Rory McIlroy’s Misses Not Getting Smaller, but Silver Lining is on the Horizon

Rory McIlroy’s Misses Not Getting Smaller, but Silver Lining is on the Horizon
McIlroy Shoots His Worse Opening-round Score on the PGA Tour at the Memorial











Chris Chaney May 30, 2013 9:43 PM

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Rory McIlroy watches a shot during the first round at the Memorial Tournament. (Getty Images)




COMMENTARY | Golf is not a game of perfect; golf is a game of misses and for Rory McIlroy in 2013, those misses have simply been too costly.

"My misses this year have been too wide," McIlroy said the Wednesday before the Memorial when asked wha
t's the reason he hasn't won yet this season. "Last year if I missed a fairway or missed a shot, it wasn't by much. This year it seems the misses have been big and have cost me… Sometimes in golf it's not about how good your good shots are, it's about how much damage your bad shots do to you."



Those misses continued to plague McIlroy as he opened Jack Nicklaus' tournament at Muirfield Village Golf Club in Dublin, Ohio with a 6-over par 78, his worst opening-round score on the PGA Tour.

"The game just isn't all there at the minute," McIlroy said following the round. "I'm pretty frustrated. I'm trying not to let it get to me. I don't have any explanations for it."

Here's an explanation for it: not only were McIlroy's misses with his woods and irons as equally off target, but they've crept onto the putting surface. McIlroy slapped it around the pristine and pure Muirfield greens 33 times on Thursday, including a four-putt on the 12th hole (his third of the day).

The usual suspects have come up in conversation about what's wrong with Rors: the new Nike clubs, the tennis-star girlfriend, the management company split. The excuses are as numerous and wild as the hairs on McIlroy's head.

Perhaps the biggest culprit of McIlroy's latest slump is that it's been too long since his last one, which came just about a year ago this month.

Ever the streaky player, McIlroy jettisoned off to a hot start in 2012 finishing in the top-3 (including a win at the Honda) in four of his first five tournaments of the season. Then things went a bit sideways. He missed the cut at the Players, then again at the Memorial. Two weeks later, he missed the cut at the US Open. And remember, at this point McIlroy was the top-ranked player in the world.

The same questions were brought up during that slump. Is he spending too much time with Caroline Wozniacki? Can he handle the pressures of being one of the most sought-after commodities in the sports world? Does he have the drive to be great or did success come too easily?

Then what did McIlroy do amid a cloud of doubt? Top-fived at the WGC-Bridgestone, won the PGA Championship by eight strokes, won two of the four FedEx Cup Playoff events and captured the money list titles on both the PGA and European Tours.

Gone were the doubts about his stability, his resiliency and his relationship status. We forgot about the drop off in May and June. Slump? What slump? This is the guy who's going to challenge Tiger Woods for the next 10 years, we said. We were certain of it.

Yet, here we are again, questioning what is going on with an admittedly streaky player.

"It feels like I'm waiting for that week where everything sort of clicks into place and I can get some momentum from that," McIlroy said later in that same Wednesday press conference. "A bit like last year where I got the top‑5 at Akron before the PGA and that gave me a little bit of momentum and I was able to kick on from there. I'm just waiting for one of those weeks."

It will be tough for this to be the week that everything clicks, especially given the hole he dug himself through one round.

However, with McIlroy, he is always one round away. One round away from knocking down every flagstick on the course with his irons and rolling in every putt he looks at.

So instead of trying to diagnose what's wrong with McIlroy, maybe we should just consider the player and his history. This isn't a new phenomenon; we have the scouting report on Rory: amazing highs with questionable lows, but all the talent in the world.

Right now, McIlroy is floundering in one of those lows, but his ascension back to the top of his game could come as soon as his next range session.

Chris Chaney is a Cincinnati, Ohio-based sportswriter. He has written for multiple outlets including WrongFairway.com, Hoopville.com, The Cincinnati (OH) Enquirer and The Clermont (OH) Sun.

