I'm sure anyone who follows golf knows that he is coming off yet another knee scope (his fourth procedure on the left knee in the last 12 years) but the last time he had work done he came back and won (coincidently at Torrey Pines, albeit not in major conditions) his first week back.

SO is he going to win the Open, or will Phil or some other (long) competitor manage an upset?

I for one fully expect Tiger to win, or at the very worst finish in the top 5.

What do you think?

 

*his full swing looks really good from what I've read.....and he's been working hard on his short game while rehabbing, so I'd expect his "rust" to be minimal*

QB 09 2 81:

I'm sure anyone who follows golf knows that he is coming off yet another knee scope (his fourth procedure on the left knee in the last 12 years) but the last time he had work done he came back and won (coincidently at Torrey Pines, albeit not in major conditions) his first week back.

SO is he going to win the Open, or will Phil or some other (long) competitor manage an upset?

I for one fully expect Tiger to win, or at the very worst finish in the top 5.

What do you think?

 

*his full swing looks really good from what I've read.....and he's been working hard on his short game while rehabbing, so I'd expect his "rust" to be minimal*

I'm thinking #1 or #2.What caused the first dammage to his knee I know he has undergone several scopes what started the knee prob?

gp_cowpolk

The first surgery was to remove some benign cysts (similar to what TG underwent prior to his cartilage injury last pre-season).   The latter two surgeries (he's actually only had 3 procedures done, not 4 as my first post said) were scopes to remove loose cartilage....also similar to TG's surgery, but appearantly the damage is not as bad in Tiger's knee.

Not a lot of people know that Tiger was very good in track in high school, and still runs a lot, often wearing a weighted vest.   He will likely have to cut back on his running and find another way to work on his conditioning like bike riding, swimming etc. 

One of the real worrying things is the amount of force he puts on his left knee during the downswing.   For now he doesn't think he'll have to change his swing to compensate, but who really knows what the future might have in store?

Here's a good article with some of the details of his knee issues.

http://sports.espn.go.com/golf/news/story?id=3412974

QB 09 2 81:

gp_cowpolk

The first surgery was to remove some benign cysts (similar to what TG underwent prior to his cartilage injury last pre-season).   The latter three surgeries were scopes to remove loose cartilage....also similar to TG's surgery, but appearantly the damage is not as bad in Tiger's knee.

Not a lot of people know that Tiger was very good in track in high school, and still runs a lot, often wearing a weighted vest.   He will likely have to cut back on his running and find another way to work on his conditioning like bike riding, swimming etc. 

One of the real worrying things is the amount of force he puts on his left knee during the downswing.   For now he doesn't think he'll have to change his swing to compensate, but who really knows what the future might have in store?

I knew he was involved in other sports activities. And I do think of golf as a sport.Actually thought of taking it up in highschool 1973 Wish I had. But I asked you about Tigers knee cause I know you love golf  and would most likley get an honest answer. If it is from running he needs to stop it he needs that downswing. I'm not a heuge golf fan but Tiger is a pnenominal guy and he atleast gets me to check the results of tourniments

I say maybe top ten.  Will he be able to walk all four days and have his 'A' game?  I see a respectable finish.  I say Furyk wins.  Don't know why, just a gut feeling.  You heard it here first...

chetos:

I say maybe top ten.  Will he be able to walk all four days and have his 'A' game?  I see a respectable finish.  I say Furyk wins.  Don't know why, just a gut feeling.  You heard it here first...

I like, and really respect Furyk as a tough competitor....BUT even though Torrey Pines is "only" going to play at around 7300 yards most of the tournament, I don't think that Jim will be in the top 5.....maybe top 10 if he has his "A-game".    It is just a LONG straight course, it probably favors the long hitters as much as any US Open course since Bethpage Black.

I think that Sergio will contend.....he is a great driver of the ball and his short game is really coming around now that he's working with Stan.

I think that Phil will contend, especially if he can find a driver that he can keep out of the hay!

Even with hard, fast fairways I really don't think that many of the shorter hitters can contend without a fantastic four days of chipping/putting!

QB 09 2 81:

chetos:

I say maybe top ten.  Will he be able to walk all four days and have his 'A' game?  I see a respectable finish.  I say Furyk wins.  Don't know why, just a gut feeling.  You heard it here first...

I like, and really respect Furyk as a tough competitor....BUT even though Torrey Pines is "only" going to play at around 7300 yards most of the tournament, I don't think that Jim will be in the top 5.....maybe top 10 if he has his "A-game".    It is just a LONG straight course, it probably favors the long hitters as much as any US Open course since Bethpage Black.

I think that Sergio will contend.....he is a great driver of the ball and his short game is really coming around now that he's working with Stan.

I think that Phil will contend, especially if he can find a driver that he can keep out of the hay!

Even with hard, fast fairways I really don't think that many of the shorter hitters can contend without a fantastic four days of chipping/putting!

You are right.  I just have a feeling.  If I was a betting man.  I wonder how Tiger's knee will hold up.  Soreness and fatigue could play a role.  If it does, his swing could get very 'handsy'.  Of course as long as he his, he could just hit his 'stinger' all (if there is knee pain, fatigue) day long and if his short game is where everyone says it is, he could pull it out.

gp_cowpolk

I graduated in 1990, but golf really wasn't very "cool" when either of us were in high school!

