Two marshals come to Tiger's defense

Two marshals come to Tiger's defense










The Sports Xchange May 15, 2013 12:50 PMThe SportsXchange



A day after two marshals disputed Tiger Woods' version of events from a controversy with Sergio Garcia at the Players Championship, two others came to the defense of the world's No. 1-ranked golfer.

The issue stems from the second hole Saturday, with Garcia claiming Woods created a distraction by removing a club from his bag during Garcia's second shot, resulting in a poor shot that ultimately led to a bogey. Woods asserted he had been given the go-ahead that Garcia had already played his shot, but two marshals told Sports Illustrated on Monday that nothing had been said to Woods.

On Tuesday, two other marshals said there had indeed been communication.

"It is not true and definitely unfair to Tiger," marshal Brian Nedrich told the Florida Times-Union. "That's because I was the one Tiger heard say that Sergio had hit."

According to Nedrich, he could barely see Garcia but saw a glimpse of him swinging followed by the ball in the air. Fellow marshal Lance Paczkowski couldn't see Garcia and told fans he had yet to hit. Nedrich said Woods had already taken his club out of his bag, but that the marshals did indeed tell him Garcia had played his shot.

It's yet another version of the sequence of events, with Woods saying he was told Garcia had played his shot and then removed his club.

"There was a lot going on, as usual, when Tiger plays," Nedrich told the paper. "Then, he's trying to have the concentration he needs to win a tournament. It's easy to get small details out of whack when things happen so fast. It was an unfortunate incident, and I don't think either player is to blame."

"Tiger Woods did not lie," Paczkowski told the Times-Union. "Was there a small mistake in what he remembered? Yes. But I don't think it rises to the level of lying."

The drama began when Woods pulled a 5-wood from his bag, iliciting applause from the crowd - and Garcia said the commotion resulted in his poor shot. SI.com reported that Garcia turned and glared in Woods' direction, and he later told NBC, "It's very simple. You have to pay attention to what's going on because the other guy is hitting. You do something when you're in the crowd, and the crowd is going to respond."

On Monday, John North, the chief marshal for the first three holes, told SI.com: "Nothing was said to us, and we certainly said nothing to him. I was disappointed to hear him make those remarks. We're there to help the players and enhance the experience of the fans. He was saying what was good for him. It lacked character."

Countered Nedrich: "It's disingenuous to suggest that Tiger is a liar because he got a minor detail wrong."

"The comments from the marshals in today's (Times-Union) story definitively show that Tiger was telling the truth about being told Sergio had hit," said Mark Steinberg, Woods' agent, in a statement. "I hope this demonstrates to some reporters the importance of accuracy and not jumping to misplace conclusions."

Atricles Course: http://golfatn.blogspot.com/

Kuchar could get major breakthrough at US Open

Kuchar could get major breakthrough at US Open










Tom LaMarre, The Sports Xchange May 15, 2013 1:50 PMThe SportsXchange


In 2011, Keegan Bradley ended an American drought of six majors without a victory by winning the PGA Championship.

Last year, Bubba Watson captured the Masters and Webb Simpson claimed the U.S. Open title, and for each of the three, it was the first majors championship of his career.

It might be Matt Kuchar's turn, perhaps as soon as next month in the U.S. Open at Merion.

"I think the more comfortable you get winning tournaments -- I've now got five wins, and I'd like to continue that going," said the 34-year-old Kuchar, who is playing this week in the HP Byron Nelson Championship after a disappointing tie for 48th in his title defense at the Players Championship. "Majors are certainly on my radar. I think all of us try to peak for major championships. Everybody wants to get their game in the best shape possible for majors. ...

"I would like to kind of be 'on' with regularity and play well week in and week out, and I felt like that was the best preparation and just continue playing well and let that carry into major championships and just keep the good play going."

The upward turn of Kuchar's career since 2009 reads like a roadmap heading toward a major championship.

Kuchar ended a seven-year, non-winning streak by capturing the 2009 Turning Stone Resort Championship during the Fall Series, and things took off from there.

