World Golf Rankings - Bunching Up At The Top

The World Golf Rankings are really starting to bunch up at the top. The top 10 are as follows: 1. Jason Day 2. Rory McIlroy 3. Henrik Stenson 4. Dustin Johnson 5. Hideki Matsuyama 6. Jordan Spieth 7. Adam Scott 8. Justin Thomas 9. Sergio Garcia 10. Patrick Reed Only 1.2 points separate the top 5 golfers. The guy making the biggest move so far this season is Hideki Matsuyama. I really thought he would jump up another spot after his win in Phoenix this weekend, but he is within a whisker of DJ and Henrik. I don't mean to put pressure on the kid, but he's looking like the most likely candidate to be the first Japanese golfer to win a men's professional major. It's pretty clear he's already the best Japanese player of all time, given his success on the PGA Tour. Yes, that is where I place most emphasis. It will be interesting to see who becomes the favorite heading into Augusta. Justin Thomas was on a roll, but missed the cut at Phoenix. Spieth is playing consistently well, but has yet to get a win. He's still got to figure out the driver in my opinion. Jason Day is off to a so-so start, along with DJ, and Rory is injured, so this list is likely to see a big shakeup in the coming weeks. Tiger's Woes Continue Meanwhile, Tiger's latest comeback hit another road bump as he withdrew from Dubai with back spasms. I didn't get to see him play, but reports are that he looked old and injured during the round, although it was indicated that the spasm did not set in until the evening after the round. I think it would be great to see him round into some kind of competitive form, but this seems to be getting less likely in the near term. I believe his next event is scheduled for Riviera, a tournament he has rarely played. It's played fairly tough in recent years, so we'll see where he is with his game. Another missed cut would have to be damaging to his psyche. Take Advantage of this Weather! If you live in the Mid-Atlantic, you are probably jumping with joy that you've done little snow shoveling this year. Incredibly, the one major snow of the season in this neck of the woods was at the beaches and to the south in Williamsburg. So far this year, I've only picked up a shovel once after a sleet storm in Southcentral PA. Haven't had to bother so far here in the DC Metro. With that said, it's supposed to be over 60 again tomorrow. If you are able, get to the range and hit some balls. Keep in mind though, it's never a good idea to start ripping drivers during the first practice session or two. I usually just hit a bucket of wedges the first time out, then go up to about an 8-iron the second time. Fundamentals are what it's all about early in the season. If you can get some work in now, I guarantee it will pay off in the Spring. So get to it! If you are stuck up in the northern tier where it is still pretty cold, perhaps it's time to think about getting a golf simulator. There are some good buys out there, and you can learn more about them at Golf Simulator Headquarters. Check it out! That's a wrap for this post. I am getting the itch back so you can expect more in the foreseeable future!

Tiger back to competitive golf, but for how long?

Tiger Woods played his first PGA Tour event of the season last week at one of his favorite venues, Torrey Pines. Unfortunately, he missed the cut after rounds of 76 and 72. Yesterday was his first round in the European Tour event in Dubai, and that didn't go well either...+5. I read a tweet by Golf Channel instructor Martin Hall today that suggested it looked like Tiger was swinging to avoid pain. Not a good way to play golf, and certainly not a good way to try and play competitively. Let's face it, he's rusty. Nothing wrong with that after a long layoff. It was reported late last year before he played his Hero World Challenge event that he had shot a 64 at Seminole in FL, which is arguably the best track in FL. Hank Haney tweeted that if Tiger indeed shot a 64 there, then he could definitely win his own event at the Hero World Challenge. Well, that didn't work out too well either...one decent round out of four. Now it looks like he may miss his second consecutive cut. I really haven't watched him play, but for a few holes last week. Still has the two-way miss off the tee. This is due to the fact that he clearly wants to play a draw. That's a mistake. Tiger just needs to get it in the damn fairway off the tee and he can be dangerous any given week. His iron game was so good at one time, and it is easier to get those irons dialed back in than the driver. He's got two more events in the next three weeks, and then I suspect if he's not competitive he may go back to the drawing board. He always said he would not play if he didn't think he could win. Well, he clearly can't win right now. Well, enough about Tiger. What does the tour look like so far this year? Well, it looks like a bunch of young studs are dominating and I think they are ready to leave some of the old timers behind. It looks to me that only a handful of the old timers can still compete with these young guns...Phil, when he can keep it in play and putt...Henrik, and Justin Rose. These young guns...Justin Thomas, Hideki Matsuyama, Jon Rahm and a few others are going to make life difficult for even Jordan Spieth, Jason Day and Rickie. I guess I could even throw DJ into the old guy mix since he is over 30. He can still hang for sure. But, it's clear these young guns have no fear and are ready to dominate.