The End of One of the Great Golf Teams of All-Time

Good Afternoon Hackers! Today was the end of an era. One of the greatest golf teams of all time has been extinguished. You’re thinking to yourself, "Golf team? What the hell is this guy talking about?" I am talking about Eldrick firing his longtime caddie, Steve Williams. Although, one guy swings the club, there are two guys inside the ropes working to make that one guy better. Eldrick and Stevie were a team. Eldrick needed Stevie just as much, if not more than Stevie needed Eldrick. Eldrick has had two caddies in his professional career, Fluff and Stevie. I would say Stevie got the good end of that deal! Just look at the facts.

-Stevie was on the bag for 13 out of 14 of Eldricks majors. Fluff was on the bag for the 1997 Masters, Eldricks first.
-64 of 71 wins.
-Probably the most important stat…. The Cheddar. Stevie was reading putts worth $90,030,123 out of Eldricks career earnings of $94,728,667.

The stats do not lie. The duo had a very impressive run, very impressive. But I think more importantly than selecting a club for Eldrick, was the way Stevie was there for him through thick and thin.
This had to be a difficult decision for Eldrick. Stevie basically was an emotional crutch through some of Eldrick's most trying times on the course. At the British Open in 2006, his first major win after his father’s death, when there was no one to hug. There was Stevie. At the Torrey Pines in 2008, when Eldrick needed someone to lean on and push him through a knee injury that would have ended anyone else’s tournament. There was Stevie. When the entire world is against Eldrick for his outside the ropes antics and needed someone to take away the distractions. There was Stevie to stiff arm an unruly fan or camera man. I just don't think the timing is right for Eldirck.

I find it hard to believe that Eldrick let him go. Sure, Eldrick is the one that sinks the putt, hits the drive, and throws the dart into a stamp sized green, but could he have done it without Stevie? He needs the 6' 4" Kiwi, more than Stevie needs him. Shoot, Stevie has already landed on his feet, Tiger is still trying to find his.

Let's Not Crown Him, Yet...

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Sorry for the delay, Hackers! This blog is going to recap the US Open and Rory McIlroy's dominate performance at Congressional.

The first word that comes to mind in regards to Rory's performance is “redemption”. The way Rory played made everyone forget about his wayward tee shot at Augusta (Let's face it, we have all been there... one shot is all it takes to derail the train). He gained redemption for shooting an 80 on his home turf at last year's British Open, when in looked like he was on his way to lifting the Claret Jug. (Notice how I put "British" in front of "Open". ESPN, you are an American based company, the US Open should get the stigma of being "The Open"). Rory, just when we thought you couldn't possibly blow up anymore times in a major, "you go and do something like this... and totally redeem yourself!" (Name that movie!) It was completely awesome to see such a classy guy turn our beloved trophy into a Guinness Keg for another year. (He did say that he will be drinking a lot of Guinness with the boys in Ireland last week.)

The second word that I am going to use descibes Rory himself throughout the whole ordeal since Augusta is “classy”. After his blow up on the 11th hole at "The House That Jones Built", this guy went straight to the presser and answered every question that the media had, EVERY QUESTION! We aren't talking one word answers like Eldrick's, "We'll See." He answered them with full, intelligent responses. Nobody would have ever said anything about this guy if he came to the press conference pissed off at himself and made some negative comments, in fact, it was expected. But Rory, with ice water in his veins, walked in and answered every questions as if he had never been in contention. It was like he knew that he would have another oppritunity with a 54 hole lead at US Open. With the arsenal thatt he showed in our Nation's Capital last week, he had every right to keep his head held high! But... let's not crown him... yet.

Golf is dying for the next big thing, but we have to be patient. Rory is not the Heavy Weight Champion of the World... yet! However, after the last two majors, including the "Cage Match" that is The Masters and "Ladder Match" at the US Open, which included some of the great golfers of the world, like Phil "Lucious Lob" Mickelson, Lee "English Bulldog" Westwood, Martin "Berlin Wall" Kaymer, and many others, Rory "Irish Whip" McIroy has become the Number 1 contender. It seems that this year, only one player has really been in (dominate) contention in both majors, that was Rory. All though, Rory has all the tools to compete with Eldrick week in and week out, let's not pretend that he has 5 majors by the age of 22. He has 1 (Although, it was one of the most dominating performances in US Open History). Don't get me wrong, if there is anyone in the world that has the game to compete with Woods, it would be the young Irishman. He has a swing as smooth as a baby's bottom, strength, and the feel around the greens to pull off any shot. The most dangerous part about his performance at Congressional is that he finally knows what it feels like to close. This win will only give him confidence to win more and more majors. It is extremely dangerous because the next major in the cycle is in his backyard. It will be interesting to see if Eldrick catches a chopper (air lift) off his yacht (rehab facility) and makes it overseas to challenge the Number 1 contender.