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Former NFL quarterback John Elway talks with Tiger Wood during the college football game between Stanford and Colorado on Saturday. AP Photo/Paul Sakuma
Caddyshack

In the swing: Tiger needs to beef up his schedule

Former world number one will only get sharper and climb the rankings if he plays more competitive golf.

TIGER WOODS MAY have had a hot dog thrown at him during his final round at the Frys.com open, but overall he seemed happy with his four days of work.

“I played really well today,” he said after a final round of three under par, his third 68 in a row.

We can probably take that comment with a pinch of salt, or certainly some context anyway. When a guy who has won 14 Majors comes 30th at the Frys.com Open and says he played “really well,” you don’t jump to believe him, but there were definitely some good signs and a lot of positives to take.

It was the first time this year he broke 70 on three consecutive occasions. Maybe not the toughest golf course in the world, but you still have to make those birdies. He actually made six of them during his final round on Sunday. You don’t make six birdies unless you’re doing something right.

Those birdies were offset by some bogeys, but the man has played very little golf since the US Masters in April and competitive sharpness only comes with playing more tournaments.

That’s why you’d think he would beef up his schedule a little more. His next competitive outing is not until 10 of November where he’ll tee it up at the Australian Open. The following week he has the President’s Cup, but that’s all he has in his diary for the rest of the year.

He’ll probably take in the Chevron World Challenge as well, he does host the event after all, but certainly no more than that. You wonder can he really play his best competitive golf without getting a consistent run of tournaments under his belt. Why do sports teams play pre-season friendlies? The competitive edge is something you can get from the training ground or the practice range.

One man who has a packed schedule over the next couple of months is Rory McIlroy. He has 7 tournaments lined up between now and the end of the year, most of them in Asia.

He started his Asian run this weekend just past at the Kolon Korean Open, but for the second week in a row he had to settle for second place. The previous weekend he was pipped by compatriot Michael Hoey. This weekend past it you fellow young-gun Rickie Fowler who got the better of Rory.

It was Saturday’s play that proved crucial. McIlroy struggled to a two-over par 73 while Fowler was on fire, come home in 63 blows, 10 better. Even a closing 64 from McIlroy was enough to close the gap on the young Californian, who registered his first ever victory as a professional.

For such a talented player, it’s surprising that it has taken Fowler this long to put his first W on the board.

He was the number one ranked amateur in the world for a period of 36 weeks between 2007 and 2008. He was still only a teenager at that time and there was no doubting his talent.

He has also shown an ability to close it out and win. His performance on the final day of the 2010 Ryder Cup against showed his metal. He was four down with six to play against Eduardo Molinari, but made four birdies, including three birdies in a row on 16, 17 and 18, to rescue half a point. Only half a point, you might say, but when you think the overall final score was 14.5 to 13.5 for Europe, that half a point could have been crucial.

Being four down with six to play is not a fun place to be. Neither is being three down with three to play. To get out a hole like that shows a real self-belief and winning mentality. Now that he Fowler has got over the line in a professional event, it would be no surprise to see him in the winner’s enclosure on a regular basis moving into next season.

If he can keep on finishing ahead of Rory McIlroy, he definitely be doing things right. Whether Tiger Woods can write himself into those future narratives, we’ll wait and see…

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