Tiger's Gamesmanship

I watched Phil's interview with the press after his impressive blowout of Tiger yesterday at Pebble.

The best question was did Butch Harmon, Phil's swing coach and Tiger's former swing coach, tell Phil some of Tiger's gamesmanship tactics. Phil sheepishly replied with a grin, "Yes, possibly."

Given Phil's spanking of Tiger yesterday, it would appear Butch told Phil a lot of his secrets. I thought it was odd that Phil putted out first on 18th, since the tournament winner usually putts last so he can get all of the applause and end the tourney with a climax. Phil though putted out.

Tiger was then left with a 3-foot putt and he missed it so badly that it left him a 5-footer coming back. As they say, turnabout is fair play.

I'm not a fan of gamesmanship, and have had it done to me for about seven holes. It made me more focused and resulted in a sweeter win for me. And, if a player has to resort to that kind of tactics, well, it says a lot about that person. Or I should say, it says how little that person is.