TIGER TRACKER

Spotlight on Woods, McIlroy pairing at Tour Championship.












First-round times. All times are local.

East Lake GC Tee #1
Time	Players
11:35 am	Senden, John	Piercy, Scott
11:45 am	Fowler, Rickie	Moore, Ryan
11:55 am	Simpson, Webb	Huh, John
12:05 pm	Mahan, Hunter	Rose, Justin
12:15 pm	Scott, Adam	Els, Ernie
12:25 pm	Van Pelt, Bo	Garrigus, Robert
12:35 pm	Pettersson, Carl	Furyk, Jim
12:45 pm	Donald, Luke	Kuchar, Matt
12:55 pm	Stricker, Steve	Bradley, Keegan
1:05 pm	Watson, Bubba	Garcia, Sergio
1:15 pm	Johnson, Zach	Dufner, Jason
1:25 pm	Johnson, Dustin	Westwood, Lee
1:35 pm	Snedeker, Brandt	Oosthuizen, Louis
1:45 pm	Watney, Nick	Mickelson, Phil
1:55 pm	McIlroy, Rory	Woods, Tiger

YES! Let the sticks do the talking....

..............................................................................................................

News & Opinion
Woods shows he's not intimidated by McIlroy
By Damon Hack
Sep 20, 2012 7:18 PM ET


ATLANTA – When it comes to responding to insults, Tiger Woods is on a level with Tony Soprano and Miss Piggy.

Like his pal Michael Jordan, who spent his career checking into hotels under the name of the kid who beat him out of a spot in high school basketball, Woods can turn a put-down into a stretch of superior play.

When Phil Mickelson once suggested that Woods was using inferior equipment, Woods came back from knee surgery for a four-shot victory at the 2003 Buick Invitational.

When Stephen Ames disparaged Tiger’s driving accuracy before the 2006 WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship, Woods was ruthless in his retort, thumping Ames, 9-8, with cold-hearted glee.

Two days after Greg Norman suggested that Woods was “really intimidated” by Rory McIlroy, Woods went out in the first round of the Tour Championship and beat his supposed intimidator by three shots. Tiger’s round of 66 was good enough to be tied for the first-round lead with Justin Rose in the FedEx Cup finale.

No word on whether Woods warmed up with a bucket of balls with Norman’s picture on them.

Norman’s comment was the background noise of Woods and McIlroy’s latest round of golf together. (Woods is 6-2 against McIlroy when paired together).

While Tiger made his way up the second fairway, one member of the gallery shouted “Ray Lewis!” referring to the Baltimore Ravens middle linebacker.

Woods cited Lewis in his Wednesday news conference as the reason intimidation is fiction in the game of golf. There is no crying in baseball. There is no de-cleating your playing partner in golf.

Woods was not amused by Norman’s comments Wednesday, but he had fun with McIlroy on Thursday. The two walked side by side for much of the round, talking about the fast speed of play with only 30 players in the field, enjoying the kind of rapport rarely seen between Woods and other would-be rivals.

As Rory has ascended to No. 1 in the world and claimed victory in three of his last four starts, his relationship with Tiger has been analyzed from every angle.

Why is Tiger close with Rory and distant with Vijay Singh and Phil Mickelson? How can Tiger, taught to beat everything on the golf course, share laughs with Rory on the fairway?

“He’s a great kid,” Woods said. “Over the years, certain pairings I’ve enjoyed. Rory is one of them.”

Woods went on, speaking like the veteran of golf (and life) that he is, and not the single-minded destroyer he has long been viewed to be.

“You probably don’t believe this, but I get along really well with a lot of guys out here,” Woods said. “Rory is no different. This is a fraternity out here. That’s one of the great things about being out here for 17 years. You get to know the guys quite well.”

Woods, at 36, may be learning to enjoy his walks more, even as he seeks to stack trophies on his mantel and prove the doubters wrong, be they Norman or anyone else.

Woods may not be closing out tournaments as he once did, but he’s still getting after it, still grinding hard against Rory and the rest.

And as he showed on Thursday, amid sharp barbs from the Shark, few can parry a blow better.

Tiger has been doing well on weekdays, not so much on weekends. I hope he gets this one

Thanks for the read! My guts going for Tiger.. He doesn't need the cash.. He only wants the silverware.. That sets the difference in winning..

