So we were teased a few weeks back that he was going to come back, and then we waited. It feels like we have been waiting for an entire PGA season, two really when you consider he shut it down 15 months ago. Well now the wait is over and today, Tiger Woods will play in a competitive (use that term loosely, but more on that later) tournament for the first time since shutting it down and having another back surgery.
Tiger’s back! Dunton gives some thoughts on the return of Woods.
We were so close. So close I tell you. The leaves are beginning to change, football teams are settling into who they really are, baseball playoffs are in full swing, and then he announced he was coming back. Could fall get any better? We were so close. Tiger Woods was coming back to golf and this time there was a glimmer of hope that we might get a competitive Tiger. How could we not be really excited after reading this quote last week from Jesper Parnevik?
“By the way, he’s been hitting a lot of balls, and he’s hitting it great. He’s pounding it a mile and flushing everything. On the range, at least, his trajectory and ball flight are like the Tiger we knew 15 years ago. Comebacks are never a sure thing, but something tells me his might be spectacular.”
As you are reading this, I am already on the road. I am heading back to Salem, Virginia to cover — as I did last year — the Stagg Bowl. It is the crowning achievement in NCAA DIII football, and really one of the more fun games of the year. It’s on ESPN U Friday night at 7 PM if you don’t believe me. Ever hear of Friday Night Lights? Well, that wasn’t about this, but hey, it’s Friday night, and there will be plenty of lights.
Anyway, our old friend Dunton stepped in and agreed to help keep the morning thoughts rolling, because typing is rather difficult on a six hour road trip. Today he looks at the current state of two all time greats.
The great and mighty Dunton is back with yet another golf Major preview. Will he nail the victor? Sit back and take a look at his Top 5 golfers to watch in this weekend’s Open Championship.
There are some special places in the world of sports: Lambeau Field, Fenway Park, Yankee Stadium — the old one, not this new abomination — center court at Wimbledon, and St. Andrews.
The Open Championship — it’s the British Open people, but whatever — at St. Andrews will be the center of the golf universe this week and many golf fans wouldn’t have it any other way. Called the birthplace of golf, the Olde Course at St. Andrews had rounds of golf dating back to the 1400s, and this week could see some of the most important rounds ever played here.
Jordan Spieth is going for 3 majors in a row. Tiger is trying to prove that he is still relevant. Phil is trying to have us all forget the gambling and money laundering scandal. Dustin is trying to shake off two of the worst putts we have ever seen. And Rory — oh wait no Rory this week. Stick to golf pal, soccer is clearly not your game.
So as we look to the week ahead we remember all the nuisances that is the Old Course: The Road Hole, Double Greens, Hell Bunker, and the ever present ghost of Old Tom Morris that seems to walk the course and push some to victory while forcing others to run in fear. Here are my golfers to keep an eye on this week as we look to wake up to live golf early here on the east coast.
One more meaningless week of preseason football, and the NFL is back, folks! This week was a tease as many of the starters went well into the third quarters of their games. Elsewhere around the world of sports a 13-year old makes the Sports Illustrated cover, buckets of ice continue to douse our star athletes and baseball’s pennant races are prepping for an exciting home stretch. Sit back and get comfy, as Wayniac Nation takes you around the week of sports.
Dear Tom,
Over the past few weeks there has been an elephant in the room over your three captains selections. My name has been tossed around like Tara Reid. Should you or should you not pick me for this year’s Ryder Cup team? Will my back hold up? Does my career record speak for itself? I have a simple answer to these questions: No. I will allow you a moment to soak in that answer, and then I will give you my reasons.
As much as I would be honored to represent the Ryder Cup for the seventh time in my career, I just don’t feel that my presence on this year’s squad will be what’s best for the good ol’ USA. I am beyond a distraction to the rest of the boys, let alone the European side. In the spirit of the competition, I need to be as far away from Scotland as possible. Maybe Lindsey and I will take a much needed vacation where she can rehab her knee in a bikini and I can rest the back while she is in a bikini. If I am on the squad, the entire week will be focused on me: my back, my game and my mental state. We should be focusing on the competition and spirit of this bi-annual event. If I stay away, I will be but a blip on the radar compared to matchups, strategies and Ian Poulter’s hot putter.
