Tiger Woods took another step into golfing immortality Sunday with his 73rd career win to tie Jack Nicklaus on the all time PGA Tour wins list.

Nicklaus did not get his 73rd PGA Tour win until the age of 46, although it was his sixth Masters win. Tiger is only 36.

Sam Snead is next on the list for Tiger with 82 official career wins. Sam would argue with you that he had a dozen or so more wins that the PGA does not recognize. He put the prize money in his pocket nonetheless.

If Tiger can average three wins per year he will pass “Slammin’ Sammy” sometime in 2015.

Can Tiger win more than 100 PGA titles before he hangs up his spikes?

Tiger was struggling coming into the 2012 Memorial. He did have a win at the Arnold Palmer Invitational and a runner-up at the Honda in March.

In his last three starts, however, he had missed cuts at the Wells Fargo and the Players plus he had an unspectacular T-40 at the 2012 Masters.

Tiger obviously did his homework over the past few weeks at his compound in Jupiter Island. He played very much like the old Tiger all four days.

He struck the ball beautifully on Thursday and Friday. Tiger made nine birdies over his first 36 holes. The only blemishes on his cards were two double-bogeys, one on each day.

His strong play continued through the front nine on Saturday posting a near perfect two under-par 34.

Swirling winds, cool conditions and a fever of over 100 degrees took their toll physically and Tiger limped home on the back nine with four bogeys and a lone birdie at No. 13.

Saturday’s round is what really won the 2012 Memorial for Tiger Woods. Even though he was struggling physically he was able to keep the damage to a minimum and get into the house with a one over-par 73.

He was able to stay in touch with the leaders and gave himself a chance to post a good score on Sunday.

Saturday’s round was the artwork of a true craftsman.

On Sunday Tiger was paired with the ever colorful and dapper Rickie Fowler.

Woods had plenty of motivation to play well on Sunday.

First he needed to put the young upstart Fowler, who had just picked up his first PGA Tour win at the very same Wells Fargo Championship where Tiger had missed the cut, in his place.

Second Tiger needed to play well to dispel the bad play coming into the Memorial and a win at Jack’s Place to tie him at 73 career wins was a plus.

Rickie birdied his first hole on Sunday but after that was a non-factor. He carded a forgettable 84 but did have a front row seat to Tiger’s magic.

Even Rickie’s all-orange wardrobe couldn’t get him TV time on Sunday. He became completely consumed inside Tiger’s vortex.

Take a lesson Rickie, that’s how you close out a golf tournament.

Tiger hit 13 of 14 fairways on Sunday. He led the field in greens in regulation for the week and hit 14 of 18 greens in the final round.

He made birdies early and often on the front nine. With four birdies in his first seven holes, he applied pressure on the pretenders, Spencer Levin and Rory Sabbatini.

Although Sabbatini played well at times, he eventually succumbed to the “Tiger roar.”

Levin struggled through the entire round on Sunday and finished with a 75, good for a T-4. It’s all part of the learning process on the PGA Tour, Spencer.

Tiger birdied three of his last four holes, including an all-world chip-in for birdie at 16.

His 9-iron from the fairway at the last to the back middle portion of the green, spinning the ball back down to 8 feet and the subsequent birdie putt to seal the deal was golfing perfection.

This win moves Tiger to the No. 3 spot on the 2012 FedEx Cup standings and to No. 4 on the Official World Golf Rankings.

Look out Rory and Luke! The Tiger is on the prowl.

Oh and by the way, the U. S. Open will be played in two weeks at Olympic Club in San Francisco.

Methinks Mr. Woods is chomping at the bit to get going and collect his 15th major title.

Look out, Jack! Here comes Tiger.

For more golf tips and video, visit www.toledoohiogolflessons.com. Follow on Twitter: @tolohgolfr.

Tags: Fred Altvater, Jack Nicklaus’ Memorial Golf Tournament, Sam Snead, The Back Nine, Tiger Woods

This entry was posted on Monday, June 4th, 2012 at 6:02 pm and is filed under Uncategorized.
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The weather is always an issue at the Memorial. Warm, sunny conditions in the weeks preceding the tournament had the course playing firm and fast on Thursday.