Follow him on Twitter @Wrong_Fairway.

Is Guan Tianlang Actually Hurting Professional Golf?

Is Guan Tianlang Actually Hurting Professional Golf?











Adam Fonseca May 30, 2013 11:21 PM




COMMENTARY | In his first round of the Memorial Tournament on Thursday, 14-year-old Guan Tianlang fired an even-par 72 on one of the toughest courses on the PGA Tour schedule, Muirfield Village.

For those keeping score at home, Guan's score was better than that
of 10 former major winners also playing that day. Tiger Woods shot a 71; a mere shot better than a player 23 years his junior.



This kid has serious game and he isn't afraid to compete against the best players in the world on the grandest of stages. But is Guan Tianlang inadvertently shining a spotlight on what is wrong with professional golf in the process?

When Guan exploded onto the golf scene in November 2012 by winning the Asia-Pacific Amateur - thus qualifying for The Masters five months later -- his success was met with as much criticism as accolades. Not only was a player who can't legally drive himself to the course beating golfers twice his age, he also managed to take away one of the most coveted invitations in all of sports from those same players.

PGA Tour players Charlie Beljan and Matt Every complained about Guan's inclusion at Augusta National, stating they were more deserving of an invitation to the year's first major. Most golf fans brushed away their comments as sour grapes… but did the PGA veterans have a point?

Watching Guan play in a professional golf tournament goes exactly how one would suspect. He will usually hit driver off the tee when not playing a par-3, swinging as hard as his adolescent frame will allow. Guan's approach shot usually requires a hybrid or fairway wood, which he again attacks with free-swinging abandon. A chip and a putt or two later, Guan escapes with par or bogey and moves on to the next hole.

How is a 14-year-old able to accomplish this with the relative ease of any tour journeyman? By the miracles of modern golf technology! That's how.

Professional golf is a sport once defined by unparalleled precision and pinpoint-accurate ballstriking. In the days of persimmon drivers, balata golf balls and butter knife-esque blades, players were literally surgeons on the course. Distance came at a premium for only the strongest players while shorter players were forced to excel in the art of shot shaping.

As golf clubs and equipment have evolved over the years, so has the margin of error for today's players. Driver clubheads more closely resemble car hubcaps in both size and material. Cavity back and forged irons blast shots further than any fairway wood dreamed to achieve decades ago. Wedges are milled with grooves that literally grab onto today's multi-layered golf balls, generating spin rates and ball flights that would make Isaac Newton blush.

In other words, today's equipment allows professionals to swing as hard as they want with minimal uncertainty of where their ball will end up.

Of course, this is not to suggest that today's professional golfer is by any means less talented or dedicated to his craft as those of yesteryear. Furthermore, what Guan Tianlang is accomplishing in 2013 is both inspiring and historic. He has made two consecutive PGA Tour cuts and is well on his way to a third. I will be the first to admit I am excited and anxious to see what this young man will accomplish next.

But let's not fool ourselves by overlooking the obvious: today's golf equipment has made the game substantially easier for the world's best players, and Guan Tianlang is doing his best to capitalize on a golden opportunity.



Adam Fonseca has been covering professional golf since 2005. His work can be found on numerous digital outlets including the Back9Network and SB Nation. He currently lives in Chicago with his wife. Follow Adam on Twitter @chicagoduffer.

Tiger Woods Should Suck it Up and Put Steve Stricker on His Payroll

Tiger Woods Should Suck it Up and Put Steve Stricker on His Payroll
The World No. 1’s Putting Leaves Something to Be Desired











Chris Chaney May 31, 2013 4:56 PM

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Tiger Woods and Steve Stricker. (Getty Images)




COMMENTARY | Tiger Woods has always been a great putter.

The flat stick has been the one facet of his game that has consistently been the saving grace for the majority of his career (save for the dark ages, between late 2009-2010 when everything was off). Different swings, big misses and even altering brands of putters have come and gone, but his buttery stroke has remained in tact.