You are well aware that the US hasn’t won in Europe since 1993. Have you watched my play the last few weeks? Instead of fist pumping after long distance putts, I’m back grabbing like a 75-year old grandma after dancing Gangnam Style! Tom, you know as well as anyone that I would love to help you shock the world, but now is not the time for me to do that. The doctors tell me that the surgery that repaired the pinched nerve seems to be fine. Apparently doctor’s have a different definition for fine than the rest of us who use Webster’s Dictionary.
Let’s face it. Right now the US has a strong team going into this Ryder Cup without me. Rickie is playing out of his mind and his inevitable matchup with Rory on Sunday is something I will enjoy watching while I lay poolside getting a couples’ massage while Lindsey is in a bikini. You have your veteran leadership with Jim and Phil and strong team golf players in Matt, Zach and Bubba. And let’s not forget that all important, don’t care, youthful enthusiasm with Patrick, Jordan and Jimmy Walker. It’s Dy-no-miiiite! That is a strong nine that presents some interesting matchups and possible player combinations. Now I know what you are thinking. Who are my three captains picks? Well thats why the PGA has placed it’s confidence in you and I support them. I would go with Ryan Moore, Keegan Bradley and Webb Simpson in those spots. All three of them offer value to this team and will be guys who will enjoy the moment and play up to the stage that is the Ryder Cup. If I learned one thing this past weekend it’s that I am not bigger than the game. Watching that back nine at the PGA Championship with the record viewership proved that to me. I wasn’t there and yet people still tuned in and were excited about the game. Maybe that’s my legacy, I opened the door for this next wave of young golfers.
I truly appreciate your loyalty over these past few months and especially today but I think it’s time I face reality. If I have any chance of winning one more major, let alone four, I need to fully recover, refocus and rethink my game. I call it the 3 “Rs” and it’s my new buddhist philosophy. Lindsey calls it my new addiction, but I think she is happy I have not gone back to my old one.
Sincerely,
Tiger
(Be sure to follow Wayniac Nation’s golf expert Mike Dunton on Twitter! @dartbus1521)
Well, folks, the PGA season is winding down with the last major upon us. It has been a sharknado of a week for the PGA, one ripe with scandal and injury. Who better to break it all down than Wayniac Nation’s own golf expert, Mike Dunton. Fresh off his successful British Open prediction, Dunton breaks down the wild stories and expectations for the upcoming PGA Championship.
It just wouldn’t be a major championship without a little insight and commentary from Wayniac Nation’s own, Mike Dunton. This week, our golf expert looks at THREE INTERESTING STORIES TO FOLLOW FROM THE BRITISH OPEN. As always, Dunton (@dartbus1521) gives us his prediction for the weekend as well. So grab some tea, maybe a Newcastle if you’re feeling nutty, and enjoy a weekend of golf from the British Isles. Ta!
Ah, the British Open (or as I prefer to call it, The Open Championship) is upon us. Being the oldest of all major championships, dating back to 1860, it holds a special place with me. I reminisce back to college days when I could roll in at four in the morning and watch golf live on the worldwide leader in sports (sorry to my editor for that plug) until I could sort of see straight again. The courses rotate every 9 years, and each year we learn about local customs, quaint British towns, and how much golfers fear the pot bunkers. Over the past 20 years I have witnessed coronations, catastrophes, and all things in between. Can one forget Jack’s final crossing of the Swilcan Bridge on the 18th at St.Andrews in 2005? How about Jean Van de Velde’s epic collapse at Carnoustie in 1999, a “Burn” he will never recover from? Remember poor Tom Watson’s chance at history in 2009 when he missed par on the final hole to become the oldest player ever to win an Open Championship? Let’s not forget two years ago when, on day four, Adam Scott went from eleven under atop the leader board to second place after shooting a horrid five over on that Sunday. The Open Championship has seen its fair share of epic moments in golf, and this week may be no different. There are three intriguing stories heading into Thursday’s opening round to follow in the wee hours of the morning here in the states.
