Hunter Mahan and the new, top golfers ...

U

uihawk82

Well-Known Member
will give Tiger a big run for winning the Masters and other tourneys. Some people may think Tiger is back but Hunter Mahan put himself up there today with his second tour victory of the young season. He is ranked as one of the best drivers and in greens in regulation. A new putter has him very confident and he seems to be improved in the chipping game.

Keegan Bradley finished in top 5 and seems to be ready to hit long drives at the Masters. We shall see how he fairs but he may be in the mix. These are just two young players who can battle Tiger. I think Phil can be as close to a favorite as anybody at Augusta.

It will be interesting to see if Kyle Stanley and a few other young guys can keep improving to help hold Tiger back.
 
uihawk82 said:
will give Tiger a big run for winning the Masters and other tourneys. Some people may think Tiger is back but Hunter Mahan put himself up there today with his second tour victory of the young season. He is ranked as one of the best drivers and in greens in regulation. A new putter has him very confident and he seems to be improved in the chipping game. Keegan Bradley finished in top 5 and seems to be ready to hit long drives at the Masters. We shall see how he fairs but he may be in the mix. These are just two young players who can battle Tiger. I think Phil can be as close to a favorite as anybody at Augusta. It will be interesting to see if Kyle Stanley and a few other young guys can keep improving to help hold Tiger back.
Click to expand...

Agreed, Mahan is really playing well this year and I like his game a lot. There are a lot of young guys that are playing well. I fully expect Rory to be in the mix next week too.
The other young guy I like is Dustin Johnson. He has been in contention at several majors ij the last couple of years but just hasnt finished. I expect him to win one soon.
I also think Stricker has to win a major some time, doesnt he?
 
uihawk82 said:
will give Tiger a big run for winning the Masters and other tourneys. Some people may think Tiger is back but Hunter Mahan put himself up there today with his second tour victory of the young season. He is ranked as one of the best drivers and in greens in regulation. A new putter has him very confident and he seems to be improved in the chipping game.

Keegan Bradley finished in top 5 and seems to be ready to hit long drives at the Masters. We shall see how he fairs but he may be in the mix. These are just two young players who can battle Tiger. I think Phil can be as close to a favorite as anybody at Augusta.

It will be interesting to see if Kyle Stanley and a few other young guys can keep improving to help hold Tiger back.
Click to expand...



For the good of the game let's hope Tiger is in the mix on Sunday. I'm probably in the minority but I hope Tiger dominates again. I don't agree with what he did to his wife and family but I really appreciate his dominance when his is playing at his best.
 
Cory said:
For the good of the game let's hope Tiger is in the mix on Sunday. I'm probably in the minority but I hope Tiger dominates again. I don't agree with what he did to his wife and family but I really appreciate his dominance when his is playing at his best.
Click to expand...

Tiger can bring his A game but I dont know if he has the stuff to ring up 4 good rounds at augusta. His temperment is just not there. Tiger gets some little bad bounces or putts that bounce and he starts to pout. Watch his face , he is a pouter when things are not going his way.

I would love to see another Sunday back nine like last year where 6-8 guys are in it. I just want to see some other deserving players put the rounds together and win at augusta. I would love to see zach Johnson have another great masters.

Stricker is running out of years but man when he puts it all together with his short iron play and putting he could be tough.
 
uihawk82 said:
Tiger can bring his A game but I dont know if he has the stuff to ring up 4 good rounds at augusta. His temperment is just not there. Tiger gets some little bad bounces or putts that bounce and he starts to pout. Watch his face , he is a pouter when things are not going his way.

I would love to see another Sunday back nine like last year where 6-8 guys are in it. I just want to see some other deserving players put the rounds together and win at augusta. I would love to see zach Johnson have another great masters.

Stricker is running out of years but man when he puts it all together with his short iron play and putting he could be tough.
Click to expand...

I also would like to see Zach win it if Tiger doesn't. I agree that Tiger has seemed to lose his edge but I think that he just needed to experience some success again. I think he has finished in the top ten in every event he has played except one this year. He appears to be getting his swagger back.

