New World Order: Tiger's biggest playing-partner beatdowns
By the time Tiger Woods got to the 16th hole two years ago in Charlotte, he was stoically staring straight ahead, hardly speaking, as Angel Cabrera talked in subdued tones nearby, as though the latter was attending a walking wake.
In many regards, the lopsided head-to-head beat-down of Woods on Sunday at the Pebble Beach National Pro-Am was the most shocking of his career. After two comparatively awful seasons, Woods' play had fast been trending upward, and he had generally given Phil Mickelson all he could handle when the two were paired in the past.
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Instead, Mickelson summarily diced Woods into pieces and fed him to the cawing seagulls, destroying him by 11 shots on their interpersonal scorecards after posting an 8-under 64 to win the tournament by two strokes.
It represented one of the apex moments for Mickelson, who won for the 40th time, and another lap around the bottom of the embarrassment barrel for the former world No. 1. When making comparisons solely to the performances of his playing partners, it was easily the most stunning final-round letdown of Woods’ career.
Which is not to suggest it was his worst pairing result ever.
This is unmistakably a sign of the times as Woods struggles to approach his former competitive levels, but his 11-stroke loss in eye-to-eye play against Lefty was only his second-worst mismatch of the past 21 months.
Mickelson started the final round six shots off the pace, yet after six holes, had already fashioned a two-stroke lead, leaving playing partner Woods and everybody else behind. For Woods, who missed five putts from inside 5 feet, 5 inches on Sunday, only twice before had he been whacked more brusquely by a playing partner.
But never so publicly.
With a tip of the golf cap to former ABC Sports golf statistician Sal Johnson of Golfobserver.com, here are the gory details of Woods' most lopsided blowouts when compared to a pairings partner. Not surprisingly, three of the "top" four have transpired as Woods had battled to get his life and game back on the rails.
2010
12 strokes
Second round
Wells Fargo Championship
Quail Hollow Club, Charlotte, N.C.
By the time Woods got to the back nine, they almost needed a body bag. As pairings partner Angel Cabrera battled for the lead with a 67, Woods shot 79, recording his highest score ever on American soil. His 43 coming home matched his worst nine-hole number ever, and that was with pars on the three closing holes. He shot 153 for two rounds, the highest in his 14 years on the PGA Tour. Coming off a T4 only a few weeks earlier at the Masters, he was 17 shots behind leader Billy Mayfair when he missed the cut. Between the ears and between the ropes, it might have marked Woods' low ebb. "He's obviously got things in his mind other than what's going between the ropes right now," said British Open champion Stewart Cink, who played with Woods, after the round. Woods was heckled by fans intermittently during his two days in Charlotte, too. It marked his first missed cut at a regular PGA Tour event since the final event of 2005 at Disney World.
1998
12 strokes
First round
Tour Championship
East Lake Golf Club, Atlanta
Vijay Singh is the only player who is twice on this list, and it was a harbinger of things to come for the Fijian, who would eventually unseat Woods as world No. 1 a few seasons down the road. Singh tore up East Lake with a 63, while Woods sputtered in with a 5-over 75. Interestingly, Woods shot 76 the next day and eventually finished 20th in a 30-man field, while Singh ultimately lost in a playoff to Hal Sutton. For whatever reason, East Lake hasn't been Woods' most successful venue, perhaps because the paucity of par-5 holes on the par-70 course. He has one victory at the former home haunts of Bobby Jones.
2012
11 strokes
Fourth round
Pebble Beach National Pro-Am
Pebble Beach Golf Links, Pebble Beach, Calif.
Woods had held the 54-hole lead in his previous start and seemed to be recapturing his form in increments before he was paired with old adversary Mickelson at a venue where each had amassed multiple victories. Six hours later, Mickelson had posted the best round of the day by three shots with a 64, while Woods shot 75. Woods was bleeding badly on the greens, missing a putt from two feet on the seventh, and Mickelson had an answer for every problem, making 30- and 38-foot par putts on the back nine whenever it seemed like Woods might muster a charge. It might not have been the worst head-to-head mismatch of Woods' career, but at this point in his comeback attempt, it sure felt like it. Worse, the event had its highest television rating in 15 years, so everybody saw it. Mickelson has an 8-3-1 mark against Woods in terms of posting the lowest score in their past dozen pairings.
2011
9 strokes
First round
PGA Championship
Atlanta Athletic Club, Johns Creek, Ga.
This wasn't so much about losing by nine shots to Davis Love, who fired a 68 while Woods finished with a miserable 77, it was about the overall status of Woods' game at that point. Making his second start since a long summer layoff as a result of yet another knee injury, Woods was 3 under at one point, then nearly drowned coming home on AAC's tough closing holes. He reverted to old swing shapes and shot patterns, he said, prompting even more speculation that his comeback attempt was doomed to failure. "I've been in this process before," he said. "I've been through it with Butch [Harmon], I've been through it with Hank [Haney] and now I've been through it with Sean [Foley]. I just thought, 'This is a major, and you peak for these events.' And once you get to a major championship, you just let it fly, let it go. I did, and it cost me." Woods would miss the cut the following day with a 73.
2004
8 strokes
First round
PGA Championship
Whistling Straits, Kohler, Wisc.
Again paired with Singh, who at this point in their careers, was playing as well as Woods in terms of the world ranking, Woods slapped the ball around on the putting green and fast played his way out of contention at an event Singh would eventually win. Singh opened with a 67, while Woods finished with a 75. Putting would increasingly become an issue at the majors where Woods slipped back into the pack. "I didn't hit the ball all that poorly, but I sure putted bad," Woods said. "All of the short putts, I missed, and just putted atrociously today." Paired with John Daly, the trio drew huge throng, but it was the Fijian who would hoist the Wanamaker Trophy at the end as Woods finished T24. "Well, it was such a crowd out there, it was intense and there was a lot of cheering for everybody," Singh said.
1996
8 strokes
Third round
Greater Milwaukee Open
Brown Deer Park G.C., Milwaukee
After leaving Stanford after two seasons, Woods was making his debut as a professional when he was paired in the third round with a scrappy guy named Woody Austin, a future Presidents Cup teammate. Woods was way back in the pack by the third round, so nobody much cared when Austin shot a 5-under 65 to roast Woods, who finished with a 73. While Woods was barely getting his bearings after uttering his infamous "Hello, world" introduction, the planet was already learning that they were watching something potentially special. The gallery swelled to two or three times normal size, ESPN arranged to televise the first two rounds and concession sales skyrocketed. With all the debut hoopla, Woods said he got burned out. His 73 on Saturday was the second-highest of the day. "I was so tired, you could see it in the way I played," he said. "I was very sloppy." The fact that another eight years would pass before any other pairings partner would whip him by eight or more strokes underscores how fast Woods learned the professional ropes. He eventually finished 12 strokes behind winner Loren Roberts in Milwaukee, making a hole-in-one in the final round and earning $2,544 in his pro debut. Hilariously, his playing skills proved far better than his prognostication tools. Asked about his biggest surprise at his first event, Woods said, "The overall media in general, the quantity of [them] around. This is just my first week. It will die down in the next few weeks." It was just getting started, of course. Within weeks, he won at Las Vegas and Disney, then won the Masters the following spring.