With his new Sean Foley swing now ingrained into his muscle memory, Woods has been able to really go to work on his
short game. Never one to seek out professional help with his putting in his formative years because his father had a keen eye for the stroke, Woods has enlisted only friendly advice since Earl Woods' passing in 2006.



That friendly advice has come more often than not from close buddy and Ryder/Presidents Cup partner Steve Stricker.

Stricker gave Woods his most famous lesson ahead of the World Golf Championships Cadillac Championship earlier this year en route to Woods' best putting week of his career. That would be his entire career, not just his post-hydrant career.

It would seem that Woods has begun to misremember or improperly incorporate the tips "Stricks" -- as Woods calls him -- gave him nearly three months ago.

Take the first two rounds of this week's Memorial Tournament for example. Over two rounds at a course he owns, Woods is 1-over par and has jacked it around the greens 60 times already. And he's hitting the ball well -- 24/28 fairways; 23/36 greens in regulation.

So the question has to be raised: why doesn't Woods put Stricker on his payroll? Woods' notoriously tight-knit inner circle wouldn't be compromised with an already indoctrinated member joining the ranks and realistically, it wouldn't have to be too much of a time drain on either party. A la Jack Nicklaus and his swing coach Jack Grout, Woods and Stricker would need to only meet a few times a year to brush things up, refine the fundamentals that have gotten a little loose and watch the results and money roll in.

Woods had already won once on Tour in 2013 prior to Stricker giving him some refreshers on his posture, but since the lesson, Woods has won three of the four other tournaments he has teed it up in (the only non-win was a T4 at Augusta).

That is to say, Woods is going to win tournaments simply because he's Tiger Woods. But with a practiced eye focused the most impactful part of the game, Woods could reach heights that perhaps even he hasn't seen before.

Woods ball-striking is the best it's been in years; his wedge game is on point, hitting the ball to an average of 16-feet-3 inches from the hole from inside 150 yards and his driving accuracy is giving him more opportunities than ever. As the poster boy for recovering from trouble, the only thing keeping Woods from blowing out fields is a putter that isn't always clicking; he's still winning, but not by the margins you or I know he is capable of.

Perhaps it's a matter of principle keeping Woods from reaching out to Stricker. Although semi-retired, Stricker is still ranked 12th in the world and arguably playing some of the best golf of his career despite his reigned in schedule.

More than likely, however, Woods' decision not to throw Stricker on his payroll has to do with pride and the memory of his father. Woods has never been one to ask for help, nor believe that anyone knows his game better than himself. Yet, the outside perspective from a friend like Stricker is something that could transform the 2013 Tiger Woods into an even better version of himself.

All he needs is a little help from his friend.

Chris Chaney is a Cincinnati, Ohio-based sportswriter. He has written for multiple outlets including WrongFairway.com, Hoopville.com, The Cincinnati (OH) Enquirer and The Clermont (OH) Sun.

Follow him on Twitter @Wrong_Fairway.

Miller Barber dies at 82

Miller Barber dies at 82










The Sports Xchange June 13, 2013 12:50 AMThe SportsXchange



Miller Barber, whose 1,297 combined starts on the PGA Tour and Senior Tour are an all-time record, died Tuesday at age 82.

His son, Richard Barber, told the New York Times thatBarber died in Scottsdale, Ariz., of lymphoma.

Barber earned 11 wins on the PGA Tour, then won 24 times on the senior circuit. He was noted for his unorthodox swing, in which his right elbow moved away from his body.

"We are saddened by the passing of Miller Barber," PGA Tour commissioner Tim Finchem wrote in a statement. "He was a wonderful player who made his mark on the PGA Tour with 11 victories and then really excelled onChampions Tour, becoming one of its best players in the tour's formative years. Miller and the Champions Tour's other early stars helped establish the tour and make it the tremendous success it has become. Golf has lost a great man and competitor."

