This might be the worst coverage I've seen of a major in years.
Yesterday was my birthday so I took the day off and played golf and got home in time to see the final hour and a half of the TNT's coverage of the "Tiger Woods Is The Only Golfer On The Planet" game. Seriously. He did have another player playing with him, but unless you watched very closely you would have no idea who it was. Tiger would a hit a shot and then TNT would go to a commercial. They'd come back from the break, speculate to the nth degree about Tiger's next shot, then he'd hit his next shot and go to commercial.
It's not that I don't like Tiger. As a matter of fact I was hoping he'd win this week. But that doesn't mean I don't want to see other players hitting shots whether they be great or disastrous. The latter makes especially good entertainment for me because I'm spiteful due to my own lousy game.
Thus far today, CBS has spent serious time covering almost nothing but Tiger's last two days. Why? To a certain extent, I do understand that not everyone is a slacking layabout like myself who can take off any day they want to play golf and then go home and watch a golf tournament so maybe some high and lowlights are interesting to some. But Mickelson, the leader and major ratings attracter has had a great two days and I've seen minimal highlights of his play so far. Same with Vijay and John Daly. Not that Daly will win but he always hits shots that are fun to see.
If I were almost any PGA player I'd be pretty insulted that one player can take up so much of the coverage of a major event-and a player that's well out of the lead at that. And when it's all over, is there any doubt that the winner is going to asked something along the lines of, "Did the fact that Tiger Woods was out of it for most of the tournament help you relax and play better than you normally would have?" I cringe every time I hear something like that asked to another PGA pro. Every guy playing in this tournament are among the best on the planet and they shouldn't have to endure such questions. Maybe that's why I'm not so good at the game. I don't have the temperment to put up with such inanity. My response to a question like that would be two words, with the second word being, "You!"
This might be the worst coverage I've seen of a major in years.
Yesterday was my birthday so I took the day off and played golf and got home in time to see the final hour and a half of the TNT's coverage of the "Tiger Woods Is The Only Golfer On The Planet" game. Seriously. He did have another player playing with him, but unless you watched very closely you would have no idea who it was. Tiger would a hit a shot and then TNT would go to a commercial. They'd come back from the break, speculate to the nth degree about Tiger's next shot, then he'd hit his next shot and go to commercial.
It's not that I don't like Tiger. As a matter of fact I was hoping he'd win this week. But that doesn't mean I don't want to see other players hitting shots whether they be great or disastrous. The latter makes especially good entertainment for me because I'm spiteful due to my own lousy game.
Thus far today, CBS has spent serious time covering almost nothing but Tiger's last two days. Why? To a certain extent, I do understand that not everyone is a slacking layabout like myself who can take off any day they want to play golf and then go home and watch a golf tournament so maybe some high and lowlights are interesting to some. But Mickelson, the leader and major ratings attracter has had a great two days and I've seen minimal highlights of his play so far. Same with Vijay and John Daly. Not that Daly will win but he always hits shots that are fun to see.
If I were almost any PGA player I'd be pretty insulted that one player can take up so much of the coverage of a major event-and a player that's well out of the lead at that. And when it's all over, is there any doubt that the winner is going to asked something along the lines of, "Did the fact that Tiger Woods was out of it for most of the tournament help you relax and play better than you normally would have?" I cringe every time I hear something like that asked to another PGA pro. Every guy playing in this tournament are among the best on the planet and they shouldn't have to endure such questions. Maybe that's why I'm not so good at the game. I don't have the temperment to put up with such inanity. My response to a question like that would be two words, with the second word being, "You!"
Well, that's my rant and I'm sticking to it.
I agree with most of what you said, although Mickelson is not as big of a ratings draw as you might think. He's a HUGE fan favorite at the tournament site, but when it comes to average Joe Schmoe's watching at home, Tiger (and to a lesser extent JD and Mickelson) is the one that draws "major ratings" as you call it. Tiger's Masters win had a 41% higher rating than Mickelson's last year, despite the fact that last year's Masters was one of the most exciting in history. Anyway, I agree with you on your other points though. It gets annoying that they don't show more than just Tiger's shots. I enjoy watching the other guys, and TNT and CBS should feel ashamed I think.
