Tiger moves out of contention Saturday at Merion
Remarkably, after making his lone birdie on the opening hole, Tiger Woods shot a 6-over-par 76 at Merion Golf Club in the third round of the U.S. Open.
Tiger shoots par, says arm hurt at Players
For the second day in a row, Tiger Woods grimaced in pain after several shots, his left arm clearly bothering him at times. Still, he pieced together an even-par 70 while playing 24 holes.
Philly lets Sergio hear it; his play speaks for him
Philadelphia fans once booed and threw snowballs at Santa Claus, so there was no way Sergio Garcia wasn't going to feel their wrath. The Spaniard sputtered at the outset but fought back to a respectable 3-over 73.
Rude: Reflecting on 75 straight majors
All the miles walked, notes taken and cheap cigars give our Jeff Rude reason to look back on 75 straight major championships.
Rude: Flap with Tiger could help Garcia mature
Let’s hope the fallout shame Sergio Garcia has felt serves as an "Aha!" moment, one that launches him out of a stunted adolescence into a mature adult. Time will tell.
Takes special player to bounce back from major flub
It takes a special player to overcome a meltdown and win one of golf's top prizes says our Jeff Rude.
Golf rules bifurcation? We've already got it underfoot
Among this week's topic: Lee Janzen was disqualified after an opening 75 in 36-hole U.S. Open sectional qualifying because he wore steel spikes at a soft-spikes facility after not reading the rules sheet.
Guthrie takes final spot in Columbus playoff
Darkness was setting in at 9:02 p.m. Monday at the Lakes Golf & Country Club and PGA Tour rookie Luke Guthrie stood over one of the biggest putts of his young life.
Rude: Tiger goes from tuneup to tuned out
Tiger Woods came to the Memorial for a final U.S. Open tuneup looking for his fifth victory of the 2013 PGA Tour season. Instead, he got the highest nine-hole score of his pro career.
Rude: Tiger's flaws resurface in unlikely spot
It is quite surprising that Tiger Woods is 10 shots off the midway lead at the Memorial – normally one to dominate par 5s, he is an uncharacteristic even par in eight tries at Muirfield Village.
Rude: Tiger vs. Rory isn't on tap at this rate
Of all that happened Thursday at Muirfield Village – Charl Schwartzel’s leading 65, Tiger Woods losing to 53-year-old Fred Couples (70) and barely beating 14-year-old Tianlang Guan – Rory McIlroy’s bad day might be the most compelling.
Nicklaus' scouting report on Merion: Don't hold back
Among the annual rituals at the Memorial: A “World According to Jack” address that's among the most interesting staples in golf – because of what is being said and who is weighing in.
Rude: Anchoring ban for good of whose game?
Let’s not kid ourselves. The ban on an anchored putting stroke, to start in 2016, would seem to focus on “sport” rather than “game.” On competition rather than recreation. On game-face golf rather than social golf.
Rude: Venturi was 'very fortunate'
Ken Venturi had a severe stuttering problem as a youth, lost competitive golf to carpal tunnel syndrome, and lost a wife to brain cancer. Yet he’s inclined to repeat, “I’ve been very fortunate.”
Bombers' 3-woods cut Tour courses down to size
“Not many drivers” is a crazy new catch phrase in sports. It applies not to the Indy 500 or the Iditarod dog-sled race but to, of all things, professional golf in the so-called Bomber Era.
Controversy causes a stir in Woods-Garcia pairing
It took less than two holes for controversy to rear its head in the Tiger Woods-Sergio Garcia final twosome in The Players’ third round Saturday.
Rude: Players leaderboard features biggest names
In most years, the top of the Players leaderboard features little-known names, with Sawgrass eating the game's best alive. Not so in 2013, with the likes of Tiger Woods, Lee Westwood and Sergio Garcia leading the way.
Rude: Rare contention at Players for Tiger
Tiger Woods put himself in a position to contend for only the third time in his 15 starts at the PGA Tour's Players Championship, one of the few tournaments that has confounded him.
Singh, 'angry and hurt,' suing PGA Tour
In the aftermath of the deer-antler spray controversy, Vijay Singh has filed suit against the PGA Tour, alleging the Tour subjected him to "public humiliation and ridicule for months."
Snedeker voices opposition for viewer rules call-ins
The topic of whether television viewers should be allowed to call in rules violations reared its head again Tuesday when Brandt Snedeker emphatically expressed his opinion.
Rude: Rory McIlroy loses confidence in his putter
Rory McIlroy surely has had better birthdays. It’s not just that he made a double bogey and three bogeys in a sloppy 73 in the Wells Fargo Championship third round. His overcast day was darkened by the instrument known as the flat stick.
Rude: Pampling's alternate route yields fitting reward
You might say Australian Rod Pampling has made the most of his opportunity so far as an alternate at the Wells Fargo Championship. A pair of 3-under-par 69s have put him in a tie for sixth place.
Rude: It's time for Vijay to sing a little
In the wake of his controversy about a performance-enhancing substance, Vijay Singh can help himself by opening up a little, columnist Jeff Rude says.
Rude: On Tiger, Tianlang, Muirfield and more
Potential reasons Tiger Woods is skipping Quail Hollow, Tianlang Guan's long challenge, Peter Dawson's 'bullying' denial and more highlight this week's Hate To Be Rude.
Rude: PGA Tour likely to act soon on Singh
Hate to be Rude: Now that the Masters is over, the PGA Tour is likely to act soon on the case of Vijay Singh, according to one Tour insider.
