LOS ANGELES—Jack Nicklaus isn’t ruling out Tiger Woods breaking his record of 18 major championships provided he rediscovers his game.
Nicklaus said recently on Golf Channel that Woods will have to do that on his own.
“You go through things, and you have to have a positive thing happen to you to turn it around,” Nicklaus said. “I think Tiger will turn it around. He’s too dedicated, he works too hard at it, he’s got too much talent. He’ll figure it out. And, personally, I think he needs to figure it out himself. Because a teacher can’t teach what’s inside your head. You’ve got to be able to put that positive thought into your head yourself.”
Woods, coming off an injury-plagued season that caused him to miss two majors—the FedEx Cup playoffs and the Ryder Cup—began his 2015 campaign with a career-high 82 to miss the cut in the Phoenix Open and withdrawing after 11 holes at Torrey Pines with tightness in his lower back.
He said the tightness was not related to the back surgery he had last spring that kept him out a combined seven months. Woods decided not to play the Honda Classic next week and said he won’t return until his game is ready for tournament competition.
“Tiger is struggling. I don’t think there’s any question about that,” Nicklaus said. “I think he’s struggling more between his ears than he is any place else. He’s struggled with the driver most of his life really, but he’s always been able to find the golf ball and get it somewhere back around the green.
“And now he’s having trouble with the short game,” he added. “That is not a good combination, to drive it poorly and have a bad short game.”
Nicklaus spoke on Golf Channel from Doral, site of the Cadillac Championship. The Jack Nicklaus Villa at Trump National Doral was unveiled on Friday.
Woods has been linked to Nicklaus for his entire career, mainly because of the benchmark Nicklaus established with his 18 professional majors. As a kid, he had a chart taped up in his bedroom of what Nicklaus accomplished at various ages as an amateur.
Woods won his 14th major in the 2008 US Open at Torrey Pines, a week before he had reconstructive knee surgery. He was ahead of pace then, but he has gone six years without winning a major, and he hasn’t played in six majors since his last victory because of injuries.
Nicklaus said he still thinks Woods will eclipse his record, a question the Golden Bear has been asked more than any other over the years. He once joked about the headlines he would create if he ever answered, “No.”
“I still do. Why would I not think that?” Nicklaus said. “He’s got a lot of golf in front of him. But it’s going to be up to him. He’s still got to do it. He may, he may not. Obviously, chances are harder for him now than five years ago, but I still think he has time on his side.”
FROM CLEVER TO CRUEL
NO one summed up the 10th hole at Riviera as well as Ryo Ishikawa of Japan.
“Fun hole to watch. Tough to play,” he said during the opening round of the Northern Trust Open.
What many consider to be the best little par 4 in America—and among the best in the world—received even more attention last week at Riviera when it went from being clever to at times cruel.
Vaughn Taylor, in contention and headed toward another top 10 that would have got him in the Honda Classic, found the front bunker on Sunday. He went over the green into the back bunker, hit a poor shot that stuck in the sand on the slope, knocked that one back down toward his feet and holed a 15-footer from the fringe for a triple bogey.
Defending champion Bubba Watson, who earlier in the week professed to be “scared to death of the hole,” was two shots out of the lead and made double bogey.
Was it over the top?
More than one player trudged off the 10th believing the joy had been sucked out of the 315-yard hole. There was ample evidence, especially on Thursday and Sunday with a far right pin, of shots that had plenty of spin taking a hard hop and catching enough of the slope to roll off the green, either in the collection area of in a bunker.
The response from Riviera superintendent Matt Morton? Welcome to our world.
With all the chatter about so much sand from so many bunker shots building up the green, Morton said the real culprit was a long drought creating firm conditions.
“The main difference is three firm years in a row,” he said. “During the Northern Trust Open, it’s usually wet and you deal with rain. We’re in a drought. You’re seeing three years of dry, firm conditions. We’ve been able to showcase the hole the way members play in the summer.”
It began to rain heavily on the back nine on Sunday, and when Dustin Johnson and James Hahn reached the 10th hole in the playoff (the second extra hole), it helped slightly to be able to get their flop shots on the green. That said, they were flop shots of the highest quality.
And that remains the secret to the 10th hole. Great shots are rewarded, but they better be great. Vijay Singh showed that with his bunker shot in regulation to 9 feet for birdie. Taylor did not with his bunker play.
It all goes back to Ishikawa.
A couple of caddies walked off the back of the green toward the 11th tee and whispered, “Greatest hole in golf.” Players would be a few steps behind and could be heard to mutter, “Worst hole in golf.”
Fun to watch. Tough to play.
Doug Ferguson / The Associated Press