Known by the nickname "Mr. X," Barber won five majors on the Senior Tour. He captured the 1981 PGA Seniors' Championship, the 1983 Senior Players' Championship, and the U.S. Senior Open in 1982, 1984 and 1985.

His best result in a major on the PGA Tour was tie for fourth in the 1971 PGA Championship. He had six other top-10 finishes, two of them in the PGA Championship, and one each in the U.S. Open, British Open and the Masters. Barber finished in the top team in each of those events in 1969.

Pro golfer Ricky Barnes wrote on Twitter, "Just got bad news in the golf world. Lost a great player, but a better man. U will be missed Miller Barber"

Phil Mickelson chooses fatherhood first, then races toward top of U.S. Open leaderboard

Phil Mickelson chooses fatherhood first, then races toward top of U.S. Open leaderboard











Eric Adelson June 13, 2013 11:49 AMYahoo Sports





ARDMORE, Pa. – Phil Mickelson showed up to the U.S. Open on Thursday. He didn't do much before the rains came at Merion Golf Club to suspend play, but he showed up for work, with 90 minutes to spare, at 5:37 a.m, and went on to fire a 3-under 67 to put him in the lead.



He cut it so close because he wanted to show up earlier this week in San Diego, for his oldest daughter's eighth-grade graduation. Amanda Mickelson is done with junior high now, going on to high school. Yeah, it's only an eighth-grade graduation, and Mickelson lost valuable practice time (not to mention sleep) while his competitors got familiar with a complex course. Amanda said she understood if Dad wanted to stay in Philadelphia. It's the US Open. But Dad said, "I want to be there." So he flew overnight, coast-to-coast, from his home in San Diego to his place of work, which this week is Philadelphia.

He slept two hours on the plane, one before tee time and one more during the weather delay, which halted play for some three hours.

"I feel great," he said after his round.

[Related: Phil Mickelson's recent surge puts him in U.S. Open discussion]

Mickelson wanted to be there 14 years ago, when he carried a pager around at Pinehurst, vowing he would walk off the course and out of the final round of the U.S. Open if his wife, Amy, went into labor. Mickelson finished the tournament, losing in a heartbreaker to Payne Stewart, who walked right over to him on the 18th green, held Mickelson's face in his hands, and told him there was something far more important about to happen: fatherhood.

Amanda Mickelson was born the next day.





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Payne Stewart consoles Phil Mickelson after beating him in the 1999 U.S. Open. (AP)Stewart died in a plane accident four months later. He was 42.



Amanda's dad is now 42.

Parents make the extra effort for their children every single day because they love their babies, but also because they never know what fate might bring. To be a parent is the ultimate celebration of life, but it also comes with the sober and unspoken preparation for the day when you're not there anymore to care for them. We pray that day comes much later on, but we know that's not up to us. Jason Leffler, the NASCAR driver who was killed in a crash just a few miles from here Wednesday night, attended his son's kindergarten graduation just three weeks ago.

Father's Day, always tied to the U.S. Open and the game of golf, can be equal parts jubilant and sad. We are elated to give our kids a hug on Father's Day, and we are crushed when we can't get a hug from a father who is no longer with us. How many sons remember watching the final round of the U.S. Open with our fathers, and how many of us still watch a great putt or sand save and think, Dad would have loved this?

There aren't many golf fans, dads or otherwise, who don't want Phil Mickelson to win a U.S. Open. He's the people's champion, beloved especially here in the Northeast, even though he's from the Southwest. He's been a U.S. Open runner-up five times, sometimes making the same mental mistakes we make on weekends at the muni.

Philadelphia folks got on the train early Thursday to line up in the muddy grass and watch him on 16 –Mickelson started on No. 11 – then they hustled up a steep hill, holding their coffee cups and panting, then scrambling into the grandstands behind 17 only to have to leave moments later when the weather horn blew. They got a glimpse, and when play resumed Mickelson gave them something to cheer about. He carded four birdies on the day – two coming on long birdie putts – against only one bogey. That was good enough to give him the outright lead of a tournament that, in 22 previous attempts, has eluded him.

