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12/08/2013

Tiger Chase Over for Two Mac;s

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Rory McIlroy had the low round Saturday of 68 at the Northwestern Mutual World Challenge, and that included a double bogey on the par-3 15th, which was playing 193 yards from an elevated tee. But ahead of the final round McIlroy is only tied for 11th at 218.

Graeme McDowell dropped back to ninth after he signed for a round of 75 with four bogeys and then a triple on the par three 8th hole..

Tiger Woods survived a rough round of swirling swing at Sherwood on Saturday with two birdies on his last three holes. That enabled him to salvage an even-par 72 and maintain his two-shot lead over Zach Johnson going into the final round.

Woods' round featured a tee shot into the water, a three-putt from 6 feet and a long delay on the 18th fairway as he tried to figure out which way the wind was blowing. He took a little off an 8-iron when he felt the wind switch yet again and holed a 12-foot birdie putt.

"I'm pleased at having the lead -- not real pleased with the way I putted today," Woods said. "I left a few out there today."

But he wasn't alone as the average score was just under 73.

Everyone ran into problems somewhere along the way, particularly on the 15th, a par 3 that played to an average score of 4.17. Johnson made two double bogeys on par 3s on the back nine, and didn't feel as though he hit a poor shot on either hole. It was simply a matter of getting the wind to cooperate.

"I didn't take myself out of it," said Johnson, who also birdied two of the last three holes for a 72.

Woods was at 11-under 205, two shots ahead of Johnson, just like he started the day.

There are 18 holes to go, and Woods has a 48-5 lead worldwide when he has the outright lead going into Sunday. He has won all four times with the lead this year, and the last time he gave up a lead on Sunday was at Sherwood in 2010, when Graeme McDowell came from four shots behind and won in a playoff.

It can be done, and two shots can be erased in one hole in conditions like this.

Woods is trying to end his year with a sixth title, which would be the ninth time he's done that in his career. What began as an elite field of 18 players -- all of them from the top 30 in the world ranking -- has effectively been whittled to three barring a late charge from deep in the pack.

Bubba Watson was within one shot of the lead briefly until a three-putt bogey on the 18th, and two late birdies by Woods. Watson had a 69 and was four shots behind. No one else was within six shots of Woods.

"This golf course is very difficult," Watson said. "Right now, there's a pretty good player leading. He's won here before. He knows this golf course pretty well. But I'm just going to come out there and play. I've shot under par my last few rounds. I want to keep doing that. If I can shoot in the 60s, give myself a chance, we'll see what happens."

Rory McIlroy had the low round Saturday of 68, and that included a double bogey on the par-3 15th, which was playing 193 yards from an elevated tee. Keegan Bradley and Steve Stricker each took a 7 on the par 3.

Johnson was one shot out of the lead when his 5-iron went into the creek, and it wasn't particularly close. He made double bogey. Woods hit 6-iron well to the left, and while he three-putted from long range for bogey, that was about par for the day.

"I thought Zach hit it perfect," Woods said. "He hit a little cut 5 and it was right on the flag. I mean, I thought it was the perfect flight to get there. I had a 6, and I knew that if my ball kicked up at all, it wasn't going to get there after seeing his ball get smoked at the end. So I went ahead and flipped it over to the left and bailed out."

Johnson briefly took the lead with a birdie on No. 9, though Woods caught him with a birdie on the 10th. Johnson lost momentum with one bad shot, a fairway metal for his second shot on the par-5 11th that went right into a bed of leaves under a small cluster of trees. He tried to punch under the trees and onto the green, but his shot hit one branch and led to bogey.

Johnson made a double bogey on the par-3 12th and just like that was three shots behind. He got back to within one shot on the next hole when Woods three-putted from 6 feet for bogey and Johnson made bogey.

Ultimately, they ended up where they started the day, putting Woods one round away from his sixth win at Sherwood. The tournament is moving to Florida next year.

12/07/2013

GMAC Watches Woods Clinic

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Graeme McDowell signed for a 5-under 67 on day two of the Northwestern Mutrual World Challenge on Friday to remain somewhat in contention after his playing partner blitzed the course in 62 strokes.

Like Woods, McDowell made it around Sherwood without dropping a shot, adding back-to-back birdies at both Nos. 5-6 and Nos. 10-11 fourth place. Though that still shots off the pace set by Woods.

Woods had a birdie putt on every hole and made 10 of them Friday to tie his own course record at Sherwood and take a three-shot lead in the Northwestern Mutual World Challenge.

Woods had a 10-under 62, matching the score he shot in the second round at Sherwood six years ago. That gave him a two-shot lead over Zach Johnson, who birdied the last hole for a 68. Matt Kuchar also had a 68 and was another shot behind.

McDowell played with Woods and called it a clinic.