Yes, from the previous few tourneys, he collapsed over the weekend. A win here would be a statement saying that.....form is temporary, class is permanent.

All I care and probably Tiger too is to break Jack's major record. Clock is ticking, and Rory now gets in the way......

Agree. While this will be good pocket money to him, his legacy will be measured against the number of majors won and whether he breaks Jack's record.

botak wrote:

Agree. While this will be good pocket money to him, his legacy will be measured against the number of majors won and whether he breaks Jack's record.

+1

Technospaz wrote:

botak wrote:

Agree. While this will be good pocket money to him, his legacy will be measured against the number of majors won and whether he breaks Jack's record.

+1

I hope he will, and I think he can. Do u?

N my message to Tiger is...." Tick Tok Tick Tok...."

i hope he gets the 18th before he's 40 years old.

he'll do it... then our kids will go "Jack, who??"

botak wrote:

Agree. While this will be good pocket money to him, his legacy will be measured against the number of majors won and whether he breaks Jack's record.

Im on tiger too... so meaning Sam Snead record is not much of a concern, its just the majors....

TIGER TIGER....

Technospaz wrote:

botak wrote:

Agree. While this will be good pocket money to him, his legacy will be measured against the number of majors won and whether he breaks Jack's record.

+1

+2
When TW was young, he uses classic watches bt now, he s in his wrist a sport watches!
Come on Tiger!

There are many PGA tourneys in a season; but only 4 Majors....that is the significance.

enwee wrote:

TIGER TIGER....

BURNING BRIGHT!.....

If he ever fails to bag any major next yr, he probably should go back to what he had been doing before 2009......"EVIL FxxxxR"

hkhamateur wrote:

Technospaz wrote:

botak wrote:

Agree. While this will be good pocket money to him, his legacy will be measured against the number of majors won and whether he breaks Jack's record.

+1

+2
When TW was young, he uses classic watches bt now, he s in his wrist a sport watches!
Come on Tiger!

Was that Casio or Seiko? Remember?

botak wrote:

i hope he gets the 18th before he's 40 years old.

he'll do it... then our kids will go "Jack, who??"

I think our kids only appreciate what they witness by then. Just like many of us who didn't get to witness Ben Hogan/Jack, we can't really appreciate or relate that much how great they were in their era. But i would like to think they were coz they could drive longer than 200Y usingpersimmon clubs.

So, we and our kids would probably be in 2 different camps rooting for Tiger v.s. Rory

IGT wrote:

hkhamateur wrote:

Technospaz wrote:

botak wrote:

Agree. While this will be good pocket money to him, his legacy will be measured against the number of majors won and whether he breaks Jack's record.

+1

+2
When TW was young, he uses classic watches bt now, he s in his wrist a sport watches!
Come on Tiger!

Was that Casio or Seiko? Remember?

Whahaha....
Bro, i remb its Citizen instead!
Hope he doesnt spoilt his watch internal mech w his powderful swing lor!

Casio Watches are endorsed by Redbull F1 racing team ... Sebastian Vettel & David Webber ...

Anybody heard of this American made watch brand called Reactor ??? Looks real awesome and its purported hardiness. Google it. Its impressive. Not too expensive too. They just opened a shop at Plaza Singapura and price is reasonable too ranging from basic 300+ to top of the range a couple of thousand. Might decide to get one later. Get it before the price goes higher.

titu

Tituman wrote:

Anybody heard of this American made watch brand called Reactor ??? Looks real awesome and its purported hardiness. Google it. Its impressive. Not too expensive too. They just opened a shop at Plaza Singapura and price is reasonable too ranging from basic 300+ to top of the range a couple of thousand. Might decide to get one later. Get it before the price goes higher.

titu

I had a glance on web, mostly sports and look rugged to me. The design quite similar to Ball?

TW 32 putts in 2nd rd.....susahlah! Think he needs to consult Dave Stockton.

Tiger stays 4 strokes behind leaders; n 1 stroke behind Rory.

I like Tiger's chances better being in the current position than the leader going into the final rd. I figure Rose and Snedeker will cave in to pressure.

Clearly, Rory is the favorite, but Tiger is my pick.

Keep the ball in the fairways, capitalize on the par5's, he should card a low rd.

Go Tiger! It's time to roar!

Tiger is +4 for first 6 holes...

Jus too painful too watch...

Gimme back the former tiger leh.....