Rude: Ultimately, the punishment fit Tiger's crime
While many may have a problem with a television viewer calling in the Tiger Woods penalty on Friday night, the timing actually helped the 14-time major champion. And punishment ultimately fit the crime says Jeff Rude.
Agent: Tiger's drop wasn't 'willful' violation
Mark Steinberg says that Tiger Woods' words that prompted a late-night video review by Masters officials mean that, “He in effect called it (the penalty) on himself."
Champ Watson squeezes inside cut line
Bubba Watson three-putted three times plus another from the fringe Thursday and Friday at the Masters. He says Augusta's famed greens are slower this year, and that his miscues are costly.
Rude: Masters revs up old champ Couples' cool
Fred Couples not only is defying age at the Masters, he is trampling upon his own words of late March when he grumbled about his form and maintained he had no chance at Augusta.
Tiger Woods keeps head down in Masters' first round
This was your Masters favorite, Tiger Woods, a winner of 14 major championships, but his body language on several holes would have fooled you, his head slung low.
Masters moment: Nicklaus' waterlogged interview
A Jack Nicklaus post-round Masters interview was upstaged when some Tom Weiskopf shots being shown on TV sets in the room made a bigger splash with several reporters.
Rude: Tiger balances confidence, contentment
Tiger Woods clearly is more equipped to win the Masters than at any point since 2005, when he won his fourth and most recent green jacket – and says there's balance to be seen in his life.
Masters champ Watson still has Augusta hooked
Never mind the green jacket in which he wrapped up adopted son Caleb last year – Bubba Watson wouldn't say no to a plaque at the spot of his famous hooked wedge during last year's playoff.
Masters 2013: Clock ticks for Woods at Augusta
Given his early brilliance there, his 1-for-10 and 0-for-7 sound like factual errors, if not something out of Alex Rodriguez’s last postseason. Rather, they are indicators that Augusta has indeed been Tiger-proofed.
Masters 2013: Playing a little remember when . . .
From Bernhard Langer and Sandy Lyle to Mark O’Meara and Larry Mize, these little-known Masters moments are a hoot says our Jeff Rude.
Rude: Feherty, McCord provide levity at Tavistock Cup
None of the 24 contestants among the Multimillionaires Boys Club was spared the playful needle Tuesday at hoity-artsy Isleworth. Golf could use more of the clowning and fun on a regular basis.
Rude: Welcome to Tiger's personal March Madness
Tiger Woods was less-than-thrilled with his bogey-bogey-bogey finish on Friday. So, he went home and watched college basketball. All of it. On Saturday, he returned as the terminator, taking control of a tournament that he simply owns.
Rose shows Woods it takes more than great putting
Tiger Woods didn't like his drives or his irons, his distance or his trajectory Thursday. Sure, he putted well, but he trails Justin Rose - who put together a complete round - by four shots at Bay Hill.
Holmes breaks ankle while rollerblading
"Just a freak little thing," a media representative of the broken ankle J.B. Holmes suffered recently while he was rollerblading for exercise with his fiancee.
Healthy, Snedeker looks to make move at Bay Hill
A pulled rib muscle got Brandt Snedeker out of lifting boxes while his family moved into a new home. Healthy and back on the PGA Tour, he's ready to attack Bay Hill – and Augusta too.
Rude: Spieth grows while Woods rejuvenates
Jordan Spieth grows toward his first PGA Tour victory, while Tiger Woods rejuvenates his No. 1 form even if the computers don't see it, Jeff Rude writes.
Rude: Tiger to be tough guy to catch on Sunday
Tiger Woods doesn't give up 54-hole leads very often and never has given up a four-shot lead heading into Sunday. That means all pursuers are rooting for a Sunday hurricane at the WGC-Cadillac Championship, says Jeff Rude.
Woods, Lefty part of heavyweight battle in Doral
The stars have come to play at the WGC-Cadillac Championship and Tiger Woods is winning the heavyweight battle so far in Doral.
Rude: Rory works while Tiger breezes
World No. 1 Rory McIlroy looks every bit the part of a "work in progress" as he's said, while playing partner and world No. 2 Tiger Woods is tied for the lead at Doral.
Rude: Woods playing well since last year's WD
Tiger Woods has won four PGA Tour starts since he withdrew from last year's WGC-Cadillac Championship at Doral, citing leg pain. It's a winning percentage rivaling that of his career peak.
Rude: No question USGA needs to re-think anchoring ban
Our Jeff Rude hopes that the USGA and R&A will listen to those dissenting corners and continue to allowing anchoring for the sake of the game’s enjoyment and growth.
Rude: Upsets continue to claim big names in Arizona
A series of so-called upsets on Friday left just one player ranked in the world top 10 heading into Saturday's third round of the WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship.
Rude: Tiger falls victim to man with 'nothing to lose'
From his loss in the 1996 U.S. Amateur to countless rounds at Isleworth, Charles Howell III says he had never beaten Tiger Woods. On Thursday, Howell changed all of that by playing carefree.
Rude: Blitz at the Ritz stops play cold
The jokes flew during Wednesday's freak snowstorm at Dove Mountain. The winner would be "Best in Snow" or the "Wizard in the Blizzard." Regardless, it was a surreal site says our Jeff Rude.
Stricker opposes ban, points to growing game
Count Steve Stricker, one of the four players on the PGA Tour Policy Board, among what he says is a majority and growing number of Tour players who oppose the proposed ban on putter anchoring.
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