Keep going for three stories to keep your eye on this weekend
What a week, folks! Highlighted by yet another Suarez attack, there was a lot that went down around the sports world. So, fasten you seat belts, Wayniacs, as we go around the world of sports.
Here’s a little known fact: Did you know that the odds of getting bit by a shark are approximately 3.7 million to one? That means that based on the Vegas line and the course of his career, you are less likely to get bit by a shark than Uruguay’s vampire-esque superstar Luis Suarez. Suarez put the World Cup center stage with his antics, biting Italian defender Giorgio Chiellini in a game which would eventually decide who was the last team to advance from Group D. Coincidentally, Uruguay would win, but Suarez would pay the price being suspended from soccer for the next four months. The US lost to Germany in a decisive game that still allowed the USMNT to advance for a match against Belgium this coming Tuesday. So you win a game, you draw a game, and then you lose a game… but you ultimately come out of the Group of Death alive. This all proves that Americans are still too stubborn and stupid to comprehend soccer. Can I get an amen, Ann Coulter?
Turning to America’s other pastime, baseball had an eventful week. The hair is a little bit shorter and the mustache is a bit more porn starrish, but when Tim Lincecum is feeling it, he still has the ability to wow any baseball fan. The Freak no hit the San Diego Padres for the second time in a calendar year this past Wednesday, missing a perfect game by a mere one walk of Chase Headley. The Angels’ young superstar, center fielder Mike Trout also blasted his way into the the headlines. Trout slammed a home run 489 feet into the fountains at Royals’ Stadium, proving the old adage: chicks dig the long ball.
The NBA had a lot going this past week. Currently, everyone but Norris Cole has opted out of their contracts in Miami. Now, throughout the month of July, we all get to play the Where will Queen James go? game. Who cares? Where ever it is he goes, he will win a lot of games, score a tremendous amount of points, and then lose to Tim Duncan in the NBA Finals who said he will return for another year. The NBA Draft was also this week, and of all the picks and trades that went down, none was better than Baylor’s Isaiah Austin. Austin, a projected first round pick, had to end his career before it started due to Marfan syndrome, yet Commissioner Adam Silver still called his name Thursday making Austin an honorary NBA draft pick. Between tossing that bum Sterling out on his racist rear end, not rigging the NBA Finals to let Bron win, and now this move, Silver is certainly gaining a lot of friends and momentum heading into his first full season as Commish.
The NHL had their draft as well.
Hail to the Not So Politically Correct Native Americans! The big news in the NFL this week came off the field, as the Redskins name and logo lost several of its trademarks and copy rights. It is looking more and more like Daniel Snyder will have to change his team name from the Redskins. Rumored replacement names have been the Affordable Health Cares, the Socialists, and Daniel Snyder’s Big Pile of Wasted Money. In Texans news, there is hope on the horizon, fellow Texans’ fans. Third string quarterback Case Keenum plans on reaching out to Andre Johnson to throw with during his hold out. Yea, that’s exactly what Andre needs. Everyday, AJ must be one step closer to losing his mind.
And lastly, everyone’s favorite troubled golfer Tiger Woods returned to the limelight this weekend at the Quicken Loans International… well, kind of. Woods didn’t do terribly in his first two rounds of his return, but it wasn’t good enough to make the cut. No red shirt this Sunday, but the golf world is happier their favorite feline is back.
What does the week in sports have in store? That’s the beauty of sports: you can read the Vegas lines and people’s predictions all you want, but they are about as accurate as a meteorologist. Until next time, let’s hope the Yanks beat the Sox in the rubber match tonight and make sure you have your red, white, and blue on Tuesday at 4 PM. In the immortal words of Journey: Don’t stop believing! USA… USA… USA!!!
Guess who’s back? Back again? Tiger’s back, and Dun-ten. Wayniac Nation’s golf expert, Mike Dunton (@dartbus1521) returns with a look at what to expect from the return of Tiger Woods. Does he win this weekend? Can he get to 19 majors?
Tiger is once again about to prowl the PGA tour, and nobody is happier than I am. Golf has lost its swagger since Tiger announced he had to repair a bulging disk in his back over two months ago. When Tiger shocks PGA Nation and wins his comeback tourney this weekend, the golf world will once again be his.
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