The following year, he captured the Barclays to open the PGA Tour playoffs for the FedEx Cup. He added a victory last year in the Players Championship and earlier this season in the WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship, where he beat defending champion Hunter Mahan in the final.

Not only has he shown he can win the big tournaments, but he also leads the PGA Tour with 33 top-10 finishes in the past three-plus seasons.


"I've always thought you were supposed to take the appropriate steps to get to the next level," said Kuchar, whose brilliant amateur career included a victory in the 1997 United States Amateur. "I've always thought that like in school, you kind of graduate elementary school, get to middle school, you graduate middle school and get to high school and then college, and those are the steps you take. You don't jump straight into college, and you don't jump straight into advanced-placement courses. You kind of take these little steps to get there.

"I thought the same was applicable with golf. I felt like you kind of start playing well, you start top-10ing, you start having a lot of chances, and then you win a tournament. Then you start doing the same in bigger tournaments. You start having better and better results, and you take those steps and feel more and more comfortable in the big tournaments, majors included, and I feel like I've made the right progressions.

"I've been pleased at kind of the trajectory of my career the last couple years."

That Kuchar, who has been in or near the top 10 in the World Golf Rankings the last few years, has become a major player is no surprise to anyone who saw him play during a brilliant amateur career.

After claiming the U.S. Amateur title at Cog Hill Golf and Country Club outside of Chicago, he earned the 1998 Haskins Award as college player of the year as a sophomore at Georgia Tech and finished as low amateur in the Masters and the U.S. Open that year.

Kuchar earned six titles for the Yellow Jackets before his graduation in 2000 in business management, before he briefly took a job in finance to have something to fall back on, just in case.

All it did was help him know what to do with his money once he turned pro.

In 2001, he earned his PGA Tour card without going to qualifying school by making $572,669 in six tournaments, including a tie for second in the Texas Open at La Cantera and a tie for third in the Air Canada Championship.

Kuchar broke through for his first victory on the circuit in the 2002 Honda Classic, and then ... almost nothing, for nearly seven years.

"Golf is a difficult and humbling game," the 6-foot-4 Kuchar said of how it brought even a big man like him to his knees. "I think it's gotten the best of everybody at times. So it was at times very frustrating. I think it's one of those things, even when you're playing great, the game of golf can still bring you right back down and humble you pretty quickly. ...

"Yeah, there were times I felt like I was going to have a hard time fighting my way back, and fortunately with my work with (instructor) Chris O'Connell, it's really been this upward climb where I feel like there's still a lot of improvements we can make. I feel like we've made a great deal of improvements, and I feel like there's still a lot of room to get better."

Kuchar turned to O'Connell in 2006, when he also went back to what was then the Nationwide Tour (now the Web.com Tour) and relearned what it was like to compete and win. He captured the Henrio County Open and finished second in the Preferred Health Systems Wichita Open and the Nationwide Tour Championship.

It restored the upward momentum of his career, and he has reached new heights by finishing in the top 10 in majors five times in the past four seasons, including ties for third and eighth the past two years in the Masters.

"I'm certainly looking forward to contending more in majors and hopefully getting my chance to win a couple," Kuchar said.

Once he breaks through, it might be as simple as one-two-three.




Atricles Course: http://golfatn.blogspot.com/

Tiger Woods’ Greatness Exemplified by Marshal’s Comments

Tiger Woods’ Greatness Exemplified by Marshal’s Comments
Marshal: He Lacked Character, but I was Still Rooting for Him











Chris Chaney May 15, 2013 4:25 PM




COMMENTARY | Did Tiger Woods lie at the Players Championship?

No, not about his drop on the 14th hole during the final round; that's a different argument for a different day.

This is about "The Incident."

Let's set the scene: It's the third round of the Players Championship. Woods and his playing partner, Sergio Garcia, have 37 holes and one shot under their belts so far. Woods, who has been working the ball beautifully all week, misses one left into the gallery amongst the trees. Garcia does not. He's positioned beautifully on the right side of the fairway on the par-5 second hole at TPC Sawgrass, away by a yard, according to the PGA Tour's Shot Tracker, and therefore, the first to play.

