Robert Lee warns Rory McIlroy not to rush back from his ankle injury and feels Tiger Woods still has plenty of work to do, despite an encouraging week.
I’m not expecting to see Rory McIlroy at Whistling Straits and I’d be amazed if he’s fit enough to play. I wouldn’t do it if I was him and would get back to 100 per cent before returning, otherwise it’s risking long-term injury problems in pursuit of short-term gain. I know he’ll desperately want to defend his title, just like he’d hoped to at The Open and this week’s WGC, but rushing back isn’t going to help.
Rory’s a pocket battleship with the way he plays and is incredibly powerful, but he could risk losing his swing and causing more problems by coming back anything but his best. The other thing to consider if he’s only just fit enough to play is the course, as Whistling Straits is far from flat and is quite a walk.
The week he comes back will surely be the week he’s fit to and I don’t think that will be to fit in with a particular event. It’s a nagging situation for him having missed a big chunk of the summer, but he can still come back and play the FedEx Cup play-offs or the Race to Dubai finals should he be fit enough. He’ll be chomping at the bit to play, but the important thing is that McIlroy’s fully fit.
Working progress
It was difficult to gauge how well Tiger Woods played at the Quicken Loans National, but he got himself in shape on a bit of a pudding of a course to go in to the weekend at eight under. It was a great start and with only a few players in front of him he had a real chance of winning had he shot a 66 or 67 on Saturday.
In all honesty, he could easily have been seven over after seven holes of that third round had it not been for his incredible recovery play. It was amazing how he kept himself in it, as he didn’t really see the golf course over those holes.
It was then all over after the par-five eighth, where he had a 5-wood in to the green with his second shot but still carded a bogey. Woods said if he’d made a birdie there it would’ve been a different story and maybe it would have, you can never ever tell.
You can spin anything the way you want, but he was really pleased with his recovery play and so he should be. He played much better on Sunday with the pressure off, but he’ll be extremely disappointed with the way he performed during Saturday’s round.
The comeback is definitely not complete for Woods, as he still needs to find more control and needs a much better game from tee to green. His chipping and putting were decent throughout the week and were at the point of being unbelievable at times, but he won’t be able to get away with hitting it all over the place at Whistling Straits.
It’s been a poor year for Tiger, but it’s amazing to think he won’t be playing the Bridgestone this week having won the tournament so many times. He’s missed out by a long way and is struggling big time to make it in to the FedEx Cup play-offs. He’ll have to impress at the US PGA and do something very special at Wyndham to get there, but there’s still the chance he might do it.
Stars to shine
For those playing the two big tournaments in a row, then they have to go to WGC-Bridgestone without even thinking about the final major of the year. The course doesn’t really bare any resemblance to Whistling Straits whatsoever, with driving long and straight the daddy around Firestone. Those guys who can hit the ball well and a good distance will have the advantage this week.
I think Jordan Spieth’s the favourite, with Rickie Fowler another standout name to impress given he’s obviously in very good form and having nearly won last week. Justin Rose will have a chance as does Dustin Johnson, who prepares for another tilt at a WGC having already won one earlier in the season. The biggest names are the biggest names for a reason and that’s because they’re playing the best golf, but for me Spieth is the man to beat.
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