Woods missed only one fairway and hit every green. Woods said it was similar to the 61 he had at Firestone this year when he won the World Golf Championships-Bridgestone Invitational by seven shots.

Woods already is a five-time winner at Sherwood.

Rory Mcllroy went around in 77 strokes with a double 6 and triple bogey 9 on the 16th hole the major problems.

12/06/2013

Graeme McDowell Interview

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Graeme McDowell: I guess my last eight rounds around here have been in the 60s. This is a tough golf course. The course hasn't been this tough in a couple years. The scoring reflects that. The greens are much firmer. The speed of them caught me by surprise a little bit today. My speed was a little clumsy, and it showed today on the greens.

But generally I was quite happy the way I hit the ball. I hit a few squiffy ones, but room for improvement. You know, get back out there tomorrow. There's lots of birdie opportunities on this course. I think that's why I've always enjoyed it, why I've always felt comfortable on it. It offers you a lot of chances if you play decent.

Q: This time last year you were looking after the tournament to take forever off, right?

GRAEME McDOWELL: Yeah, I took 10 weeks off after this event last year. The plan is to take eight weeks off this year, but I think physically I needed the time off last year. I told the boys yesterday in the presser that I felt obviously I had five weeks off to get married, so I'm feeling a fair bit fresher at this point in the season than I normally do. Mentally I just need the break. I've got a lot of work to do on my game, so I'm looking forward to the break from a physical point of view. I've got a lot of work to do I feel like.

Q: Mentally it's game related, not marriage related?

GRAEME McDOWELL: Correct, correct.

Q: I want to be clear on that.

GRAEME McDOWELL: We're in that honeymoon period. It's beautiful. It's beautiful.

Q: How long does that last?

GRAEME McDOWELL: I don't know, you tell me.

Q: With the change of venues next year, what do you think about that?

GRAEME McDOWELL: Obviously I like Sherwood a lot. Every time I've been here I've been very fortunate to play well. Orlando is my backyard these days, I guess, my hometown, and I guess I have mixed emotions. But I think this is a great event, and any change sometimes can be a good thing, I think, from an energy point of view, for the event's popularity, so I think the people here in California have enjoyed this event. I think the people in Orlando will certainly enjoy it next year.

Q: There's no Tavistock Cup next year.

GRAEME McDOWELL: I think the Tavistock are involved in this event now.

Q: But what you guys have done last years

GRAEME McDOWELL: I'll miss the Tavistock a little bit. I won't miss it from a scheduling point of view. It's in a very busy period there around the Florida Swing, so I won't miss those couple of days off for sure, but yeah, Tavistock, I've been living in Lake Nona since 2005, my restaurant is on Tavistock property, and I'm indebted to the Tavistock in general really for what they've done for me and for golf. I'll miss the cup. It was good fun. I used to enjoy the blue versus red. The blue versus red was fun.

Q: What's your bar in the first year? Has it surprised you?

GRAEME McDOWELL: Yeah, we've exceeded our expectations. We got off to a phenomenal start, thanks to you guys and all the sort of media attention that it got. Slowed down a little bit in the summer, but we did better in the summer than we expected. The fall has been a little quiet, but it's starting to heat back up again with Christmas and the new year. It's been a lot of fun.

Q: If you had your choice to own a bar or nine Ferraris, what would it be?

GRAEME McDOWELL: I think you've just got to look at my garage and look at Ian Poulter's garage and make your own mind up there. I'm not a Ferrari guy. I like them, but I don't like them that much.

Q: Did Rory make you feel shorter today?

GRAEME McDOWELL: Yes. Yes. He always makes me feel short. It's guys like him that make me go home and scratch my head and think, right, what am I going to do here, I'm going to start throwing some weights around, I think, hopefully find 10 yards. He reckons he flies it 310 yards through the air. I fly it 270 yards through the air on a good day. There's 40 yards right there. But he's the exception. I'm closer to the rule.

Q: You wouldn't be a guy that would be long right off, as they say, probably medium long?

GRAEME McDOWELL: Yeah, but I actually feel like I'm not driving it as good this year as I have last year. My driving is on a little bit of a downward curve, which is part of what I'm trying to address this off season. I mean, I'm not short, but when the fairways (inaudible) I'm long enough.

Q: But when you look at yourself compared with a Rory, Dustin, kind of that A group, is there any part of you that takes a certain pride in being able to do exactly what they do, just a different way if that makes any sense?

GRAEME McDOWELL: Oh, for sure. I have to think if you mentally let it beat you up I walked away from the HSBC, Dustin was incredibly impressive, thinking if you kind of hold that against yourself, say go to the drawing board and think, right, I'm going to spend the next two months thrashing drivers and see if I can put on 20 yards, and my wedge play goes to crap, that's a mistake you make.

