Morning Read Mailbag: Talking Tiger, Broadcast Feedback, Major Collapses

Readers are encouraged to offer their thoughts on Morning Read stories or anything else from the world of golf. Email [email protected] and include your name and hometown. Letters may be edited for length and clarity.

You could be right, Alex (Should Tiger Woods Keep Playing Majors If This is How It Will Be?, May 26), but the bottom line is Tiger Woods still moves the needle!

He’s earned the right to play when and where he chooses.

I say let him keep teeing it up!

Brian Katz
Vancouver, Washington

I took issue with Alex’s comment with the insinuation that Woods is, “…taking spots from more deserving players” to mean that Woods is undeserving of his spots in these major tournaments. These are not sponsor or tournament exemptions granted to Woods, rather these spots are wholly earned through his past accomplishments. As an aside, should Bernhard Langer no longer play in the Masters because we all know he has no chance of winning?

Until the day comes where Woods has to rely on exemptions to participate, who the heck are we to question whether he should be there or not? Maybe he’s trying to set an example and demonstrate to his young and impressionable children that this is what grit, hardwork and determination are all about? Maybe he’s trying to show that you give it your all even when you may not be at your best?

Woods can certainly be criticized for many things, but simply playing in a golf tournament in which he’s giving his best is definitely not among them.

Mike Bains
Vancouver, Canada 

Was Woods taking a spot from a more deserving golfer?

How can you ask a question like that. There are only 2 other golfers alive today as deserving (I didn’t say more) and they are Jack Nicklaus and Gary Player, and they no longer compete. While Tiger didn’t build the PGA Tour like Nicklaus and Player, he clearly is responsible for its massive growth over the last 25 years. It goes deeper than that though, as a PGA member/golf course owner-operator I would tell you that his effect on the game has been immeasurable. I was so proud he was playing in our championship and helping us reach more households on TV and getting more people to the venue to witness this tremendous story and achievement. So as far as your “deserving” question, there is absolutely no doubt he is the most deserving player still competing today.

Now, if you are strictly looking at results and if he took someone’s spot: He made the cut. Would the fifth alternate have made the cut? Making cuts certainly is not Tiger’s standard but to me that makes him competitive. Webb Simpson made the cut on the number and got in the conversation after a really good round on Saturday. World No. 1 was home on his couch. Who was more “competitive?” Based on your thoughts only the people with a chance to win should play. Who is that? How many players is that? Frankly, I have stopped doubting Tiger Woods a long time ago. He will win again, he will win a major again. Will it be this year? I don’t know and neither do you but, I wouldn’t bet against it. 

Michael Miraglia
Miami, Florida

I disagree — not only is he a huge draw but he still has the skills despite having to overcome his myriad of physical ailments. His competitive juices still flow and the grit is there. In making the cuts when other high-caliber and fully healthy players are missing them speaks to it. All of these are reasons to continue and I’ll watch
as long as he plays. After all, he has earned the right to play whenever he chooses and what tournament wouldn’t love to have him in the field. I hope he skips the U.S. Open and opts for the flat-surfaced St. Andrews to reappear.

And by the way, what a complete joke it was to see obese John Daly riding in a cart working the gallery! That was truly disgusting (not an atypical adjective for Daly behaviors) especially in light of a much more “disabled” golfer who chose to gut it out and walk. Although, I am sure that Tiger would have too much pride and class to ride in a cart.

Bob Cushing
Carmel, California

I know that Alex likes to stir the pot and I don’t dispute much of what he wrote about Tiger’s return to major championship golf. His last statement about taking a spot from a more deserving player, however was surprising.

Tiger didn’t take anyone’s spot at The Masters. There are no alternates for past champions. That aside, how can he be less deserving when in both tournaments he beat half the field and made the cut?

While Alex may not want to watch Tiger’s major rehab, how about the tournament sponsors, Television broadcasters and commercial sponsors and of course, the fans? As has oft been said, Tiger doesn’t move the needle, he is the needle. He doesn’t need to compete as he has nothing to prove to anyone, except himself. I for one will continue to watch every time he plays, even if it is just for two days.

Cary Sternberg
The Villages, Florida

Geez, Alex, Tiger is on the road to recovery, and he has to start somewhere. He has to test his ability to compete a full 72 holes of tournament golf, and there is no way he can do that except to play. He’s competed in two majors now, and made the cut in both, but obviously two days was all his leg could stand. And about taking up the place of more deserving golfers…you gotta be kidding. Lighten up, Alex, and give him a chance to work his way back.

John Abercrombie
Cape Girardeau, Missouri

Based on his recent performance, Tiger would do well to play the Open at St. Andrews. Take his bows at the Swilcan Bridge on Friday for photo ops and wave competitive golf behind. Play the Father/Son. Host the Hero and the Genesis. Make the Tiger Foundation his full time gig and do whatever, like maybe course design.

George Delaney
Olympia, Washington

I agree with the article questioning the purpose of Tiger continuing to play in majors when he is clearly not competitive. His physical condition is so limiting that practicing, but not playing in any tournaments in the lead up to a major, will not allow him to be sharp enough to be a factor. This would be the case for any golfer, even one much younger without the number of medical issues Tiger has had.

As a golf fan for many years, I also find it distracting that when Tiger participates he becomes such a focus of the TV coverage that so much time is spent talking about Tiger, watching him walk from his car to the clubhouse, warming up on the range, putting, walking to the first tee, etc., that many golfers who are actually in the mix, but with less celebrity status, are barely covered.

