 yards from the nearest point where fans are allowed access, so outside of two media outlets, players and their caddies, and a member of the Norton Police Department, few saw the outburst. There were no TV or still photographers nearby.
"I didn't feel good over any shot today and didn't drive it very good, hit my irons worse and didn't make any putts," he said. "Other than that, it was a good day."
Thus, the incident on the No. 5 tee was borne of sheer frustration, one of several unhappy moments in the first round.
"How about every hole?" Woods said.
He almost lost his ball and his driver. The tee shot sailed into a wooded area wide of the gallery ropes and Woods had to take an unplayable-lie penalty, then scrambled to salvage a bogey on the hole.
Longtime Woods watchers had never seen the world No. 1 snap to that degree before.
"No, I never have, either," playing partner Steve Stricker said. "I know he wasn't happy with how he was playing and was running a little hot at times. But he gutted it out, somehow."
That's one of the most amazing parts of the Woods persona, if not his aura. Nobody should forgive the moments when he goes off his coil, and he has joked with friends in the past that he is the most heavily fined player on the PGA Tour as a result, but somehow, those incidents invariably prove cathartic.
Woods occasionally vents venom and vitriol, and then it's gone forever. Many players seethe for an hour after a bad shot or round-wrecking hole. Woods vents his steam, then goes right goes back to taking scalps and winning trophies. In an odd way, the anger-management issues often seem to inflame his passion to succeed, too.
"That's what's impressive," Stricker said. "I know he was mad. But he still guts it out, gets it around, shoots under par, and he's still got a chance. He's still in the game."
Clearly, nobody is making excuses for him, but some of the Woods outburst might be attributable to fatigue. He's playing for the fifth time in six weeks and has committed to play next week's event in Chicago, too. That's as busy as any stretch in his career.
Moreover, he's been in contention ever week in that span, finishing first or second in his past four starts, which can take an emotional and physical toll, since every shot matters. Woods seemed almost subdued, if not somewhat worn down, after the round.
"Long stretch," Woods said. "Most of this year I've been in contention, so it's not just the last few weeks. Being in contention, you have to deal with a lot of different things, pre round, post round. It just adds to it."
Inside the ropes, Stricker never knows what to say when Woods loses his cool, so he usually just keeps his distance. Almost without fail, Woods purges, then binges on more birdies.
Stricker said that last week at The Barclays, where he was paired with the world No. 1 in the first two rounds, Woods whacked a wild drive about 50 yards offline on the short 16th hole, a reachable par-4 that had yielded dozens of birdies. Somehow, the smoldering Woods salvaged a par.
After they hit their tee shots on the 17th, Woods smirked, his anger having subsided, and said to the silent Stricker, "I tied ya."
"He seems to get over it pretty quick," Stricker laughed.
For the fellas in the FedEx series, that's bad news indeed. Woods often gets mad.
Then he gets even.
http://www.cbssports.com/golf/story/12158296
An overheated Tiger Woods, who has been known to vent his anger with bursts of spontaneous fury that make grown men wince, women cover their ears and children cower, angrily spiked his driver into the ground in frustration on the fifth tee, which was only the beginning of the story.
As his tee ball sailed into an unplayable lie at the Deutsche Bank Championship, Woods' driver itself also headed for parts best left unexplored -- a wetlands area filled with waist-high grass and water situated near the tee box.
While playing one of his weakest rounds in memory, Woods had missed four consecutive birdie putts from inside 13 feet as he stood on the fifth tee, his 14th hole of the day. Then he shoved his drive dead right into the trees and violently flung his mercurial driver clubhead-first into the turf and was darned lucky it didn't snap off at the hosel.
The club sprung several feet into the air and spiraled into in a wetlands area several yards away, where caddie Steve Williams spent several awkward moments looking for the club as his boss strolled past, still fuming. Luckily, the grip of the club was spotted sticking up out of the weeds, and Williams used Woods' trademark Tiger driver headcover to deflect the sticker branches away from himself as he waded 10 or 15 feet into the hazard to retrieve the club.
Moreover, as Woods spiked the club, he screamed two coarse and unprintable expletives at himself, followed by, "release the club." He meant at the point of impact, of course, not after the ball was long gone. He had no problem accomplishing the latter.
Even by Woods standards, it was an unusually incendiary moment, though it was seen by only a handful of witnesses. The fifth tee box is located about 60 yards from the nearest point where fans are allowed access, so outside of two media outlets, players and their caddies, and a member of the Norton Police Department, few saw the outburst. There were no TV or still photographers nearby.
"I didn't feel good over any shot today and didn't drive it very good, hit my irons worse and didn't make any putts," he said. "Other than that, it was a good day."
Thus, the incident on the No. 5 tee was borne of sheer frustration, one of several unhappy moments in the first round.
"How about every hole?" Woods said.
He almost lost his ball and his driver. The tee shot sailed into a wooded area wide of the gallery ropes and Woods had to take an unplayable-lie penalty, then scrambled to salvage a bogey on the hole.
Longtime Woods watchers had never seen the world No. 1 snap to that degree before.
"No, I never have, either," playing partner Steve Stricker said. "I know he wasn't happy with how he was playing and was running a little hot at times. But he gutted it out, somehow."
That's one of the most amazing parts of the Woods persona, if not his aura. Nobody should forgive the moments when he goes off his coil, and he has joked with friends in the past that he is the most heavily fined player on the PGA Tour as a result, but somehow, those incidents invariably prove cathartic.
Woods occasionally vents venom and vitriol, and then it's gone forever. Many players seethe for an hour after a bad shot or round-wrecking hole. Woods vents his steam, then goes right goes back to taking scalps and winning trophies. In an odd way, the anger-management issues often seem to inflame his passion to succeed, too.
"That's what's impressive," Stricker said. "I know he was mad. But he still guts it out, gets it around, shoots under par, and he's still got a chance. He's still in the game."
Clearly, nobody is making excuses for him, but some of the Woods outburst might be attributable to fatigue. He's playing for the fifth time in six weeks and has committed to play next week's event in Chicago, too. That's as busy as any stretch in his career.
Moreover, he's been in contention ever week in that span, finishing first or second in his past four starts, which can take an emotional and physical toll, since every shot matters. Woods seemed almost subdued, if not somewhat worn down, after the round.
"Long stretch," Woods said. "Most of this year I've been in contention, so it's not just the last few weeks. Being in contention, you have to deal with a lot of different things, pre round, post round. It just adds to it."
Inside the ropes, Stricker never knows what to say when Woods loses his cool, so he usually just keeps his distance. Almost without fail, Woods purges, then binges on more birdies.
Stricker said that last week at The Barclays, where he was paired with the world No. 1 in the first two rounds, Woods whacked a wild drive about 50 yards offline on the short 16th hole, a reachable par-4 that had yielded dozens of birdies. Somehow, the smoldering Woods salvaged a par.
After they hit their tee shots on the 17th, Woods smirked, his anger having subsided, and said to the silent Stricker, "I tied ya."
"He seems to get over it pretty quick," Stricker laughed.
For the fellas in the FedEx series, that's bad news indeed. Woods often gets mad.
Then he gets even.
http://www.cbssports.com/golf/story/12158296
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