So you've got to take pride in what you do. You've got to look at Luke Donald, Jim Furyk, you've got to look at the Zach Johnsons and say these guys get it done. These guys won majors, these guys could be the world No. 1 players, so I've got to look at it that way rather than trying to make myself into I'm never going to make myself into a Rory or a Dustin at this point in my life. My best days are gone.

Q: Do you think guys make that mistake that fall into that trap?

GRAEME McDOWELL: You know, tough to pick examples, but there's no doubt. I toyed with the idea at the end of last year and quickly threw it out. Like I say, I need to drive the ball better than I am right now, but I don't need to reinvent myself. I need to get a little fitter and a little stronger, yeah, but not as a detriment to my iron play and my wedge play, my good stuff.

Q: How long did it take you to give it up?

GRAEME McDOWELL: It took me four or five weeks probably. The huge 47 inch drivers can get my ball speed up to about 170. I'm probably down in the low 160s, 10 miles an hour slower than I was at that point, but I just had to accept it that I wasn't going to be able to get it up there.

Yeah, for sure. I mean, I've got it in my head, sort of events. Phoenix Open, for example, J.B. Holmes winning back to back there. I've got it in my head that that's a long hitter's golf course. But that's just a theory because I spoke to Brandt Snedeker, who I think is just a little longer than me but my type of player, and he loves the Phoenix Open. So I'm like, that makes no sense at all, so maybe I'm wrong about that golf tournament.

I guess I tailor my schedule to me. I look at what guys like Zach Johnson, Jim Furyk, who are guys that I compare myself to, game types, I look at what they do, because I'm still learning about the PGA TOUR. There's events that I still have not played on this TOUR: Torrey Pines, Memorial, Quail Hollow I haven't played since '06. I'm still learning about this TOUR in regards to what golf courses suit me and what don't.

Q: We were talking to the boys yesterday about reassessing British Open, U.S. Open part of the schedule. When you look at the major venues for this upcoming year, how do you view them? What do you make of how they lay out?

GRAEME McDOWELL: Augusta is a tough one for me. I certainly don't build the early part of my year around Augusta because I'm not an Augusta type player yet. You know, of the 25 opportunities I'll have never year, unfortunately Augusta is probably not in the top 10. So try and sneak up on Augusta this year.

But the rest of them, Pinehurst, that's a me kind of golf course, I think; Hoylake, I feel like I've got an Open Championship deep down inside me somewhere, so I'll be peaking for that for sure. And Valhalla, which holds happy memories, my first Ryder Cup there in '08, so I'll look forward to getting back there.

Not trying to get negative about Augusta, I'm trying to get realistic about it not being the be all and end all for the first four or five months of my season and making sure that I am looking at the big events around that.

Q: Zach won Augusta, by the way.

GRAEME McDOWELL: I'm going to leave on that note. (Laughter.)

Zach leads Two Mac's

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Rory McIlroy, with girlfriend Caroline Wozniacki following him at the Northwestern Mutual World Challenge, was hopeful of building momentum from his win last week in the Australian Open. But he missed a few short putts, found the water on the par-3 15th and had a 73 in the end.

His playing partner and defending champion Graeme McDowell, who had a 72.

McDowell saw a note that his last eight rounds at Sherwood were in the 60s. That streak ended Thursday, though for good reason.

"The course hasn't been this tough in a couple years," McDowell said. "The scoring reflects that. The greens are much firmer. The speed of them caught me by surprise a little bit today. My speed was a little clumsy, and it showed today on the greens."

Zach Johnson already is looking ahead to next year, and one of his priorities is to score better on the par 5s. He got started on that Thursday in the Northwestern Mutual World Challenge.

Johnson birdied four of the five par 5s on a chilly afternoon at Sherwood Country Club, sending him to a 5-under 67 and a one-shot lead over Matt Kuchar. They were among only five players in the elite 18-man field who broke par.

One of them was tournament host Tiger Woods, who had a new driver in the bag and missed only two fairways. The problem was his putter. Woods opened his round by missing a short par putt, and he finished it by missing a 4-foot birdie putt on the 18th. He wound up with a 71.

Kuchar played with Woods -- they were partners at The Presidents Cup -- and hit his approach into 2 feet for birdie on the final hole.

Hunter Mahan and Bubba Watson were at 70. They are among seven players who have yet to win a tournament anywhere in the world this year, even though all 18 players in the World Challenge are in the top 30 in the world ranking.

The tournament counts toward the ranking, though everything else about it is unofficial. For some players, it's a time to shake off some rust and test new equipment. For others, it's the end of a long year.

Johnson had his annual "summit" with his team of coaches at the start of the week. They go over the year, crunch statistics and lay out goals for where to improve in 2014. One of the areas was par-5 scoring.

