Monday 20 July 2020 07:10, UK
Butch Harmon reflects on Bryson DeChambeau’s recent error at the Memorial and Tiger Woods’ battle for fitness, plus gives his verdict on The Open For The Ages.
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First of all, I have to commend Bryson for what he's done to his body and how far he hits the ball. I've never seen anybody swing that hard and hit the ball that straight, so much so he's swinging it like the long-drive guys do. He's hitting drives 380 and 400 yards, what the heck is going on there?!
Two things are probably going to happen, the first is that 10 or 12 guys are going to ruin their careers trying to be Bryson DeChambeau. They're going to try and bulk up and swing that hard, but they just won't be able to.
The other is that maybe the PGA Tour and the European Tour will get together to say they need to make their own rules on the ball and stuff like that. The amazing thing when you watch the shot-tracer when he's playing well is how straight it is, I've never seen anything like it.
He was going to have an off-week at some point where this clubface isn't quite square on impact and with those miles an hour, the ball is going to go a long way off-line. We saw that this week and I think he made a huge mental error on 15, when he drove it into the trees rather than just pitching it back down the fairway.
He got aggressive and hit some big hook, which saw him out of bounds, then out of bounds again, then nearly out of bounds a third time. That was down to a mental error the first time and then frustration.
What next for Tiger?
You can tell that Tiger Woods' body is not 100 per cent. You can see it in his golf swing, the fact that he's not going at it very hard and you can see it at times with the way he walks.
He admitted it after the second round that he was tight in his back and he couldn't make the turn that he wanted to. He was making these slow-motion practice swings, time and time again, to try and get the feeling of what he was trying to do. He couldn't really get it and shot 76 as a result.
Unfortunately, I think this is the way the rest of Tiger Woods' career is going to go. He had a lot of months off to try and get healthy, but when you've had three back surgeries on your spine you're always going to have problems with it.
I think there are going to be weeks when he isn't good and maybe weeks when he is. This game is hard enough if you're 100 per cent and if you're a little off, like Tiger seems to have been this week, then it's a difficult time for him.
The Open For The Ages
I have to commend the R&A for coming up with the idea and it was an honour to have been asked to commentate on. It's one of the most exciting things that I've ever worked on, it was really special.
2000 was beyond belief from Woods. He had just won the US Open by 15 shots and then comes to St Andrews and doesn't hit a ball in the bunker all week, including the practice rounds, which is almost impossible to do.
You can hit a perfect drive or a perfect iron on some holes and get a bad kick and finish in some of those bunkers. It told those of us that were on his team how much control he had of his golf ball at that point in time. Quite frankly the only person could beat Tiger Woods then was himself by having a bad day, that's how well he's playing.
Jack Nicklaus is the greatest champion that's ever lived, as he's won 18 majors, finished second 19 times and just has a phenomenal record in majors. Tiger Woods, to me, is the greatest player I've ever seen play, because he didn't have any weaknesses.
When he was younger, anything he did have that was a weakness he worked at and made it better. His control of his golf ball in the air and on the ground was untouched by anyone. It's hard to say one's better than the other, but you may find out when you watch the programme!
