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Should there be 47 candles on the birthday cake when Tiger Woods greets the arrival of Dec. 30, we’ll assume few of us will be in attendance to see the glow. No worries, because to celebrate the golfer who has established an endless list of records and produced enough highlights to fill dozens of reels, there are countless ways to commemorate the occasion. May we suggest 47 noteworthy entries that speak to his brilliance: 1. It took Tiger just 291 days from his first round as a professional to rise to No. 1 in the Official World Golf Ranking, the quickest ascension to the top spot in OWGR history. 2. Tiger has been No. 1 a total of 683 weeks. Second-most is more than 350 week behind. The next four on the list combined for 669 weeks. 3. Who finished first the most in the 31 times Woods was a runner-up? That would be Phil Mickelson, five times. On three occasions it was Vijay Singh. Ernie Els, Jim Furyk, and Trevor Immelman had two each, then there were 17 players who did it once each. 4. In comparison to his 15 major titles, he has just seven runners-up in majors – three at the PGA, two in the U.S. Open, twice in the Masters – proving that he made the most of his opportunities. 5. His 82 PGA TOUR victories have been spread over seven countries – two each in England and Scotland, one each in Spain, Canada, Ireland, and Japan, and, of course, 74 in the Unites States. His domestic victories have come in 16 different states with Florida (16), California (14), and Ohio (13) his favorite playgrounds. 6. Tiger Woods was the winner of the first FedExCup, in 2007. He then became the first two-time winner of the Cup two years later. Rory McIlroy, who has a record three titles, is the only other multiple winner of the FedExCup. 7. Only once has Woods shot higher than 279 to win a major, that being the 283 he posted to win the 2008 U.S. Open. 8. Tiger Woods is a two-time winner of THE PLAYERS, and the only man to win the tournament in both March (2001) and May (2013). He also won the 1994 U.S. Amateur at TPC Sawgrass in August. 9. In his five Masters wins, Woods is just 17 under par in the first and final rounds. He’s a whopping 54 under in the middle two. His blueprint for winning at Augusta National? Start slow, finish modestly, but kick the field in the gut in Rounds 2 and 3. 10. In the stretch of 288 major championship holes that comprised the Tiger Slam, he made just one triple-bogey and one double-bogey and played four bogey-free rounds. 11. Jack Nicklaus has the higher total of major wins (18), but Woods’ average margin of victory in his 15 major wins is 4.13. Jack’s average margin of victory is 2.64. 12. If his career was just the 75 tournaments in which he played between 2005 and 2009, Woods’ 31 wins would leave him tied with Jimmy Demaret for 15th on the career list. 13. Ten times between 1997 and 2009 Tiger won the Jack Nicklaus Award for Player of the Year. 14. Tiger won the Byron Nelson Award for lowest scoring average nine times between 1999-2009. 15. Tiger won that first FedExCup in style, shooting the lowest 72-hole score of his career (257) to win the 2007 TOUR Championship by eight strokes. He shot 64-63-64 in the first three rounds, the lowest 54-hole score of his career, before closing with a 66. 16. So dominating was Woods that in three different seasons when he led the money list, he totaled more than what Nos. 2 and 3 had combined – 1999 (David Duval and Davis Love III were 2-3); 2000 (Phil Mickelson, Ernie Els); and 2007 (Mickelson and Vijay Singh). 17. One could suggest Woods won seven consecutive major championships (for his age group) – the U.S. Junior Amateur in 1991-93, the U.S. Amateur in 1994-96 and the Masters in 1997. 18. Tiger was all but unbeatable in match play in the summer of 1994, winning the Pacific Northwest Amateur, Western Amateur and U.S. Amateur. His bid to add the California Amateur that year ended in the semifinals, but that tournament was still won by another player named Woods, Steve Woods (no relation). 19. Tiger had an early taste of outplaying PGA Tour icons when he shot 77-74 to Johnny Miller’s 77-77 in a U.S. Open qualifier at Lake Merced in 1992. Neither player advanced, however. Miller was 45 years old and still had another PGA TOUR win in him, claiming the 1994 AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am. Tiger was just 16. 20. One of the first things he said he learned upon enrolling at Stanford in 1994 was that the circle of gifted and talented students – academically and athletically – was enormous. “In high school,” he told reporters, “I set the curve. Here, I follow it.” 21. The World Golf Championships debuted in 1999, Woods’ fourth year as a pro and he promptly took ownership. He won 16 of the first 33 WGCs and has 18 victories in all. 22. Were you to only count his triumphs at Arnold Palmer’s Bay Hill Club & Lodge, Torrey Pines, and Firestone (eight each), Tiger would equal Gary Player’s total of 24 PGA Tour wins. 23. Factor in his five wins at Augusta National, five more at Jack Nicklaus’ Muirfield Village, five at Cog Hill, and four at Doral and Woods has earned 52.4% of his 82 career wins at eight golf courses. 