Feb 14

Nissan Open will be great golfing theater - and it doesn’t include Tiger Woods

Don’t know if Spencer Hux will watch the Nissan Open but I’m sure most real golf fans will tune in, that is, if they can’t get there in person. SHux wrote an article last week whining about how boring golf is without Tiger Woods in the field. The other complaint was that the Tour doesn’t play great courses when Woods is AWOL. Boo hoo. What that says is that he is a Tiger fan more than a golf fan. (Not that there’s anything wrong with that.)

But, seriously, are you kidding me? Here is who will be there: every-frickin-body else! Eleven of the 13 top-ranked players in the world are entered at Riviera Country Club, which is a great old golf course nicknamed “Hogan’s Alley” for all the success that Ben Hogan had there. Good stories abound as Phil Mickelson, Vijay Singh, Ernie Els & Retief Goosen look to enhance their early good play this year in preparation for the Masters, which is now only 6 weeks away. Many of the top players like Jim Furyk, Adam Scott, Geoff Ogilvy, Sergio Garcia and Luke Donald are looking to finally show some top form. And early season surprises like John Rollins, Charley Hoffman and Jeff Quinney will be testing their mettle against the strongest field of the year so far.

I gotta believe that most golf fans will say the glass is way more than half-full this week. Enjoy!

« Major newspaper gives big coverage to LPGA

Tournament Golf is great without Tiger Woods »

7 comments

§ Baby Blue Eyes said on : 02/14/07 @ 11:20
Shank,

As long as the tourney is broadcasted on HD, I probably can tolerate some boring golf.
§ Shanks® said on : 02/14/07 @ 12:08
Glad to hear you can tough it out, Beebs.
§ jamie said on : 02/14/07 @ 15:10
Now that Tiger wins every time he plays a PGA event they're much more fun to watch without him. Besides, who want's to hear him whine about how crappy the greens on the West Coast are...
§ Shanks® said on : 02/14/07 @ 15:50
Now Jamie, when I suggested in my previous post that it COULD be argued a tournament was MORE exciting without Woods, some folks took umbrage at that remark.
§ Oliver Sudden said on : 02/15/07 @ 01:13
The Nissan will be a good tournament without Tiger but next week's match play is what I want to comment on. It looks like Tiger will play Brett Quigley in the 1st round. I wonder how many casual golf fans think it is 1000-1 that Tiger could lose ? Real golf fans know it is more like 2-1. Being # 1 in golf means if you play enough holes # 1 will win. But a player like Quigley or anyone else could beat Woods over 18 holes of match play. Rollins should have beat him in the 1st round last year. Which is why match play fell out of favor and is not popular with the TV people.
§ Shanks® said on : 02/15/07 @ 07:29
OS, I'll likely write something about the Match Play next week, so I'll hold my comments until then. I really don't want to skim past this week. But you make a very good point about the unpredictability of an 18 hole match.
§ Shanks® said on : 02/16/07 @ 13:05
Some questions come to mind after the first round. Can Harrington follow a great round with a solid round? Can Mickelson keep up the good play? Can Garcia or Ogilvy finally display some form this year? Can Furyk, Singh & Els make a steady march up the leaderboard? Will some of the upstarts like Baddeley and Howell III continue their good form?

Is Tiger Woods watching the telecast to see who his primary challengers are?

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Golf with Shanks
TravelGolf.com's Golf with Shanks blog chronicles all the news and events in the world of golf. From PGA and LPGA stars Tiger Woods and Michelle Wie, to the Ryder Cup and the latest in golf equipment.
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