If he never wins the US Open, Mickelson said it will be "heartbreaking." But, he said, he thinks he will win one.

Mickelson appeals to a lot of dads, with his blend of daring and goofy, cool and seemingly approachable. He has his serious moments and his lighter ones, often within the same few minutes on the same hole. He's been touched by triumph and tragedy, famously leaping two inches off the ground when he won the Masters for the first time, and then sharing a long and emotional embrace with Amy after winning at Augusta in 2010, a year after she was diagnosed with cancer.





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Phil Mickelson with his kids Evan, Amanda, and Sophia at the Masters. (Getty Images)He's been brave and vulnerable, the way a lot of good dads are. He's worked hard, succeeding and failing at work, putting extra time in when he'd rather be home. Yes, it must be nice for a guy with a plane to jet from one coast to the other to play for millions in front of millions. This isn't like driving through snow to drop your daughter off at swim practice at 4 a.m. before going to a construction site. Phil Mickelson is not everyman. But dads can relate. Even though Phil is a celebrity who's as unknowable as Tiger Woods or Rory McIlroy, with him we always seem to relate.



Mickelson looked tired Thursday morning as he walked through the early part of his round. It's the look so many dads know: the weariness of getting up early, or staying up late, making sure the kids get to school or making sure they get home. It may have cost Mickelson a stroke or two, which can be all the difference in this tournament. No matter. Payne Stewart was right: showing up to see your child is the greatest thing a man can ever feel.

Why Tiger Woods Should Be Rooting for a Monday U.S. Open Finish

Why Tiger Woods Should Be Rooting for a Monday U.S. Open Finish











Ryan Ballengee June 13, 2013 12:39 PM


COMMENTARY | Tiger Woods would love to have a case of the Mondays.



The world No. 1's start to his 2013 U.S. Open has been delayed on Thursday because of storms in the Philadelphia area that halted play at Merion Golf Club at 8:36 a.m. ET, with it now set to resume at 12:10 p.m. ET after a delay of 3 hours, 34 minutes. Woods was supposed to tee off at 1:14 p.m. ET with Rory McIlroy and Adam Scott. His tee time is now 4:48 p.m. ET.



Depending on if this is the last of the delays on Thursday, and with another storm coming around 1 p.m. ET it is likely not, Woods -- and the field -- are looking at a long week to determine the national championship.



That could well play into the hands of the 14-time major champion.



Weather delays have been ubiquitous on the PGA Tour in 2013. From wind warnings in Hawaii, to snow in Arizona, to hail in Houston, it's frankly surprising it hasn't rained toads this year. The delays this meteorological minefield has created on seemingly a weekly basis has forced two tournaments to Monday finishes this year: the Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines in January and the Arnold Palmer Invitational at Bay Hill in March.




You have one guess at who won both of those. It was Tiger.



Call it a coincidence if you want, but weather delays that extend the tournament week play into the hands of the most mentally-tough players. Atop that list is Woods, who consistently finds a way to adapt to different playing conditions, flaws in his game that develop over the course of a championship and the ebb and flow of contenders that challenge him.



Woods acknowledged the likelihood of some kind of delay this week on Tuesday, responding like it was no big deal.



"We play so many events and have to deal with weather, it's just part of our sport," he said. "And we deal with delays, we deal with coming in, going back out, playing 36, finishing up rounds. It's just the way it is."



With that attitude, the longer the delay goes on Thursday at Merion, arguably the more it plays into Woods' hands. While other players often see delays as a time to socialize and joke around, Woods will not take his mind off of the task at hand: winning a 15th major championship.