24. By age 6, Woods had already shared stages with three Hall of Famers. There was the well-chronicled appearance with Bob Hope (a member of the World Golf Hall of Fame) on the Mike Douglas Show in 1978; a 1981 appearance on “That’s Incredible” with host Fran Tarkenton (Pro Football Hall of Fame); and in 1982 he played two holes against Sam Snead (World Golf Hall of Fame) at the end of Snead’s outing. 25. Trips to San Diego for the Junior World Golf Championship were rather successful as Woods won five times in four different age divisions over four different courses. He won the 10-and-under division at Presidio in 1984; the 11-12 division in 1988 at Mission Bay; the 13-14 division at Balboa Park in 1989 and ’90; and the 15-17 division at Torrey Pines. 26. Tiger Woods’ win in the 2001 PLAYERS came just weeks before he won the Masters to complete the Tiger Slam, meaning he actually held golf’s five biggest titles simultaneously. 27. Away from the PGA TOUR spotlight, but truly an indicator of just what was about to be unleashed on the golf world grew out of the Johnnie Walker Classic in January of 1998. Tied for 18th and eight behind the 54-hole leader, Ernie Els, Tiger came home in 65 to tie Els (73) and then won in a playoff. 28. From the Buick Invitational at Torrey Pines in early February 1998 to the Wells Fargo Championship at Quail Hollow in May of 2006, Tiger played in 142 consecutive tournaments without missing a cut. And it wasn’t like he was just sneaking under the cutline on Friday afternoon; he won 37 of those 142, or 26%. 29. In 2000, from the second round of the Byron Nelson Classic (May 12) through the end of the season, Tiger was par or better in 47 consecutive rounds. He was 185 under par during this stretch and had a scoring average of 67.51. 30. The 1999 to 2003 stretch was epic: He won 32 of 101 tournaments, a winning percentage of 31.7, and captured seven majors. He won five of six majors from the 1999 PGA to the 2001 Masters – with a fifth-place finish at Augusta in 2000 the lone non-win. He won seven of 11 majors from the 1999 PGA to the 2002 U.S. Open. Bobby Jones, Gene Sarazen, Arnold Palmer and Sam Snead won seven majors in their careers. 31. Then again, 2005-2009 wasn’t too shabby, either: 31 wins in 75 starts, a clip of 41.3%, with six majors. 32. In those 10 seasons (1999-2003; 2005-09) Tiger’s longest winless drought was seven tournaments. His longest droughts in 2000 and 2009 were three tournaments. 33. Very few people saw one of the most impressive days of Tiger’s career. It was the first day of the 1996 Pac-10 Championship at Big Canyon. Woods shot 61-65 to open up a 14-shot lead on the field (the same margin by which he won). “Everybody was shell-shocked,” said Arizona State head coach Randy Lein. Both of Woods’ rounds broke the previous course record (66). “So far I’m low amateur,” joked the player in second. The lowest score that week by a player not named Tiger was 68. 34. The answer is: Nick O’Hern. The question: Who is the other lefthander to halt an impressive winning streak. Woods had won seven tournaments in a row (last six of 2006, first one in 2007) when O’Hern, an unheralded Aussie, beat Woods in 20 holes in Round 3 of the WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play at Dove Mountain outside of Tucson, Ariz. 35. Tiger is one of five players to win the career Grand Slam, but he did it more quickly (only 15 major starts as a professional) than Gene Sarazen, Ben Hogan, Gary Player, and Jack Nicklaus. 36. Only Tiger and Jack have won the career Grand Slam three times over. 37. The epic run of four straight major wins from the 2000 U.S. Open to the 2001 Masters produced these numbers: 67.7 scoring average for 16 rounds, 65 under par combined, and 15 of his 16 rounds were under par (and he was level par in the other). 38. Tiger did compile an impressive two-year collegiate resume – 11 victories in 26 tournaments and the NCAA individual championship in 1996. In that win, he was steamrolling the field so impressively that he closed with an 80 – and still won by four over Rory Sabbatini. 39. Prelude to the “Tiger Slam:” Seven down with seven holes, left, Tiger plays Nos. 12-18 in 5 under (including a hole-out eagle on the par-4 15th), shoots 31 on the back, and 64 in Round 4 to stun Matt Gogel in the 2000 AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, his sixth straight win. “I was amazed, to be quite honest. I will not ever be amazed again,” said Gogel. 