I listened to post-round comments from both Phil Mickelson and Tiger Woods after play on Thursday.
“The greens are just awful,” Woods said after his 34-putt Round 1, hinting that his stroke was solid, he was just getting the agronomy shaft.
Shaun Micheel, on the other hand, played a couple groups in front of Woods on Thursday and had just 22 putts.
Today, Woods didn’t putt much better, using 29 strokes with the flat stick – but remember, he chipped in on No. 11.
Could it be that if Tiger did not have such a negative outlook about these greens his outcome would have been different?
On the flip side, Mickelson said after Round 1 he putted horribly as well, but choosing not to place the blame on the poa-annua, the blimp flying overhead, or the sea otters cracking open oyster shells. It was simply his fault and he worked on fixing that after his first round and before play on Friday. Taking ownership obviously works. He used eight putts in his first eight holes. Tony Robbins would be proud!