I agree with the assessment of TNT's coverage but other than a recap of Tiger's last two rounds, CBS hasn't shoved Tiger down our throats. The casual golf fan always tunes in to see how Tiger is doing and CBS got all that out of the way in the first 10-15 minutes. It seems odd watching a major and not seeing Tiger's every shot.
Today's coverage has to be a first.........no Tiger live on the weekend.
Today's coverage has to be a first.........no Tiger live on the weekend.
Yeah. LOL. Looks like there'll be plenty of him "live" tomorrow though. 5 back of Bjorn and Phil now. Tiger must REALLY be kicking himself right now. He should have birdied 17 and 18 today, and yesterday's bogey at 17 is a two shot swing as well. He could be right in the thick of it right now. He's definitely a bit mad at himself right now I guess. But, he's also probably pleasantly surprised that the leaders are struggling. I still think the lead will be -6 or even better by the end of the day. All this being said, Tiger will still likely end up in the top 10 and maybe the top 5 if he goes super low tomorrow (64 or better).
This I have to agree with being some shatty coverage. And this is why I don't like Tiger. All they ever have to talk about is what he's doing even if he's 12 shots out of the lead and is undoubtedly going to miss a cut. But I think even if the man didn't make the cut that's all we'd hear about all weekend.
This I have to agree with being some shatty coverage. And this is why I don't like Tiger. All they ever have to talk about is what he's doing even if he's 12 shots out of the lead and is undoubtedly going to miss a cut. But I think even if the man didn't make the cut that's all we'd hear about all weekend.
Jak, if Tiger had made some putts today, you'd be singing a different tune. He feels as though he left at least 4 shots on the golf course. That would put him at -4, just 2 back. As is, he's 6 back and if he plays up to his capability (meaning that he needs to MAKE PUTTS), he could shoot a 62 tomorrow and pressure the leaders. :nodsmiley
By the way, Tiger's had at least 5 3-putts this week that I've counted (maybe even more?). I've seen Vijay do it a couple of times, but it looks to me like Woods is leading the field in the old 3-jack column (the most infamous category to "lead" a field in).
A 62 in a major would make history........and it still might not be enough. Nothing Tiger does surprises me but I wouldn't count on it.
With the way he's hitting it, he could have shot that TODAY but didn't b/c of a few misses on the greens and one really bad 3-wood at 17 (he shoulda just hit the full 2-iron instead of trying to baby a 3-wood...he only had 250 to the front). With the way he's putting though, I agree with you completely league. It's highly unlikely that he'll be able to shoot a 62. But, a 64 is very possible. A 64 won't win in my opinion, but it will definitely have him in the top 5 (maybe even the top 3). I think -8 is the number, and I think there could be a few people who finish at it. DLIII has played the most solid of the leaders, and he's shot -2 in each round. So, I say just add another -2 to his score and you've got the final leading score. Whether he is one of the people who makes it, I'm not sure.
Back to the coverage....I like to watch the golf and see players hitting shots. What tends to happen is the two or three leaders plus Tiger get shown constantly and we don't see anyone else unless they make a spectacular shot. If they cut to someone other than the top two or three you are virtually guaranteed it is a replay of them knocking the stick out or sinking a chip or putt. My wife was amazed yesterday when I kept saying "bet he makes this" and they always did! I knew it was a replay!
Yesterday Appleby knocked his first putt six feet past on the last and had the comebacker for birdie to get within two of the lead. They cut to Phil's shot on 16? 17? (which was fair enough as he was in the lead and Apples takes forever) but never cut back to Apples and showed Phil walking around the green and down the next fairway instead. I had to wait until the next ad break (which was probably only two minutes as they have hundreds if not thousands of ads) to see the leaderboard and find out if he made it!
Love the Golf, HATE, HATE, HATE the coverage. I may count the ad breaks today to give me fuel to protest.
Tiger just bogeyed the 3rd, now +2 and 8 shots back.
He seems to get off to the slowest starts of anyone in golf. He always seems to bogey the first hole and in this case 2/3. He did it at the US Open in the final round too. He did it at the Buick Open, and he's done it many times this year when he's needed to go low.
What if...theoretically...Tiger were to make Eagle-eagle here on 17 and 18, which he's about to play. As of right now only Mickelson's at -5. Does he have the fortitude to stay there if Tiger's in at 276? Does anyone else?
August 13th, 2005, 02:52 PM
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