We'll miss Tiger, but Ochoa is something to behold
by JEFF RUDE, Golfweek.com
Golfweek.com's Jeff Rude isn't in the business of taking cheap shots. He just tells it like it is.
- Not sure why people are fussing that the excitement has been drained out of the golf season just because Tiger Woods didn't win the Masters. I mean, the most dominant player in professional golf still has a decent chance of winning the Grand Slam this year.
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That's right. Lorena Ochoa just has to stay hot in June-August.
- Ochoa's greatest feat isn't that she passed Annika Sorenstam. It's that she has surpassed Woods as golf's No. 1 lethal weapon. Talent is one reason. Lesser competition is the other.
- Ochoa, of course, has won four of her first five starts in 2008 by an average of 8 1/2 shots. Isn't it about time she takes a page from Woods' book and starts texting him with a running tally of routs?
- I'm not saying Woods' knee surgery the other day was as ho-hum as a dental cleaning. But if you think it will negatively impact his golf game, think again. Last time he had left knee surgery, he won three of his next four starts, including an 11-shot victory at Bay Hill.
- And if you're worried he'll be rusty entering the U.S. Open, think again. Woods doesn't get rusty; he gets recharged. After missing nine weeks and then the U.S. Open cut in 2006 while dealing with his father's death, he tied for second and then won his next seven Tour starts.
WD-40 not needed.
- One more thing about golf excitement supposedly taking a hit. The PGA Tour will be buzzing once again when the U.S. Open rolls around at Torrey Pines, if not before. Not only will Woods be back, he and No. 2 Phil Mickelson will be competing at one of their favorite playgrounds in their native Southern California. Woods (six) and Mickelson have won nine Buick Invitationals at Torrey combined, dwarfing their six-pack at Augusta.
If they duel in San Diego, no one this side of the Immelman family will remember the Masters.
- Bermuda and Capistrano don't get this weird. Woods, of course, is 13-0 in majors when leading after 54 holes but has never won a major when trailing after three rounds. Question is, why? Best answer I have is that he just wasn't on top of his game those weeks. That's why he wasn't up there entering Sunday to start with.
Latest example: The 2008 Masters.
Hey, besides sunrise, what is automatic?
- Or you could call that odd major record a bizarre coincidence. Or you could say that he plays differently when chasing.
You could also say this: That stat won't last.
- Before surgery, Woods won nine of his last 12 worldwide starts and came close in the three he didn't win. So just imagine how he might fare once he rehabs and plays on two legs.
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