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Stricker storms to FedEx Cup lead; Tiger’s poor behavior
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Stricker breaks out of the pack.
Steve Stricker—who has built quite a reputation for himself as professional golf’s Mr. September of late—captured the 2009 Deutsche Bank Championship in impressive fashion on Monday afternoon at the TPC of Boston in Norton, MA. The Wisconsin native birdied his last two holes to vault to 17-under par for the tournament and victory by a single shot over Jason Dufner and Scott Verplank. Angel Cabrera, this year’s Masters champ, finished two strokes back with Padraig Harrington and Dustin Johnson. Tiger Woods, who turned in three middling rounds on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, exploded for an eight-under par 63, which included eight birdies and a holeout for eagle on the par-4 6th hole en route to an outward nine of 30. Woods falls to the no. 2 spot in the FedEx Cup with his t-11 finish.
Woods’ temper gets away from him…again.
Tiger Woods’ moments of acute frustration have been well-documented during his career. He has been known to utter a few audible choice words or wave a club in disgust after bad shots, and as a result has quipped to friends that he is “the most heavily fined player on Tour.” He had a very noticeable outburst during the second round of this year’s Open Championship at Turnberry, when a wayward tee shot prompted him to slam his driver violently into the ground. While golf is very often stressful and frustrating, almost everyone agrees that slamming one’s club or cursing loudly is not terribly respective of the etiquette of the game. On Friday, Tiger arrived at the tee of the 5th hole at TPC of Boston having narrowly missed makeable birdie putts on his first four holes. He made a poor swing off the 5th tee, and sent his club flying behind him into a patch of wetlands beside the tee box. As he strolled angrily off the tee box, his caddie, Steve Williams, rooted around in the bushes for a few minutes before finally extracting the club.
While his career accomplishments are astonishing, no amount of spectacular shots or major championship triumphs can excuse his periodic poor behavior on the golf course. In professional sports, the argument that athletes should not be subject to any more scrutiny than employees in an office does not hold water with me. Tiger Woods’ position atop the golf world subjects him to a higher standard of behavior due to his role-model status. Countless children whose golf careers are young look up to Tiger as someone to emulate. It is regrettable that such a public figure has had such profound recent tantrums; it sends a bad message to those who are inspired by him as a golfer. Here’s hoping that his comportment improves from this point on. (photo courtesy of AP)
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