Will Tiger Woods let the FedEx Cup slip through his fingers?

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Despite the fact that Tiger Woods missed his final putt at the 18th hole of the Barclays, he still made watching the event a nail-biting experience. Instead of fans cheering Woods to victory, however, this time his legion of die-hard followers were holding their breath as easy two-footers became part of his dilemma.

"Man," Woods said, "to miss as many putts as I did this week, to still have a chance on the last green with a putt, it goes to show you how good I am at hitting it."

Yes, Tiger is one of the greatest ball strikers of all time but it cost him just as much on the scorecard to slice one into the woods as to miss short putts. As Ian O'Connor mentioned, Woods' putter was "completely overmatched".

Could it be that Tiger has lost his moxie, is becoming less concerned about his game thus practicing his putting a bit less and is allowing his family to consume more of his time? Placing less importance on his game but savoring the important things in life could be the best thing that ever happened to Woods.

In spite of his misses, the number-one golfer in the world still has five wins to his credit this season as opposed to guys like Heath Slocum and Y.E. Yang who struggle to keep their tour cards each week. Woods is also leading the FedEx Cup playoffs in points and is still the hands-down favorite to win the $10 million prize.

So, Tiger Woods' "B" game is still strong enough to batter his opponents even though, on occasion, secondary Tour players shine. Every once in a while, a Riddick Bowe beats a Mike Tyson...that is what keeps fans coming out to watch.

As far as considering Woods' year a "letdown" (see link credit below) when comparing him to Roger Federer, each great player has had to defeat their "archrivals" but I believe that these enemies also come from within. Tiger Woods may be allowing this momentary lapse of career interest to occur only because, "our player career is a little bit longer than theirs (Federer)."

As for Jack Nicklaus, the jury is still out but, with time on his side, I think Woods will shake off his malaise and easily surpass the Golden Bear.

Even the Statue of Liberty s shocked that Tiger missed that seven-foot putt on 18!

This week on the Golf for Beginners podcast, we discuss if a tree is, in fact, 90 percent air and the odds of getting struck by lightning with the help of the Discovery Channel show, "Mythbusters". We also wonder if parents are doing enough to teach their children proper golf course etiquette after our twilight round this past week.

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"Letdown" link credit: http://www.bostonherald.com/sports/golf/view.bg?articleid=1194377&format=&page=3&listingType=Golf#articleFull

Photo Credit: © WayOdd.com

Tiger Woods cancels Barclays claiming fatigue, Michelle Wie wilts, easy tips from Sorenstam and Adam Scott

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Tiger Woods claims that he is physically and mentally drained after winning both the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational and the PGA Championship. The world's number one golfer announced on his website that his body is "spent" and needs time to recuperate.

With good intentions, Woods stated recently that his plan was to show for all four FedEx Cup playoff events but, with little notice, withdrew just prior to the first playoff. I personally don't think it's fair to either the PGA Tour, the sponsors of the event who announced (with regularity) that Tiger is coming to Westchester CC and certainly not to the New York area fans who probably got their tickets weeks ago in anticipation of seeing TW at the Barclays. But it appears that Tiger beats to his own drum now and seeks out tournaments which benefits his sponsors and charities.

Is this fair or should Woods be held to a more strict schedule for this FedEx Cup that he originally touted as such a great idea? He was "given" his own tournament in Washington D.C. this year by Tim Finchem (the Congressional) which seems to have taken the place of the now defunct International; should it now be payback time for Woods?

Not a chance, but Tiger is scheduled to play in the second leg of the FedEx Cup at the Deutsche Bank Championship which also happens to support the Tiger Woods Learning Center. Both the third and fourth playoffs are currently not listed on his schedule.

Another golfer who appears to have "wilted" under tournament pressure is Michelle Wie.

Unfortunately, Wie is fast becoming just another name in a large crowd of golfers catalogued under the "missed cut" section of the leaderboard, this week at the Canadian Women's Open. At least her caddies seem to be improving their status over time as former bag carrier Greg Johnson now loops for Ginn Open champ Brittany Lincicome and David Clark left before this event to carry the bag for PGA Tour's Greg Owen. Of course, with a current standing of 156th, did Clark really make that good of a decision or did he do it just to get away from Team Wie?

For example, does Bo Wie really need to place practice balls on the tee for Michelle? Can't seventeen-year-old Wiesy just bend down and place them there herself?

This week on Golf for Beginners, in addition to the latest about Tiger Woods and Michelle Wie, we also include easy golf tips from Annika Sorenstam and Adam Scott. A flagstick ruling also comes into question.

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"Shiny Tech" courtesy of Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)"

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