Sports Betting Articles
In Spite of Woods Absence, Singh and Mickelson Have Not Been Able to Win
By Stephen Lars
Vijay Singh and Phil Mickelson are directly associated to Tiger Woods, and obviously not only because of the small misunderstanding they had in the Masters two years ago, but because of their rivalry.
These guys were already playing in a PGA Tour, when Woods was just in high school. Nevertheless, these rivals of Woods are accused of dropping their level when the currently number 1 is near. It looks like, that the same thing happens to them when Woods does not participate.
Woods’ absence opened a great opportunity for Singh or Mickelson, because either one could obtain their first World Golf Championship (WGC). Woods, who is recovering of a knee operation, had earned the last three WGC-Bridgestone Invitationals in the Firestone Country Club, the last three of the six WGC titles he owns.
Singh began the final round tied with Mickelson and Lee Westwood, and won in spite of needing 30 putts at the time. In the tournament, Singh scored only 9 of 19 putts from a distance of 4 to 8 ft in the last nine holes; this shows how well was he playing, but also a sample of weakness on his game at the green.
Although a door was opened in the final round, none of the two reacted the way they were expected to. However, both did the impossible to capture the championship’s title, but it was Singh Vijay, the one that would get it. The Fijian said he felt alleviated after the triumph, while Mickelson obviously finished disappointed.
Vijay, who has surpassed Harry Cooper’s record for the international player with more PGA Tour victories, indicated with a low level in his putter during this season he wasn’t at the height of his standard.
On the other side was Mickelson, who made worth his game during the first 14 holes, but couldn’t do it in the last four -where he left the tournament escape from his hands. At the end, were the bogeys in the last two holes what end up making the difference among a tie in the fourth place and a definition in the play-offs. The second world’s best was looking for his third PGA Tour victory for the season, which would’ve been the Nº 35 of his career.
‘The Big Fijian’ was the last player in occupying the position Nº 1 of the ranking, before Woods grab it for the second time in 2004; now he will climb a step to the fourth place this week, placing himself behind Woods (1), Mickelson (2) and Padraig Harrington (3). Four years ago Singh stole the leadership to Woods, after a season in which achieved nine triumphs against one of Woods. The recent victory should give Singh some confidence, with a view toward the PGA Championship of this week, where Woods won’t be able to defend his double crown.
In contrast, the last two players that won the PGA before Tiger Woods are Mickelson and Singh, in 2005 and 2004 respectively. But the greens in Oakland Hills are treacherous, something that can’t be favoring Singh, and doesn’t bring good memories to Mickelson, who played a poor Ryder Cup in 2004.
About the Author
Stephen Lars has been a prominent writer on daily PGA Golf events, sports news and the sportsbook industry for many exceptional sport web sites. You may reprint this article in its full content, please note no modifications to it are accepted.
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