Must be seeing a large group of women again. :D
 
uihawk82 said:
Tiger can bring his A game but I dont know if he has the stuff to ring up 4 good rounds at augusta. His temperment is just not there. Tiger gets some little bad bounces or putts that bounce and he starts to pout. Watch his face , he is a pouter when things are not going his way.

I would love to see another Sunday back nine like last year where 6-8 guys are in it. I just want to see some other deserving players put the rounds together and win at augusta. I would love to see zach Johnson have another great masters.

Stricker is running out of years but man when he puts it all together with his short iron play and putting he could be tough.
Click to expand...

Tiger finished 4th last year. Doesn't have the temperment are you serious?? Dude Tiger's last 7 Master's appearances he has finished no worse than 6th.. His last 7 Master's finishes look like this. 1st, 3rd, 2nd, 2nd, 6th, 4th and 4th. Put the pipe down.

Tiger Woods loves Augusta.


Then at the end you mention Steve Stricker.. hahaha Really!! You can't make this stuff up.
 
Last edited:
I like the new guys too, but there is just no consistency there. Dustin Johnson will go from competing to missing cuts in a matter of weeks. Same with Bubba. Same with Hunter. Same with Rickie Fowler.

I think Rory probably is the best of the lot (unless you count Luke Donald as a young guy), and I struggle to see him winning more than a couple times on tour this year.

It's an interesting time on the PGA, no real top-tier guys, with majors going to no-namers on a consistent basis. I enjoy it, but it's certainly different.

As far as Tiger goes, he definitely has the game to take the Masters by five strokes or more. His putter is working and his driver isn't getting in his way too much. The question is mental. Can he shut the door on Sunday? If his performance at Bay Hill was any indication, we could just see him get up and get another one...
 
HawkPrdatr40 said:
Tiger finished 4th last year. Doesn't have the temperment are you serious?? Dude Tiger's last 7 Master's appearances he has finished no worse than 6th.. His last 7 Master's finishes look like this. 1st, 3rd, 2nd, 2nd, 6th, 4th and 4th. Put the pipe down.

Tiger Woods loves Augusta.


Then at the end you mention Steve Stricker.. hahaha Really!! You can't make this stuff up.
Click to expand...

I thought that was strange as well. Even when Tiger has played poorly these last few years, you could always count on him playing well at Augusta.
 
A lot of the young guys like Rory show flashes but need time to hone it in. Get consistent. It takes time, but it will happen for sure. The beauty of golf is to win a major you have be nearly flawless for 4 straight rounds and Tiger hasn't shown he can do that over 4 rounds. However, it has taken time and his swing is finally coming together on the all around game, and as someone mentioned Tiger LOVES Augusta. I like Keegan Bradley as well as he has the demeanor.
 
Certain players know how to manage Augusta and Tiger is one of them. He could be a threat with his B game for many years.
 
I look for Rory to have a good showing after last season's Sunday meltdown. He's already redeemed himself in that regard, but he has to feel like Augusta owes him one. That being said, I think if Tiger is making any putts at all he'll win this tourney.

I'm not sold on Mahan at Augusta, he's had a couple top 10s and been cut a couple times. This course doesn't setup well for all golfers, but who knows he is definitely playing well this season with a couple wins under his belt.
 
HawkPrdatr40 said:
Tiger finished 4th last year. Doesn't have the temperment are you serious?? Dude Tiger's last 7 Master's appearances he has finished no worse than 6th.. His last 7 Master's finishes look like this. 1st, 3rd, 2nd, 2nd, 6th, 4th and 4th. Put the pipe down.

Tiger Woods loves Augusta.


Then at the end you mention Steve Stricker.. hahaha Really!! You can't make this stuff up.
Click to expand...

Oh so you are a scratch or below golfer and know their games inside and out. If Stricker can keep his driver under control he can be a threat.