Lastly, any golfer who cannot prepare properly to give himself a legitimate chance to compete for all four rounds should be big enough to not take a spot away from another golfer who may never have another opportunity.

Bob Burian
Doylestown, Pennsylvania

I am trying to figure out why we have to watch Tiger Woods the whole time he is playing. We even had to watch him walking from the parking lot. This guy was 12 shots back and yet we had to watch every minute of him. How unfair to the other players who may be back as far. Do we see them? Of course not! I for one am sick of watching every swing of this guy and watching him play so poorly. 

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Sheryl StuettgenDaytona Beach, Florida

Alex states he doesn’t want to see Tiger play if he’s a ceremonial golfer. He then ask if you agree or disagree. Well, I totally agree. Right now if making the cut is a major accomplishment then Tiger is a ceremonial golfer.

I’m not a Tiger hater. That’s very much the opposite. I love Tiger and and have so much respect for him. I just hate seeing him look like a washed-up boxer taking a tune-up fight with the champion for the money and going in the ring to get knocked out. Right now that’s all that is happening and Tiger looks old and in pain. I don’t care about a spot he may be taking up.

He’s earned that right without any one questioning him. What I dislike seeing is an old Tiger fighting with all his might to walk 72 holes and shooting 10 over par. What I hate seeing is an end to a legacy happening right in front of our eyes. What I hate most is watching people relish seeing Tiger’s demise. What I hate is watching those same people hoping to see Tiger fail and withdraw so they can blog about how happy they are to see Tiger’s collapse. So no, I don’t hate Tiger, just the opposite — and for that reason I don’t want to see Tiger.

Robert Fish,
Sun Lakes, Arizona 

Reflections on the PGA Broadcast

Two items I disagree with are the Zalatoris penalty and Curtis Strange’s commentary. (As Contenders Fell Short Sunday at the PGA, So Did Insightful Commentary from CBS, May 24) I don’t think the CBS crew knew the rule that Zalatoris chose to follow as to why he ended up hitting off the cart path. They never really analyzed his penalty and why he didn’t take a drop. As for Curtis Strange, I can’t recall what he said that was noteworthy.

As for the media in general, they sure love Jordan Spieth. In the media’s mind, he has endured the worst bad luck of any golfer in the history of the game.

Joe Matula
Palos Park, Illinois

This is a first for CBS, but the noise level at Tulsa was awful — it’s like Fox was doing the broadcast. You couldn’t hear the announcers for the road noise, blimp noise, crowd noise, and an AC unit thrown in. I finally turned the volume off and went to closed caption. Don’t the networks have people to watch their own work? Really hard to watch, and one of many reasons Fox finally gave up. “Edgy” isn’t a word that really fits in golf telecasts. CBS has a great crew, we should be able to hear them.

Mike Nixon
Franklin, Tennessee

Is anyone else having my problem? On CBS, the “background noise” (music, wind sounds, crowd noise, whatever) often obscures what the analysts/announcers are saying. That, of course, assumes they are saying anything worth hearing. I don’t have that problem on the Golf Channel coverage or ESPN.

Carl Shepard
Clifton Park, New York

Thoroughly enjoy your daily SI brief. One suggestion. Frequently TV pictures show the upcoming shot from fairway to green (behind the player). Infrequently, one of the broadcasters circles the flag so I can see the intended flight of the ball. I personally am searching hard to see if I can see the flag the player is hitting to … and find it very helpful that they mark the pin location.

Same observation on the green. I frequently cannot see the hole location and am unable to understand the putting line the player picks out. A quick dot on the screen locating the hole location on the green helps. My wife doesn’t watch golf because she sees only the player swinging the club and not the intended target. She would watch more if she visually understood where player was attempting to go.

Gotta be more than just me that would find this helpful.

Bob Herbert
Richmond, Virginia 

On Major Collapses

That was a good list. (From Phil to Arnie to Lexi and More: Ranking the Worst Final-Hole Major Meltdowns, May 30) I might substitute Doug Sanders in the 1970 British for one of them or maybe Dustin Johnson’s three-putt to give Jordan Spieth a U.S. Open. You make the choice.

As for Sam Snead, you do him an injustice. It’s true that there were no leaderboards in 1939 which automatically moves him to 10th on this list in my opinion. All the other nine blunders were made by players who knew exactly how they stood and what a winning hole score would be whether it be birdie, par, bogey, or double. Another mitigating circumstance in Snead’s case was that the leaders did not always play together or anywhere near each other during the final round. It wasn’t until 1965 that the final 18 holes were played on Sunday. In prior years Saturday was a 36-hole day. I believe that Nelson and Shute were both many holes behind when Snead had finished his round, so they had a minimal advantage of having the opportunity to know what Snead had as a finishing score.

Michael Byrne
Saint Johns, Florida

LPGA Match Play Musings

I’ve been watching the LPGA match play tournament this weekend and while I enjoy watching match play regardless of who is involved, I keep wondering why are many of the top players missing from the competition. Where are Lexi, the Kos, Brooke, Inbee, Nasa, the Kordas, etc.? Why are these top players giving the match play a pass? Why do we see No. 300 and whatever playing rather than 60-something at worst? I’d like to see some thoughtful journalism on this question.

Tim Schobert
Ottawa, Canada

Mum on LIV Golf?

Possibly the biggest talking point in golf since Tiger’s heyday is the Saudi-sponsored LIV League.

None of the TV commentators on the PGA, DP, Champions and LPGA tours have uttered one single word nor opinion given. Have they all been gagged?

Nat Yamey
Cape Town, South Africa