Heavy thunderstorms moved through the Dublin, Ohio, area on Friday morning and play was halted for nearly two hours.

The course played much longer after the rains, and the greens were much more receptive to approach shots.

The temperature dropped, especially late in the afternoon, and the winds were strong.

The players felt that they had been transported to Scotland rather than just outside of Columbus.

World ranked No. 2 Rory McIlroy made a quadruple-bogey at the par-3 No. 12 (his third hole) on Thursday but battled back to post a one under-par 71.

His Thursday round included four birdies, an eagle and a bogey. Probably not the consistency Rory is looking for this near to defending his U.S. Open title.

Rory could not get anything going on Friday and never seemed to be in sync with his swing or game.

He made two bogeys in carding a 38 on his first nine holes and completely lost his game on the back side.

He made two double-bogeys on the second nine plus another bogey for a 41, which gave him a total of 79. His 71-79 = 150 was six shots over par for the tournament and three shots over the cut line.

Looks like Rory will have some extra time to spend with main squeeze tennis star, Caroline Wozniacki, this weekend.

Phil Mickelson made a brief appearance at the Memorial this year. He shot a first round 79 on Thursday, signed his card, and jumped on his jet and flew out of town, citing “mental fatigue.”

Poor boy had just come off of a week in Europe with his wife. Most husbands will be able to relate to his pain.

It is believed that Phil may have been making a statement to the PGA Tour concerning cell phone usage on the golf course. He and playing companion, Bubba Watson, complained often to marshals about interruption from fans taking pictures with their phones.

Ricky Fowler carded a one under-par 71, playing in the same grouping with Bubba and Phil. Cell phones did not seem to bother him.

Central Ohio golf fans, tournament host Jack Nicklaus and sponsor Nationwide Insurance deserve more from Hall of Fame member Mickelson.

Perhaps the biggest developing story involves none other than Tiger Woods.

Tiger heads into the weekend at five under par, just one shot behind tournament leader Rory Sabbatini.

He has played solid golf over the first 36 holes. He has hit 20 of 28 fairways, 26 greens in regulation and only taken 56 putts.

His only mishaps have been a double-bogey on No. 18 (his ninth hole) on Thursday and another double yesterday at the difficult par-3 No. 12.

More importantly he is controlling the trajectory, shape and distance of his iron shots with precision. He has hit some magnificent approach shots into the greens.

He is playing golf rather than worrying about his swing. It is a beautiful thing to watch when Tiger Woods is on top of his golf game.

If he can continue to strike the ball with the accuracy and confidence that he has shown over the first two rounds, he will be tough to beat on Sunday.

For more golf tips and video, visit www.toledoohiogolflessons.com. Follow on Twitter: @tolohgolfr.

Tags: Fred Altvater, Jack Nicklaus’ Memorial Golf Tournament, Phil Mickelson, Rory McIlroy, The Back Nine, Tiger Woods

This entry was posted on Saturday, June 2nd, 2012 at 6:00 pm and is filed under Golf, Sports, The Back Nine.
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Phil Mickelson jumped on his jet Thursday evening and flew out of Columbus.

He had just shot a first round 79 at a challenging Muirfield Village Golf Club and was 13 shots behind leader Scott Stallings.

Phil cited “mental fatigue.”

Phil made double bogey at the par-4 No. 2 on his way to a one over-par 37 on the front nine.

He added another double at the par-3 No. 16 and played seven holes, 12-18, at seven over par and turned in an ugly 42 on the back nine.

Phil Mickelson is a member of the World Golf Hall of Fame. He has won 40 PGA Tour events and four major championships. Phil has spent countless hours signing autographs and helped raise millions of dollars for charity. He is an all around good guy.

To withdraw from Jack Nicklaus’ Memorial Tournament after a poor first round is more than just a little irresponsible.

You will probably not read much about Phil’s withdrawal in the national golf media because Phil is such a good guy and has built up plenty of goodwill among the golf beat writers.

