Controversy, Controversy

Three things fall under this title: Rocco Mediate’s comments regarding Tiger Woods and the changes in his game (most predominantly, Tiger’s swing), the renewal (of sorts) of Annika Sorenstam and Michelle Wie, and Phil using a belly putter. Of course, it starts with the guy that “moves the needle”, Tiger.

Mediate “Disgusted”

You would guess by reading Rocco Mediate’s statements in an interview with the San Francisco Chronicle that he’s rather upset at the state of Tiger’s golf game. It has nothing to do with the upheaval Woods had in his personal life that transpired almost two years ago. It has nothing to do with Tiger’s lack of playing competitive rounds. It has everything to do with the toying of the swing of the world’s former top player. And to make things a little more interesting, Rocco also took the opportunity to point the blame solely on the swing coaches employed by Woods.

First, he took a shot across the bow at Sean Foley.

"“The physical motion is wrong,” Mediate said. “To get that stress off his body is a piece of cake – the guys working with him just don’t know. Sean knows some stuff, but what’s going on with Tiger is not correct. That’s why he keeps breaking and that’s why the ball keeps going sideways.”"

(Read more here on SFGate.com)

Not enough? Of course it wouldn’t be Rocco without totally getting his opinion in on this. He even looked Hank Haney.

"“Starting with Haney until now, it was a complete and absolute destruction,” he said. “If it was me (as Woods’ instructor), I would say to Tiger, ‘Look, dude, I’m not helping you. You’re getting worse. You’ve broken down three times and you’ve had 57 knee surgeries. It’s not happening.’ “"

You can guess what a reaction that brought from Haney, and he makes a valid point from his days of being Tiger’s swing coach (via Haney’s Twitter).

You hear this quite a bit: stats don’t lie and Haney provides those here.

And about Tiger’s golf issues? Haney knows he can fix them…and he adds that Tiger knows how to fix them as well. But Haney managed to take one jab at Rocco…

"He just needs the V harness RT @bmoore_13: @HankDHaney Could you fix Tigers problems? – Hank Haney via his Twitter account."

Well now…

Annika on Wie…again!

Or so it seems.

While watching Morning Drive on the Golf Channel, Annika Sorenstam was permitted the opportunity to “explain” her recent perceived criticism of Michelle Wie and Wie’s decision to pursue a degree in communications from Stanford University. This all stems from comments Annika made in early July previous to the US Women’s Open (Waggle Room).

"“I think really her focus, in my opinion, should be more on the golf,” Sorenstam told reporters Wednesday on the eve of the U.S. Women’s Open at The Broadmoor in Colorado Springs. “She’s very distracted with school, doesn’t really play as much full time as I thought she would. I think she needs to come out here and compete more regularly.”"

Wie defended her decision to enroll at Stanford to the Los Angeles Times.

"“I’m making my own decisions, though, and going to Stanford was something I needed to do for myself. It was not a decision made for my golf career, it was really solely a decision I made. It’s been one of the first things in my life I did for myself.”"

I believe the key aspect of Wie’s quote here is the last sentence. She did it for herself.

One thing no one should lose focus on here is that Wie is only 21. After March of next year, she will have time to devote to the LPGA…solely. I do think it will make her a better player and a lot of us will see the Michelle Wie we thought we would see a couple of years ago. I also believe that gaining a degree is a good thing. And she’s done that and founs a means to balance her golf game does say a lot about her mental makeup, something that was also questioned by Sorenstam.

"Sorenstam, who did praise Wie’s potential and athletic ability, also said, “You wonder if she’s mentally strong enough to finish at the top.” – via LA Times"

A Belly Putter for Lefty

This hasn’t exploded…yet. Or maybe it is as I’m typing this. At today’s Pro-Am for the Deutsche Bank Championship, Ron Sirak of Golf Digest reveals that Phil Mickelson surprised those in his group with a little something.

"“Phil Mickelson’s pro-am group in the Deutsche Bank Championship played the back nine first Thursday morning at TPC Boston. Lefty missed the tenth green short, chipped up to two feet and then said to his amateur partners, “I’m going to give you a thrill.” He then reached into his bag and took out a Callaway Sabertooth long putter.”"