As Garcia prepares himself, Woods is languishing in a sea of spectators, clearing room for his next shot. Once a human V is made around Woods and his preferred line, he assesses his options. He sees an opening and believes that he can hit a 5-wood up near the green. He pulls his club, almost out of habit as he continues to plot his upcoming shot in his head, mumbling yardage numbers and wind direction and ball flight when sporadic cheering comes from the spectators surrounding him.

Momentarily knocked out of his supreme focus, Woods realizes the applause is for his club choice -- one that indicates to the crowd he is going for the par-5 green in two. Woods, now aware of his misstep, attempts to quiet the crowd by putting a finger to his lips and pointing toward his playing partner who, unbeknownst to Woods, has just struck his second shot. Woods refocuses himself and goes back to crunching numbers.

Meanwhile, Garcia's second shot is right going righter. He looks in Woods' direction -- still holding his follow-through -- with an expression somewhere between disbelief and disgust.

The two continue playing under ominous skies until play is called due to weather five holes later. During the nearly two-hour rain delay, Garcia makes his gripe with Woods known, insinuating in a Golf Channel interview that Woods pulled his club as an act of gamesmanship to mess with the Spaniard.

Asked about Garcia's comments following the round, Woods said he was aware of what was said and noted that a marshal told him that Garcia had already played his shot.

The duo's past and disdain for one another made news as the incident on the second hole played the role of reignitor of the imbroglio.

The next layer of the story came out Monday, long after Woods had already raised the crystal trophy above his head. SI.com's Michael Bamberger talked to a pair of marshals who were working the second hole Saturday when "The Incident" took place.

The chief of marshals for the first three holes, John North, stood over Woods' ball after it came to rest off the tee to protect it from the stampede of fans hoping to get within an arm's reach of Woods.


Questioned about the truth of Woods' assertion that marshals had told him Garcia had played his shot prior to Woods pulling a club, North said, "Nothing was said to us and we certainly said nothing to him.

"I was disappointed to hear him make those remarks. We're there to help the players and enhance the experience of the fans. He was saying what was good for him. It lacked character."

(North's comments have since been refuted by another marshal who admitted to telling Woods that Garcia had hit, although Woods had already pulled his club.)

Later, on Sunday afternoon, North, a graduate of the Naval Academy and Vietnam War veteran, sat watching the television broadcast from a military appreciation tent. With Woods and Garcia coming down the stretch, North said of Woods, "I hate to say it, but I was rooting for him. It tears me apart. But when he's winning ..."



But when he's winning. When he's winning, we set aside our personal grievances or feelings toward Woods the man and embrace the greatness that is Woods the golfer.

Perhaps it's part of the American psyche to place athletes up on pedestals, hoping and wishing for them to be something better than themselves, more than mortal. We want to be a part of history; it's exhilarating and memorable. We want to say, "I was there when…"

That's how North felt watching the greatest golfer of this generation Sunday afternoon, not yet 24 hours since Woods, in North's opinion, lied for his own personal gain, and in essence, threw North and his marshals under the bus.

But that's what greatness does to people in the moment. It encapsulates us; that as by a matter of proximity, we were a part of something great as well.

And sure, after the trophy's been given out and Woods has flown his private jet back to his mansion on the water in his gated community you might feel a little dirty, a little let down or disappointed in yourself for casting aside your morals to embrace something bigger than yourself.

After all, it's just sports. It's just a man hitting a ball, right?

Yes, that's true, but you know, next week, next month or next year, you're going to be rooting for Tiger Woods to do something great again just so you can say, "I was there when…"

Chris Chaney is a Cincinnati, Ohio-based sportswriter. He has written for multiple outlets including WrongFairway.com, Hoopville.com, The Cincinnati (OH) Enquirer and The Clermont (OH) Sun.



Follow him on Twitter @Wrong_Fairway.

Atricles Course: http://golfatn.blogspot.com/