The duck hooks led to him coming back twice to be named comeback player of the year so he has the fortitude, the putting stroke and the mid to short iron play. When he does start to pull or somewhat hook the drives is when he struggles. If he can keep it together he can play.

And Augusta sets up better for right to left ball flights and they say on the broadcasts that Tiger is hitting mainly fade drives. It will be interesting and I hope to see what happens on thursday and Friday as far as positioning.

Curtis strange almost won it after shooting 80 on thursday so the masters is a tourney that you can never be out of.
 
hawkpadtr40 is right. tiger played well at Augusta as his game was falling apart. now that its back its his to lose. more than anything Augusta require precision iron play, and that is tigers biggest strength. his ball flight on the driver is meaningless.
 
DuffMan said:
hawkpadtr40 is right. tiger played well at Augusta as his game was falling apart. now that its back its his to lose. more than anything Augusta require precision iron play, and that is tigers biggest strength. his ball flight on the driver is meaningless.
Click to expand...

When you say "his to lose", are you saying that you pick Tiger over the field?

If so, I'd have to disagree with you on that.
 
uihawk82 said:
Oh so you are a scratch or below golfer and know their games inside and out. If Stricker can keep his driver under control he can be a threat.

The duck hooks led to him coming back twice to be named comeback player of the year so he has the fortitude, the putting stroke and the mid to short iron play. When he does start to pull or somewhat hook the drives is when he struggles. If he can keep it together he can play.

And Augusta sets up better for right to left ball flights and they say on the broadcasts that Tiger is hitting mainly fade drives. It will be interesting and I hope to see what happens on thursday and Friday as far as positioning.

Curtis strange almost won it after shooting 80 on thursday so the masters is a tourney that you can never be out of.
Click to expand...

This is not completely accurate. As a matter of fact, I am pretty sure Johnny Miller made the opposite point this weekend or last weekend during the telecasts. He said that being able to hit a high fade will allow players to hit the lightning fast greens easier. That is especially true if they allow them to dry out a bit. Augusta greens all have the sub-air system so they can even pull moisture out of them if needed to make play a bit more difficult.

To respond to some of the other comments in this thread, I agree that there is a lot of talent on the PGA tour currently and much of it is among the younger players. However, if you add up the majors won by the so-called "young guns", they don't even equal half of the majors Tiger has won. Winning a regular tour even is one thing. Winning one major or multiple majors is completely different. Tiger is in a bit of a slump, primarily caused by his despicable off the course behavior, but Jack Nicklaus also had comparable droughts during his career and managed to come back and win majors.

As someone else pointed out, even in recent years when Tiger has been playing poorly, he always seems to come to play at Augusta. He has to be the favorite going into this weekend.

I, too, despise his personal behavior and am glad that he experienced problems in his life and career because of them. However, golf is much better and more interesting when he is dominant. As a golf fan, I hope he returns to form and starts winning majors again.
 
UIHawkGrad said:
This is not completely accurate. As a matter of fact, I am pretty sure Johnny Miller made the opposite point this weekend or last weekend during the telecasts. He said that being able to hit a high fade will allow players to hit the lightning fast greens easier. That is especially true if they allow them to dry out a bit. Augusta greens all have the sub-air system so they can even pull moisture out of them if needed to make play a bit more difficult.
Click to expand...

Johnny Miller was talking about the need to hit high fades into augustas greens.

What I said that people are mistaking is the tee shot. It has been noted for years that players like Lee Trevino even when he was one of the best players in the world had difficulty at Augusta because his tee shots were big fades.

Look at the famous back 9: #10, 11, 13, 15, set up for big right to left shots off the tee. holes 12 and 16 are par threes so not in the discussion. holes 14 and 17 are better straight or slight draw. 18 is better with a slight fade but a draw off the tee doesnt hurt.

This is why Ray Floyd and others who could draw off the tee ate up Augusta.

Will tiger alter his new driver ball flight and try to hook the ball this week.

Oh and by the way, for whoever said it, I will lay down the bet on whichever player has 4 good rounds.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Latest posts

Share this page

Top