"A highlight that we're looking into next year is trying to play those holes a little bit better," Johnson said. "(Today,) I hit it close. I had good shots in there with the proper spin, nothing more than that. But you've got to take advantage of them. You've got five of them. The thing is ... one errant shot, you're staring a 6 right in the face, if not more. There's a lot of penal areas."

There was plenty of punishment for some players in the field.

Steve Stricker was among those under par until a bogey-bogey-double bogey finish put him at 75. Jordan Spieth, coming off a sensational rookie season and playing for the first time since the HSBC Champions in Shanghai a month ago, had a 77 and was last in the field. Jason Day, who won the individual and team titles at the ISPS Handa World Cup of Golf two weeks ago at Royal Melbourne, had a 76.

This is the final year the tournament is being played at Sherwood. It moves to Isleworth just outside Orlando, Florida, next year.

Woods has played only one tournament since The Presidents Cup, and that was a tie for third in the Turkish Open. He said he struggled with his irons -- even though he missed only two fairways, he hit just 12 greens -- and couldn't get enough putts to fall.

"I made a few mistakes today," Woods said. "I also hit a couple of good shots that ended up in some interesting spots. That can happen out there. I shot about the score ... maybe could have gotten one or two more out of it."

Johnson had few complaints. He opened with two birdies, and then surged ahead on the back nine with five birdies in a seven-hole stretch, three of them on the par 5s. Johnson has a pair of runner-up finishes at this event, and with the tournament moving, this is his last shot at Sherwood.

"I did everything decent," he said. "Just a real solid day all around. I was aggressive when I needed to be aggressive, and I was conservative when I needed to be conservative. It's nothing more than a decent start."

12/05/2013

Rory Ready for Woods

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Rory McIlroy plays one last tournament the Northwestern Mutual World Challenge hosted by Tiger Woods this week. The last event before in what has been a largely frustrating 2013 campaign.

But a win last Sunday at the Emirates Australian Open has given him the flavour of success once again and no doubt he would like to sign off on a triumphant note at Sherwood Country Club.

"I'm happy this is the last event of the year," McIlroy told reporters, "It will be nice to have a few weeks off.

"This last part of the season was all about trying to build momentum going into 2014, and I feel like for the most part I've done that.

"A couple of good finishes in Asia and I got a win in Australia. I'd love to get myself in the mix this week and finish the season off on a really high note."

Although McIlroy was delighted to end his title drought with a one-shot victory over Adam Scott at Royal Sunday Golf Club, he never felt he needed that win.

"Did I need the win? Probably not," McIlroy said. "Was it nice to get the win? Of course. But I felt like I saw enough good golf in there to know that it was very close, and it wasn't going to be long before I did win.

"Regardless of the results, I knew that my game was coming around, and that was the most important thing. What I was happy with the most was the limited amount of times that I have gotten in contention this year, I have played well.

"I have played well down the stretch. I've played well under pressure, and that is something that I really have improved on the last few years."

"I'm very hard on myself," said the 24-year-old, who clinched his second major title by a record eight shots at last year's PGA Championship.

"I feel like I'm emotionally connected to my golf game in terms of, if I play bad, I'll be in a bad mood. If I play well, I'll be in a good mood. The way I play golf shouldn't determine who I am as a person.

"That's sort of carried through not just in my golf game, it's just how I am, my demeanour and everything. That's something I feel like I've gotten better at and something I need to continue to get better at."

Asked if he was prepared for Thursday's opening round at Sherwood, McIlroy smiled: "Yeah, I'm in a great mood. I'm happy."

12/04/2013

McDowell Enjoys a Challenge

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Graeme McDowell will look to continue his brilliant record in the Northwestern Mutual World Challenge in California this week.

McDowell finished second on his debut in the tournament in 2009 and then won it in both 2010 and 2012.

However the former US Open champion faces a tough task this week as 10 of the 18 competitors in the event, which benefits the Tiger Woods Foundation, have won at least one major title.

Those 10 players include tournament host Tiger Woods and McDowell's compatriot Rory McIlroy, who finally claimed his first victory of 2013 in the Australian Open last week.

Woods is the 5/2 favourite with Sky Bet, with McIlroy an 11/2 chance and McDowell quoted at 11/1.

PGA Tour rookie of the year Jordan Spieth - a 22/1 shot - is the lone debutant in California after replacing the injured Brandt Snedeker.

Spieth, who is now 20, became the first teenager in more than 80 years to win on the PGA Tour when he defeated Zach Johnson and David Hearn in a play-off for the John Deere Classic in July.

Spieth is now targeting success in major championships and he said: "I know what it feels like right now down the stretch at a tour event. I have a feeling it will be a little different kind of pressure in a major championship.

"Nobody knows what it's like unless you've been in it. The only way to get better is to put myself there and learn from the experiences."

The Tiger Woods Foundation announced last month that the event will mark its 16th year in 2014 by relocating to Orlando's Isleworth Golf and Country Club.

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