40. “Tiger Slam, Act 1:” Again at Pebble, Tiger closes with 67 for a 15-shot win in 2000 U.S. Open. “My words probably can’t describe it, so I’m not even going to try,” said Ernie Els. 41. “Tiger Slam, Act II:” Less dominating, but only by a little, Tiger wins The Open by eight at the Old Course. At 24, he completes the career Grand Slam. “He is the chosen one,” said Mark Calcavecchia. 42. “Tiger Slam, Act III:” Becoming only the second player (Ben Hogan, in 1953) to win three professional majors in a season, Woods beats Bob May in a playoff at the PGA Championship. “Hogan had tremendous focus and I think you’re seeing Tiger is now getting to that,” said Butch Harmon. 43. “Tiger Slam, Act IV:” An unprecedented fourth straight major win is completed at the 2001 Masters and it comes with a final-round 68 to win by two 44. Tiger was sidelined by knee surgery after winning the 2008 U.S. Open at Torrey Pines, halting a truly dominant stretch. The 2008 U.S. Open was his 17th win in his last 28 starts. Curtis Strange and Jim Furyk each had 17 wins in their entire careers. 45. That dominant 1999-2000 period? Tiger played 151 rounds and had at least a share of the lead after 50 of them. 46. On March 9, the day before the 2022 PLAYERS Championship began, Tiger was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame. He shared the mantra – “Train hard. Fight easy.” – that his father Earl used to guide him, and that Tiger now shares with his kids. “I made practicing so difficult, hurt so much, because I wanted to make sure that I was ready come game time,” Tiger said in his speech. “I hit thousands of balls, hands bleeding, aching, just so that I could play in a tournament.” 47. No tournament better exemplifies the new era of his career than the PNC Championship, which Tiger has now played with son Charlie for the past three years. Charlie, 13, is just beginning his own golf career. He hasn’t beaten his father but he has outdriven him. Tiger also serves as his son’s occasional caddie, including this year’s Notah Begay Junior Challenge. Said Tiger: “It’s hard to describe, because it’s so amazing to be able to be with Charlie out there and fight through it together and do it as a team. … Lots of lessons learned but I think overall the big picture is he thoroughly enjoyed it. It was a lot of fun for both of us.”
PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. — Webb Simpson didn’t miss anything except the island green. On the verge of shattering the course record Friday at TPC Sawgrass — even a 59 was in play — Simpson hit sand wedge into the water on the notorious par-3 17th and made double bogey that ruined his round, but not his day at THE PLAYERS Championship. He still tied the record with a 9-under 63, and he had a five-shot lead, the largest in the 45 years of this tournament. “It wasn’t a mistake,” Simpson said. “Just the wrong club.” He was in no mood to let that sour his mood. Simpson simply couldn’t miss, whether it was a 35-foot eagle putt on his second hole or a 30-foot birdie putt up the slope and into the cup on the 15th . At that point, all he could do was laugh. And then he reached the 17th, playing 147 yards to a back pin, the light wind playing tricks with him. He kept backing off, trying to decide between sand wedge and pitching wedge. He said a few fans were telling him to hit it. The ball hit the wooden frame on the front of the green, caromed high in the air and landed on the back of the green with so much momentum that it rolled through the light collar of rough and disappeared into the water. “Everything is going in,” he said. “You feel like no matter what, you’re going to make it, and I grew up on an easy golf course so it reminded me of being back home, shooting low numbers. But at the same time, you’re at the TPC Sawgrass, so you know that trouble is everywhere, as you guys saw with me on 17.” And it will be there over the next two rounds. Simpson was the seventh player to shoot 63 on the Stadium Course — five since 2013 — and his 15-under 129 tied the 36-hole record set two years ago by Jason Day. Charl Schwartzel (66), Patrick Cantlay (68) and Danny Lee (66) were five shots behind. Tiger Woods at least gets to return on the weekend. He made the cut on the number (1-under 143) after a 71 in the easier morning conditions. Woods was outside the cut line until Jordan Spieth and Justin Thomas each made bogey on the 18th. Spieth three-putted from 35 feet, though he shot 68 and ended three straight years missing the cut. Rory McIlroy wasn’t so fortunate. He was inside the cut line until hitting into the water on the 17th and making double bogey. Conditions were ideal for scoring for the second straight day. Simpson took that to another level. He ended the front nine with a 15-foot birdie putt on the par-5 ninth for a one-shot lead, and then he took off. Starting with an up-and-down at the par-5 11th, Simpson ran off six straight birdies — three straight from the 20-foot range, the most unlikely birdie with the one from behind the 15th green, and another up-and-down from left the of the green on the par-5 16th. Spieth was 5 under on his round through 11 holes and wondered if he had the low round of the day. And then he saw a leaderboard. “It was just amazing,” said Spieth, who played with McIlroy and Thomas. “We were talking about it throughout the round, all three of us. We were like, `Man, I hope he shoots 59.’ And at the same time, we’re saying if he shoots 59, can you imagine how hard the setup is going to be tomorrow?” The real challenge will be catching Simpson. Only three other players have led by as many as three shots through 36 holes at THE PLAYERS — Lanny Wadkins (3) in 1979, Greg Norman (3) in 1994 and Day (4) in 2016. All of them went on to win. “If you’re off a little bit, you make bogeys or double bogeys as easy as you can make birdies,” Simpson said. “I don’t think any lead is safe. … There’s no defensiveness in my game tomorrow.” Schwartzel never came close to a bogey, only missing two greens, and just barely. Cantlay only had one bad swing and one bad break, both on the par-5 ninth, that led to bogey. Lee shot a 31 on the back nine with a double bogey on the 11th hole. Simpson left them all in his wake. “The most entertaining golf in our group was watching Webb’s score,” said Justin Rose, who played behind Simpson and shot 72. “It’s a miracle round. To be 11-under par, it’s a shame he doesn’t finish it off. But 17 is a hard hole to get through. I’m sure he was nervous playing that hole. We’re all nervous playing that hole, but an 11-under par round, that green I’m sure looks even smaller.” Woods had wedges in his hand on his opening three holes and never got it close for birdie, and it was like that all day. He was in the feature pairing with Phil Mickelson and Rickie Fowler, and Woods was the only one to make the cut. Mickelson went 79-73 and missed the cut for the fifth time in the last six years. Fowler was in good shape until losing a ball in a tree on the sixth hole for the first of consecutive double bogeys. He shot 71 and missed by two shots.
Hideki Matsuyama is crucial to the International Team’s chances in the Presidents Cup. The eight-time TOUR winner is making his fourth Presidents Cup appearance and is the highest-ranked member of the International Team. He may have a new club in the bag, as well, at Quail Hollow after using a yet-to-be-released Srixon driver in the season-opening Fortinet Championship. Matsuyama is known as one of the TOUR’s top tinkerers, showing up every week with a bag filled to the brim with backup clubs and extra shaft. It’s not uncommon for Matsuyama to test four or five different driver builds during a range session, with four or five additional shafts on deck that he swap out for further testing. He’s constantly looking for the right feel and precise performance from his equipment. Since early last year, Matsuyama has consistently used and tested slightly-modified versions of Srixon’s ZX5 driver model that was released to the public in January 2021.The 2021 ZX5 retail model comes with a larger profile made for forgiveness, whereas the ZX7 has a more compact look and is designed for a more penetrating trajectory. On the day before the opening round of the Fortinet Championship, Matsuyama was spotted testing a completely new prototype driver from Srixon. A day earlier, GolfWRX.com caught wind of players testing new Srixon “ZX5 MKII LS” and “ZX7 MKII” prototype drivers at Silverado Resort and Spa in Napa, California. The drivers were recently added to the USGA Conforming Clubs List, so they’re approved for competition, but they are unreleased models that have yet to be seen by the public. Matsuyama, who’s usually seen testing various Srixon 2021 ZX5 drivers during his practice sessions, was spotted testing Srixon’s new ZX5 MKII LS drivers on Wednesday and in photos from Thursday’s first round. Although Srixon representatives chose not to speak on the new driver technologies when contacted for comment, a bit of detective work can add a bit of clarity. The ZX5 MKII “LS” (which presumably stands for “low spin”) has a weight in the front portion of the sole near the face. Typically, moving the center of gravity (CG) toward the face can help create a lower-spinning, lower-launching ball flight. Additionally, the words “Rebound Frame” appear on the toe section of the face. In Srixon’s previous driver release, the Rebound Frame enhanced speed by using strategically placed regions with various levels of rigidity and flexibility to maximize energy transfer into the golf ball; it appears the Rebound Frame is being used in the new models, as well. Matsuyama employed a 10.5-degree ZX5 MKII LS driver head, equipped with the familiar Graphite Design Tour AD-DI 8TX orange shaft that he’s used for years. He’s also added a strip of lead tape to the back/heel portion of the driver head for a slight modification to the center of gravity.