I had an uncle that played a lot, but my family pretty much discouraged me from the game, so I didn't take it up 'til I was 25.

I used to make fun of golfers, and never would have considered it to ba a sport until I started playing a lot.....I like to walk and 18 (or more) holes on a hilly course on a hot day is MUCH more grueling that I'd have ever believed!

I sure wish that I'd have taken it up 10 years earlier!!! 

I like a lot of golfers, but it is pretty awesome to be able to watch a guy make history right in front of our eyes!

He's raised the bar so high that a lot of very good young players are considered to be "busts" just because they cannot compete at his level......still they are making a LOT more money thanks to him, so I guess overall they will be able to live with it!  

chetos

I don't think that fatigue will be that much of a factor.   Tiger has been rehabbing very hard for the last couple of weeks.....a lot of time on the exercise bike etc. so I think he'll be plenty strong.

The rough is gonna be penal for everyone, but in all reality it hurts the short hitters much more than guys like Tiger/Phil.

I read a report from Hank Haney last week concerning Tiger's practice round and he said that Tiger tried to hit a 5-wood from a decent lie in the rough and still couldn't get to the green from 160 yards!  For what it's worth Hank also said he's hitting the ball as well as he has ever seen anyone hit the ball....and you know that he'll be mentally fresh and ready to play.

Unfortunately I've got a three day individual tournament this weekend (weather permitting) so I probably won't be able to watch a lot of the Open!       

QB 09 2 81:

gp_cowpolk

I graduated in 1990, but golf really wasn't very "cool" when either of us were in high school!

I had an uncle that played a lot, but my family pretty much discouraged me from the game, so I didn't take it up 'til I was 25.

I used to make fun of golfers, and never would have considered it to ba a sport until I started playing a lot.....I like to walk and 18 (or more) holes on a hilly course on a hot day is MUCH more grueling that I'd have ever believed!

I sure wish that I'd have taken it up 10 years earlier!!! 

I like a lot of golfers, but it is pretty awesome to be able to watch a guy make history right in front of our eyes!

He's raised the bar so high that a lot of very good young players are considered to be "busts" just because they cannot compete at his level......still they are making a LOT more money thanks to him, so I guess overall they will be able to live with it!  

I graduated a year after you did.  Golf was looked at the same way with me.  You either played Football, golf or tennis during the fall.  Guess what the 'manly' boys picked?  Track or golf during the spring.  For me most sports came very easy to me.  Golf was (and is) not one of those sports.  I guess that's why today I am such a golf junkie.  Last thursday in league, I hit an 80 yard wedge that I called before I hit it.  I played it off the slope and spun it back to within 3 feet.  It's that 'one' shot that keeps me coming back (and spending money on eq).  It's the challenge.  Knowing that you'll never 'beat' golf.  You really find out who you are and if you ever really want to know someone, play golf with them.

chetos

I pretty much looked down on most non-football sports in high school.   I played baseball a few years, and wrestled here and there, I tried some track but I was too slow and had to little vertical to do any of the things I wanted to do, like the high jump.

I too was at least decent at most of the sports I tried, and feel like golf's difficulty was the main thing that got me hooked.   I felt like I should be able to go really low right off the bat but ended up shooting in the 120's my first few times out (I never really hit any balls or anything before I tried to play the game........it was pretty damn ugly to say the least).

Still, in my first round (June 1997) I holed a 40+ foot putt for a par on the first hole I ever played (360 yd par 4 dogleg left) and holed out a wedge from about 50 yards for a 7 on a short par five, so I knew that I had some ability.

Most of the guys I started playing with have either given up the game, or are just occasional golfers now.    I can't find very many golfers my age around here than want to play "real" golf....they just want to just drive the cart around and drink a lot of beer....play the ball up etc.

Most of the guys I meet are loose with the rules.......Hell, I played with a guy a few years ago in Florida that literally took at least 20 mulligans, and then wanted my to sign his card for an "88" so he could show his friends how "well" he played!  

In the last 5 years or so most of the guys I've played with regularly are in their 60's and 70's, but they can play, especially from the senior tees!  I played with a guy about a year and a half ago that shot a 70, one under par, from the back tees of a "real" course at 81 years of age!   Admittedly it was a pretty short course, under 6,400 yards, but it's tricky and several times he had to hit 3 wood into the par fours, and stuck a couple of them to inside 5 feet!  

I LOVE the idea that 20 or 30 years from now I could still be playing the game reasonably well!

 I do play as much tournament golf in the summer as I can, usually 15-20 events per year, and get to play with some pretty good competition from time to time in them......but generally most of the time I practice alone, and early/late in the year fairly often play alone.    

Still, that's a great thing about golf......you always have the course to compete against!!!!   

NO! Goosen, or Cabrerra

QB 09 2 81:

I LOVE the idea that 20 or 30 years from now I could still be playing the game reasonably well

My uncle who is 65 came over to visit last weekend.  I took him out for some golf and he's pretty short but straight.  It never fails, at the end of the round he shot bogey golf.  I only got him by 8 stokes.  I forgot that he had a putt for par on almost every hole. 

Too bad we don't live closer.  I am always looking for some good golf buddies who aren't using foot wedges or beer bongs...

Not sure, but I certainly wouldn't bet against him.  Last night on TGC they said he walked all 18 holed and looked deadly.  Kind of scary if he carries that to the tournament.