Tiger Woods has always fed off the huge throngs that show up to try and watch every shot he hits in a golf tournament.
Woods admits that he feeds off the energy those crowds create.
Now, Tiger’s feeling the silence and he’s had a hard time getting on a roll.
Tiger finally got his act together early Sunday at the Northern Trust as he played with Rory McIlroy for the second straight day. The two stars played on Saturday and floundered their way around TPC Boston. McIlroy made a mess of the front nine and would go on to shoot 74. Woods had trouble with his irons and his short game and wasn’t much better, clipping Rory by a shot with 73.
But on Sunday, Tiger went on a front nine run, six birdies a single bogey and a 31 going out. “I got off to an ideal start, I just didn’t keep it going,” Woods said after he signed for 66, his best score since the restart. “I hit it a lot better today. A much better, cleaner round.”
Woods also admitted he’s “absolutely” lost some of his advantage, which is knowing how to handle the circus-like atmosphere that comes with being in one of his group. “You don’t have the same type of energy,” Woods said. “Guys aren’t shooting as high of rounds as they normally would.”
As for McIlroy, his game is not in good shape.
“This is going to sound really bad,” McIlroy said after shooting 69. “But I feel like the last few weeks, I’ve just been going through the motions. I want to get an intensity and some sort of fire, but I just haven’t been able to. That’s partly to do with the atmosphere and partly to do with how I’m playing. I’m not inspiring myself and I’m definitely trying to get inspiration from outside sources to get something going.”
Tiger’s finish at six-under was tied for 58th and dropped him from 49th to 58th in the points race. He’ll need a strong performance at the BMW to make it to East Lake.
As for McIlroy, his two-under total left him tied for 65th but he’s guaranteed a spot at East Lake. He started this week eighth but dropped out of the top 10 and is 12th going to Olympia Fields.
Scottie Scheffler’s Caddie Goes Down:
Golf is a non-contact sport but Scottie Scheffler lost his caddie on the ninth hole of Sunday’s final round.
Scheffler said that his caddie, Scott McGuiness, injured his right leg when he jumped to see where Scheffler’s ball had finished on the ninth hole. McGuiness went down and was unable to walk. The paramedics were called in and McGuiness was taken away on a medical cart.
“He had the bag on his back and went down pretty quick after,” Scheffler said. “We didn’t know what happened at the time, but he couldn’t stand up. Obviously, he wasn’t going to be able to keep going.”
Scheffler finished out the hole and on the way to the 10th tee met his replacement caddie, Eric Ledbetter, who is one of the assistant pros at TPC Boston. Scheffler bogeyed the next hole, No. 10, before steadying himself. He went on to finish the day with an even par 71 and tied for fourth at 17-under par. He moved from 24th to 14th in the FedEx Cup standings.
Scheffler said he should know more about McGuiness’ status on Monday morning, after an exam. It was a wild week for the 24-year-old rookie who shot 59 on Friday, the 12th sub-60 score in Tour history.
Mickelson Begins Play At Schwab Series:
After failing to advance to the BMW, Phil Mickelson said last Friday he’d make his debut on the Champions Tour. He makes his over-50 circuit debut today when the first round of the second Schwab Series event gets underway at Big Cedar Lodge.
The field will be playing the Ozarks National Course.
Earlier this month, Jim Furyk won his debut on the Champions Tour. Mickelson wants to stay active as he preps for the upcoming U.S. Open at Winged Foot. Mickelson is not expected to split his time between the regular PGA Tour and the Champions Tour but could play in one or two more on the senior circuit this season.
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