We wondered what it would look like when Scottie Scheffler figured out the putter.
1 for 41 consecutive weeks.
But the putter kept him from running away with tournaments like he did on Sunday.
Other players knew this.
They found it in Orlando.
For his competitors, with major season approaching, thats downright ominous.
But that’s good.
Not sure I’m one of them."
As for Scheffler, he was characteristically low-key and humble after the win, his seventh on tour.
Thats not his style, and he credited the breakthrough to sticking with the process.
Part of the problem is just trying too hard.
It’s not like I’ve been a bad putter my whole career.
I’ve just gone through a stretch where it’s been tough.
You get the sense there are more five-shot wins in his future.
As for whether hes going to keep this putter around for good…thats still a what-have-you-done-for-me-lately business.
A sobering reminder of the reality he faces.
He was light on details but there was ample justification for optimism.
Perhaps throw in the Memorial or Bay Hill.
It was the most upbeat hed sounded about his health since the accident.
That wasnt possible before the ankle surgery.
But is it even possible now?
He looked pretty good physically in the Bahamas, walking the same on Sunday as he did on Thursday.
The culprit was the flu.
Tiger fans breathed a sigh of relief.
As long as its not the leg or the back.
He even walked the course!
Another sigh of relief.
Hed turn up at TPC Sawgrass to being his Masters prep in earnest.
Woods will skip this weeks Players Championship for the fourth straight year.
The question is why?
Is the back giving him problems?
Hes had a month to recover from that flu and from the pre-tournament ramp up he did before Riviera.
Woods surely wants to be at TPC Sawgrass.
Hes going to be the Vice President of the new PGA Tour enterprises.
He has poured countless hours into reshaping the future of the PGA Tour.
So why isnt he playing?
Its likely some combination of the above.
That is…not a great sign for his future prospects as a golfer.
He is 48 years old with a fused back and a fused ankle.
He has completed 72 holes in an official event just twice since the 2020 Masters.
Did he really think back in December he could play once a month?
Was he saying that with an eye toward the negotiation with Strategic Sports Group?
(A PGA Tour with Tiger playing once a month is a more valuable PGA Tour.)
Has something happened we dont know about?
Such is the plight of Tiger Woods the golfer in 2024.
The good news is he has plenty to occupy his time outside the ropes.
All the work left with PGA Tour Enterprises.
Still, it wont be the same next week without Tiger Woods.
On one side you have the superstars, the one-name players, the PIP winners.
You know who they are.
Those were the players behind the signature-event model thats been received with mixed reviews in its second season.
In turn, that means more money for everyone.
Rory McIlroys leading the charger.
He reiterated his stance at Bay Hill.
Im all for making it more cut throat, more competitive, McIlroy told reporters on Friday.
Wyndham Clark backed him up on Saturday.
It would be exciting.
So, yeah, I’m probably with Rory on that.
Clark was hammered by comment warriors and by other players for this stance given his career arc.
Clark played five years on Tour as one of those rank-and-file guys who doesnt really move the needle.
Then he got his mental game dialed and became a PIP-level guy.
Of course, now that hes in the in crowd he wants to end the shop.
Thats how the backlash went.
I see it differently; hes saying even he shouldnt be safe.
What hes advocating for is the ultimate meritocracy.
Think of it like the Premier League in soccer.
Everyone starts at 0 every year.
The bottom three move down.
The top three from the second division move up.
And hed likely tell you he didnt deserve anything until he started winning.
It wasnt the most artful way to say it, but the harsh criticism wasnt fair.
Stars differentiate themselves in part with how much better than play than the rank-and-file every week.
If theres no rank-and-file, theres no point of comparison for starts.
I dont like the idea at all, Glover toldAdam Schupak of Golfweek.
I just dont see what was so bad out here that we had to do all this.
Im with Glover, I think.
Keep the signature events with their huge purses, which will attract the top players.
But theres no reason Riviera and Bay Hill couldnt have had fuller fields with a more legitimate cut.
Thats a key differentiator between the PGA Tour and LIV Golf.
On the whole, with professional golf, I dont believe that less players makes for a better tournament.
I dont think thats a smart move for the PGA Tour.
Hell play the Asian Tour event this week for more tournament reps before making his stateside debut in Miami.
Were learning the extent of his off-the-gridness and its genuinely admirable.
Theyre hoping to do it before he plays Miami.
Im sorry, what?!
He also didnt know how to use a TrackManDJ had to help him in Saudi Arabia.
That might be even crazier.
Go to any driving range at any professional event and youll see launch monitors everywhere.
They have become a crucial tool in the modern professionals arsenal.
Its how they check numbers, launch angles, spin rates, equipment, all that stuff.
And AK, it seems, might never have used one before last week.
That rule changed in 2019.
It all begs the question: how much has this guy been practicing, if at all?
What was he doing before Jeddah?
I guess its encouraging that he still has so many tools at his disposal that he simply hasnt used.
You know, like getting the right clubs.
A second win just six months later portended a superstar career.
He failed to secure a PGA Tour card and never made a Ryder Cup team.
Then he fell off the golfing planet.
Manasseros game completely disappeared.
He couldnt make a cut on the Challenge Tour.
When play restarted he simply birdied the final two for a 66 and a three-shot victory.
He was, understandably, elated.
Wyndham Clark couldnt stay out of the headlines this week.
Dan Hicks and Luke Donald were noticeably uncomfortable.
Happens all the time.
Doesnt mean its right.
Look, theres zero percent chance Clark was trying to cheat.
Still, this practice should probably stop across the board and he in particular needs to be more careful.
Surely he knows that after seeing the clips.
(Which is lame and cheapens the Presidents Cup, but such are the times in professional golf.)
But the $4 million probably makes that feel a bit better.
LIVs Asian swing is now over and theyll hold their first U.S. event in Miami in two weeks time.
It’s Players Championship week, the crowned-jewel event of the PGA Tour.
I was stunned to see they’re still going with the “The Best Field in Golf” tagline.
Either way, always a fun week and the first truly big-time tournament of the year.
From now on it’s one a month through July.
Players, right into major season.
Until next time,Dan
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