US Open: Older Tiger Woods might be a better fit at Winged Foot
Tiger Woods is set to tee up for his 86th major tournament and is on the back part of his career. That could be a help at this US Open setup.
Nearly everything that has come out in the media concerning this week’s setup at the US Open talks about how difficult the course is going to be. For Tiger Woods, he might benefit more to this than he would’ve back in his prime.
By no means am I saying that Tiger Woods is a better golfer than he was back then. You would have to be a fool to even propose that argument.
What I am proposing is that with the difficulty that Winged Foot looks set to lay out, an older, more critical thinking Tiger Woods should be better equipped to tackle the US Open this time around.
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The course is long. The rough is nasty. Missing the fairway could be disastrous, starting somewhat of a snowball effect as you hit your next shot. From a missed fairway, to a lay-up, to a wedge the runs off the green, to a chip and potential two-putt for double bogey. This is likely a scenario that you are going to see a lot this week.
Bombing and gouging aren’t going to work, even though Beefy Bryson DeChambeau is set to prove otherwise. Many pros want to take forgo distance, giving up that length and potential of lots of time in the thick rough, for longer approaches out of cleaner lies.
It will be interesting to see if that strategy plays out, or if the players who already utilize it will see an advantage due to not having to change their gameplan around too much. Brendon Todd was 4th last year and is +8000. Chaz Reavie was 7th and is +15000. The main guy to watch to see if this proves to be true is Webb Simpson, who was 18th last year and is currently listed 8th most likely to win, at +2500.
Which is why I think Tiger Woods has a solid chance this week.
He isn’t going to go out there trying to bend the course to his will, as he has done so many times before. Heck, he is the reason that courses have been redesigned all around the world, as well as many of the ones that we see on Tour and during Majors.
He is going to go out and play the course as a thinking man. There is no reason not to expect Tiger, who we have seen out there quite early in the morning already this week practicing, to go out and gameplan like an NFL coach before a big game.
If there is anyone on the course at the US Open that is more prepared, that has spent more time thinking about each and every shot opportunity, who laid in bed thinking about shots just like the Cool Runnings guys in their bathtub, I would be surprised.
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Tiger Woods may be past his prime. Age ain’t nothing but a number (Thanks Aaliyah), and he is potentially more ready and suited for this course than he has ever been in his life.