GOLF IS DEAD without Tiger

Do you remember the initial reactions after Tiger announced he'll miss the rest of the 2008 golf season?

On Tuesday June 19th, the day after the Monday US Open playoff battle between Tiger Woods and Rocco Mediate, I called a senior producer at Golf Channel I've known for a few years. He was noticeably worried about Tiger's condition because without him their ratings could fall off the charts. In the world of TV, ratings are everything. After the announcement that reconstructive surgery was required, the media immediately reported that all the drama has left the game of golf with Tiger on the sidelines. At that stage of the season, Tiger as player of the year was already a foregone conclusion, with two more majors and the FedEx cup still to be played.

The word circulating around the world of golf news going into the British Open was that golf is dead without Tiger and no one cares about the this major tournament in the middle of July. Just in case you fell into the trap and didn't follow any of the action, you missed enough drama to fill a typical season, and it ain't even over yet.

Here's a recap of the drama you missed, times three:
Playing out exactly according to the historic script, The British Open was played in cold and nasty weather with 30-50 mph winds throughout the tournament. A surprise name familiar to all also surfaced, as Greg Norman went back in time and challenged at the top. I'm sure the early morning ratings skyrocketed, as myself and millions of fans viewed, sentimentally pulling for the great white shark. The early predictions counted out Padraig Harrington the defending champion, due to an injured wrist that almost prevented him from playing. In the same fashion as Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods, Harrington hung in there, letting the field drop out of contention, before taking charge on the back nine of the final round to win.

Suddenly there was a back-to-back British Open champion and a European to boot, both rarities. Immediately the media counted out any chance of Harrington winning the PGA because Kenny Perry was the favorite and Phil Mickelson is always expected to win if Tiger isn't there. Besides, Tiger is the only player in many a year to win this often, so we're not used to picking the same guy to win too often. Ironically, Perry had to withdraw due to an eye problem.

In what started out as a ho-hum major tournament played on a monster of a course, the PGA at Oakland Hills in Michigan played out as a significant event in the history of golf.With a rainout on the Saturday third round, the players were forced to play 36-holes on Sunday. The leader board changed throughout the day and going into the final round Sergio Garcia, Ben Curtis and Padraig Harrington rose to the top and were tied after 16 holes. Once again Harrington took over with a birdie on 17 and a scrambling par on 18 to win back-to-back majors and three of the last six. Tiger who?

So much for the regular season, bring on the playoffs. For the second year golf has a second season. Like most other sports, golf has it's version of the playoffs and it's Super Bowl equivalent called the FedEx Cup, a $10 million prize to the winner. Also like other sports, the regular season standings only got you in or out of the playoff season, which consists of four events. Now you'd better perform or your season could end quickly.

The opening tournament, the Barclays was played at Ridgewood Country Club in Paramus, New
Jersey. After three days of many players jockeying for position at the top, tour rookie Kevin Streelman was the leader going into the final round. On the back nine, where most tournaments really begin, the cream rose to the top as Vijay Singh and Sergio Garcia battled with surprise co-leader Kevin Sutherland, forcing a 3-way playoff.

Garcia thought he had won it after he drained a 30-foot uphill birdie putt on the 18th hole, but Singh spoiled the celebration with a 25-foot gem of his own to extend the playoff between those two players. When Garcia found the trees off the tee on the par five 17th hole Singh took over, by bombing a perfect drive, then easily reaching in two and making a 2-putt birdie. The win vaulted Vijay into the FedEx Cup playoff lead.

Personally, I like watching good golf and think it's very entertaining. Because the tournament was in New Jersey I attended round one and watched good golf up close and personal. The difference was that unlike other tournaments where I moved all around following different players, I followed one group primarily this time and one player in particular. What I noticed earlier in the season was how naturally he performed Thumbs Up on the back swing and Thumbs Down at impact.

60 second golf tip:
What I've noticed as the main difference between amateurs and pros is how naturally pros load up the wrists on the back swing and strike down on the ball with active hands through the impact zone. Because it happens so fast, it takes the Biz Hub super slow motion cameras as shown on the telecasts, to actually see what their hands are doing as they make contact and continue into their follow-throughs. To get a better idea of what I call My Secret, checkout this page: http://www.golfinstructionmadesimple.com/MySecret/MySecret.htm