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GOLF PLUS
- BIG PLAY (By Mitchell Spearman)
Sports Illustrated
Despite battling a glitch in his
swing during the final rounds, Tiger Woods won
because - as usual - his foes wilted over the weekend
by Mitchell Spearman.
Everybody thinks it takes superhuman golf to beat Tiger
Woods, but that's rubbish. Dozens of Tour regulars could
beat Woods if they'd simply play their own games instead
of getting psyched out and trying to play with needless
heroism. Last week Woods led by four strokes after opening
67-63, but he shot a mortal three-under (-4) over the
weekend while fighting a swing flaw in which his arms
trail too far behind his body in the downswing. (Woods
worked on the problem after slicing his drive into the
trees at 13 on Sunday.) But nobody took advantage of
his struggles, and Woods became the first Tour player
since Scott McCarron at the 2001 Bellsouth Classic to
win without breaking 70 on the weekend.
FIGHTING BACK
Despite a series of final-round
errors, runner-up Esteban Toledo won't be another Woods
casualty like Bob May, a man who seems to have never
recovered from losing a tête-à-tête
with the world's best player at the 2000 PGA. Toledo,
a 39-year-old native of Mexicali, Mexico, is winless
in five Tour seasons and was 118th on this year's money
list entering the Buick, so he hand nothing to lose
as he headed into Sunday pairing with Woods trailing
by two shots. The former professional boxer certainly
didn't sound like a beaten man afterward. "I
gave him a good fight,"
said Toledo, "I am a
very strong person, and I will win. No doubt in my mind."
HOT AIR
The Buick was only Lanny Wadkin's
third week as CBS's lead analyst, but I've already started
to mute the volume while watching. Wadkins has no presence
in the booth and has yet to provide a glimmer of insight.
If I were Lance Barrow, CBS's coordinating producer
for golf, I'd try this novel idea to fill the lead analyst
spot; Hire 10 Tour caddies who loop for top players
and have them work on a rotating bases. Nobody knows
more about the pros and the courses than the caddies,
and chatter is a specialty of their profession.
A CHANGE OF SCENERY
It's a shame that the Tour lets
business considerations and the shackles of history
overrule common sense when it comes to selecting venues,
especially for the week before a major. Sure, Buick
is based in Pontiac, Mich, only 25 miles south of Warwick
Hills, and the club has hosted the Buick Open for 38
of the tournament's 44 years, but Warwick Halls is boring
and wide open. The world's greatest golfers, and the
spectators, deserve tracks such as Cog Hill and Westchester
every week, and there are dozens of glorious courses
that would kill to host a Tour event.
To view the other Press
articles featuring Mitchell click
here . . .
For more information on Mitchell
Spearman click
here . . .
For more information on the
Tour
Players Mitchell is
currently working with click
here . . .
For information on the other
Staff
working for Mitchell Spearman Golf
click here . . .
For information on receiving Individual
or Corporate
Instruction please
click
here . . .
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