Phil may be making a statement to the PGA Tour about the misuse of cell phones by the golf fans at tour events.

Message received Phil.

Golf fans in central Ohio; the Memorial’s main sponsor, Nationwide Insurance; and golf legend Jack Nicklaus deserve better.

Couldn’t you have just texted?

For more golf tips and video, visit www.toledoohiogolflessons.com. Follow on Twitter: @tolohgolfr.

Tags: Fred Altvater, Jack Nicklaus’ Memorial Golf Tournament, Muirfield Village Golf Club, Phil Mickelson, The Back Nine

This entry was posted on Saturday, June 2nd, 2012 at 2:00 pm and is filed under Golf, Sports, The Back Nine.
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Jack Nicklaus honored one of his old playmates on Wednesday at the Memorial Golf tournament.

Tom Watson and Jack Nicklaus had some very tense battles on the golf course throughout their careers.

The 1977 Open Championship at Turnberry will forever be known as the “Duel in the Sun.” Nicklaus and Watson battled all four days through the gorse and over the heath in Scotland.

The 1982 U.S. Open at Pebble Beach again came down to a Nicklaus-Watson confrontation on the final day with Tom making that famous chip-in on the 71st hole at the par-3 No. 17 while Jack was waiting in the clubhouse to pick up the trophy.

Tom Watson won five Open championships, two Masters’ green jackets, and one U.S. Open Championship. He won 39 PGA Tour events and 14 Champions Tour events.

He was the leading money winner on the PGA Tour five times and was named PGA Player of the Year five times.

He won the Vardon Trophy three times and was enshrined into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 1988.

Nearly as important as all of these accomplishments, he provided a worthy opponent for Jack Nicklaus in the late 1970s and early 1980s.

Watson learned the game at the feet of Byron Nelson and has been a true gentleman and ambassador for the game of golf for many years.

He even tried to pull off the unthinkable and win a sixth Open Championship at the ripe old age of 59.

Tom Watson has had a remarkable golf career.

It is only proper that he is the 2012 Memorial Tournament Honoree.

For more golf tips and video, visit www.toledoohiogolflessons.com. Follow on Twitter: @tolohgolfr.

Tags: Fred Altvater, Jack Nicklaus, Jack Nicklaus’ Memorial Golf Tournament, The Back Nine, Tom Watson

This entry was posted on Friday, June 1st, 2012 at 3:00 am and is filed under Golf, Sports, The Back Nine.
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Bubba Watson is at Muirfield Village this week for Jack Nicklaus’ Memorial Golf Tournament.

Bubba was T-18 at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans in his only other start since his win at the Masters in early April.

He met with the press on Tuesday and was jovial, upbeat and very candid with the golf media.

He made it through the entire interview without crying once.

He has been busy adjusting to family life with his newly adopted son and the increased fame from his Masters win.

Bubba and his wife are still completing the lengthy adoption process because of the extensive paperwork involved with the change of his Arizona address to his new Florida address.

Bubba still thinks it is “cool” that the press wants to talk to him and is interested in what he has to say.

He took 2½ weeks off and since then has been playing and practicing at his new home at Isleworth in Orlando.

Watson expects to hit some quality shots, make the cut on Friday, and be top 25 at the Memorial.

He said his game is all about driving the ball well off of the tee: “Everything revolves around good tee shots.”

When asked about the U.S. Open at Olympic Club in San Francisco, “I have heard reports that it is unplayable, so I can’t wait to get there,” then chuckled.

After watching Bubba hit 140-yard wedge shots on the range Tuesday morning, it appears that time off and fatherhood are good for his golf game.

For more golf tips and video, visit www.toledoohiogolflessons.com. Follow on Twitter: @tolohgolfr.

Tags: Bubba Watson, Fred Altvater, Jack Nicklaus’ Memorial Golf Tournament, Muirfield Village, PGA Tour, The Back Nine

This entry was posted on Wednesday, May 30th, 2012 at 9:12 am and is filed under Golf, Sports, The Back Nine.
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