WGC Mexico: Report cards for ten of the top PGA TOUR stars

By Bill Felber | Feb 25, 2019

MEXICO CITY, MEXICO - FEBRUARY 24: Dustin Johnson of the United States plays his shot from the first tee during the final round of World Golf Championships-Mexico Championship at Club de Golf Chapultepec on February 24, 2019 in Mexico City, Mexico. (Photo by Hector Vivas/Getty Images) /

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Tiger Woods of the United States catches a ball on the 17th hole during the final round of World Golf Championships-Mexico Championship at Club de Golf Chapultepec on February 24, 2019 in Mexico City, Mexico. (Photo by Hector Vivas/Getty Images) /

The bunker that Patrick Reed unsuccessfully tried to hit out of on nine was the same one that Tiger Woods made famous on Friday. For the rest of the tournament he played credibly enough to shoot 71-66-70-69 and finish in a tie for 10th. If that is now construed as a positive result for Tiger, we have certainly entered a new era.

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Tiger’s game showed potential, but generally in the wrong areas. He was a superb iron player and more than competent in his recovery game, precisely the two areas the modern drive and putt style refuses to emphasize.

The problem for Tiger is an inability to count on having anything to take advantage of once he has teed off. At the WGC Mexico, he tried to play conservatively off the tees but only ended up spotting the field 1.14 strokes per round. It was a liability even worse than his usual neutral performance last season.

In 2018 Tiger made up for it in his approaches, averaging nearly a stroke better than the field average. At the WGC Mexico his boost was twice as large. He also advantaged himself by about a half stroke around the greens. But his below-average putting game, in concert with his wayward driving, meant the end result was a sort of confused 71-66-70-69-276.

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