Tiger and Firestone; a winning combination
If Tiger Woods is unable to finish in the top four during the current ongoing Firestone Country Club then not only will his World no.1 slot be under threat but he might not be able to climb up the ladder again, according to experts.
Woods has had a terrific time on this course as the great golfer has managed to come out on top, seven times. 2008 saw him not in the best of form otherwise the American still was the favourite at that time. Woods performance not only shows dominance but also style. This can be seen from the fact that he thrashed the record score of 269 shots by Jose Maria in just ten shots during the 2000 tournament.
The legendary golfer carded 259 at the Firestone course and managed to establish an amazing record at the course where for years the record was 276 by Lanny Wadkins. Though that record by Lanny at the time was one of the best but now, it has been overshadowed by Tiger’s performance that for years to come will be difficult to beat according to many experts. Tiger Woods not only established a record but managed to do it by doing the unreachable. The truly amazing golfer won by 11 strokes and managed this on a par seventy course with two par fives out of which one is unreachable.
The Firestone course seems to favour him in every possible way and looks to go against every other golfer on the course. Woods came out to win and smash the records during 2000 though he was not in the best of forms, winning a seven hole playoff against Jim Furyk. From then onwards Woods has managed to come up with dominating performances and won every event since 2005 apart from the one in which he did not participate.
Tiger Woods himself said “This is one of my favourite courses, I played here as an amateur and like it ever since I first played here in 1997.” Further, he added “though there have been changes on the course, length has changed a little but it still remains the Firestone course that I like to play on.”
Though Woods is coming to one of his victory courses, but keeping the fact that he is win-less this season makes experts say that his chances of winning are slim. Though Woods has gone back to his old trusted putter that enabled him to win 14 majors but still it does not add up to his good according to reports. The ball change that he opted for, was the golf ball that debuted at AT&T National, was due to the fact that he was lacking when it came to distance.
Woods while talking to the media said that he was not bothered about the fact that other golfers were using hard balls and he was using a shaped one, assuring the media that he could play with that ball too but the golfer wanted to concentrate on technique rather than just going out there and thrashing the ball everywhere. Woods uses a Nike Tour One ball which has a star symbol between the two words.
Tiger, in order to check whether he needed some change as his putter failed him, therefore chose a different putter in the British Open that did not see him perform all that well as once he did. Adding to this the legendary golfer said that he admits the fact that his speed has been the critical issue all throughout the year this far and he is working hard to improve on it.
Keeping in mind the history of Tiger Woods at the Firestone course, he is undoubtedly the favourite to win here but experts doubt it after his current form. Also this should be kept in mind that if Phil Mickelson wins and Woods finishes outside number 4, Phil could be the new World No. 1.
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