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Remember, too, that Woods won his last major championship on a Monday. Five years ago come Sunday, Woods was taken to the limit by Rocco Mediate in a playoff -- again, at Torrey Pines -- for the 2008 U.S. Open. Woods, competing on essentially one leg because of multiple injuries, finally prevailed on the 19th hole of the playoff in sudden-death.



Seemingly, nothing will happen suddenly this week, but the drawn-out pace at which this U.S. Open is likely to unfold should be an advantage for the game's most patient player.



Ryan Ballengee is a Washington, D.C.-based golf writer. His work has appeared on multiple digital outlets, including NBC Sports and Golf Channel. Follow him on Twitter @RyanBallengee.

Justin Rose Could Spoil Tiger Woods’ Bid for a Fourth US Open

Justin Rose Could Spoil Tiger Woods’ Bid for a Fourth US Open
Does the Englishman Have the Game to Top the World’s Best Player on the Biggest Stage?











Chris Chaney June 13, 2013 1:01 PM




COMMENTARY | All eyes will be focused on the featured group of Tiger Woods, Rory McIlroy and Adam Scott when (and if) they tee off on Thursday afternoon at Merion Golf Club in the fi


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TOUR Championship by Coca-Cola - Round ThreeView »rst round of 113th US Open, but it's a less fawned over Englishman who could steal the show outside of Philadelphia.



J
ustin Rose, the 32-year-old fifth-ranked player in the world has a game custom-made for this year's US Open at Merion.



The classic track has been billed as being passed up by time and technology, playing under 7,000 yards -- the first US Open to do so since 2004 at Shinnecock Hills. And while there is a fair share of birdieable holes through the middle of the course, the closing stretch along with the majority of the par-3s are all the pros can handle. There's no doubt that an all-around game is necessary to tame Lady Merion as one must also possess the mental fortitude that is required around every US Open venue.

Rose has been on top of his game in 2013 and has the numbers to back it up. He is also near the top of a handful of statistical categories that have proven to be key to winning US Opens recently.

The obvious statistics that jump out at even casual fans are hugely important this week. For example, US Opens are known for their prodigiously thick rough. This week is no exception, meaning driving accuracy will be a priority. Rose ranks 1st on the PGA Tour in total driving, a combination of driving distance and accuracy.

From there, dependent upon the hole, two types of second shots will likely face the players if they find the fairway -- a long iron from upwards of 200 yards or a short iron/wedge from inside of 100 yards.

Rose ranks favorably in both statistics, a testament to his ball striking ability (of which he ranks 8th on Tour). From 225-250 yards, Rose ranks 5th on Tour with a proximity to the hole average of 42-feet-4 inches.

From 50-125 yards, he ranks 2nd with an average distance from the hole of 14-feet-3 inches.

Consequently, with a premium placed on hitting the greens from these positions, Rose ranks 1st in greens in regulation percentage from both outside 200 yards and inside 100 yards.

As we know, US Opens are often won by the player who can minimize the damage that comes from their loose shots. With that in mind, Rose's 62.25 percent scrambling ability ranks 7th on Tour.

All signs point to Rose being in contention over the weekend at Merion, but it could be an x-factor that could be Rose's best predictor of success.

"I am not young and naive anymore, but I am not a veteran either," Rose said ahead of the second major championship of the year. "I feel in my prime, to be honest.

"Adam Scott, for example, is a good friend of mine and a great player, obviously. He has just (won a major) and I feel I am in a similar mold. We have both got lots of experience under our belt and now it is time to capitalize upon it."

For Rose to capitalize upon that hard work, all he needs is a good putting week. The ball-striking and positioning are there, but the flatstick has been his bugaboo.

If Rose can continue to give himself chances and more looks at birdie, he could spoil Tiger Woods' quest for a 15th major championship and capture the first of his own.

Chris Chaney is a Cincinnati, Ohio-based sportswriter. He has written for multiple outlets including WrongFairway.com, Hoopville.com, The Cincinnati (OH) Enquirer and The Clermont (OH) Sun.

Follow him on Twitter @Wrong_Fairway.