From Tiger Woods discussing the state of his back injury and the Masters to Phil Mickelson having injury issues of his own at the Texas Open, here are the Quotes of the Week.
I didn’t see any of that myself. It was playing up to tournament speed. The only thing I noticed was that the azaleas hadn’t popped yet, but they have ways of controlling those things around here, and I’m sure they will do that during tournament week. – Justin Rose discussing the rumor that the ice storm destroyed a lot of the trees at Augusta National and the course was unrecognizable. (Getty Images)
She wasn’t doing anything, really. She finished a workout, felt stiff and her back went into spasms. She’s obviously upset, because she wanted to play this week. – David Leadbetter discussing Suzann Pettersen’s back injury. (Getty Images)
I spent 90% of my press conference last week at Bay Hill being asked questions about Tiger, speculating about where his game is right now. Many of my quotes have been taken out of context and spun quite negatively. It’s hard for me to comment on Tiger in the early 2000s, I can only say that he has raised the bar so much in the sport globally and players are so much better equipped to win these days. He seems more beatable nowadays simply because the players around him are better and have more belief thanks to Tiger moving the needle. I really shouldn’t get caught up in speculation and opinion especially when talking about TW. You set yourself up for failure. #nocomment – Graeme McDowell via Twitter
He’s lost that sort of force field of invincibility around him. The aura is not as strong. He’s still Tiger Woods, still the greatest player ever in my opinion. I don’t remember the first time I played with him, (but) there was a real ‘wow’ factor. He was playing a different sport than me. But guys get older, stuff happens. – Graeme McDowell stated in an article that appeared on PGATour.com. (Getty Images)
Now is the time to ask members of the Royal and Ancient Golf Club to welcome female members into the club. It is of course for members to decide if they wish to alter the rules of the club to give effect to this change of policy. – R&A spokesperson discussing the new rule the club will vote on in September. (Getty Images)
This way, we can still recognize, if you will, the 27-point club. At the same time, for the world stage, I think it’s really important for these women to be recognized and to be on that stage. It’s not only good for them, it’s good for us and the growth of the game.So, I think, it’s having the best of both worlds. We still recognize the importance of the 27-point club, but it doesn’t stop us from having quality players being reviewed at the nomination stage. – Mike Whan discusses the benefits of the new World Golf Hall of Fame criteria and the LPGA Hall of Fame criteria remaining unchanged. (Getty Images)
We are not satisfied. I was down there just recently and, while the design of the course looks really good, the progress with the construction is not where we want it to be. There have been so many revisions to the plan it’s quite hard to say how far behind they are, but I think we are going to struggle to get a test event a year before the Games. I’m not writing that off completely, but we have to recognize that might be difficult. – Peter Dawson, president of the International Golf Federation, comments on the progress of the course in Rio that will be used for the 2016 Olympics. (Getty Images)
Time is running out. I am trying hard to get to Augusta, as I will find it very hard sitting at home watching it on TV. – Padraig Harrington in a blog post this past week. (Getty Images)
For Augusta, it’s actually still a little too soon (to know), to be honest with you. That’s kind of the frustrating thing about this. I had a couple weeks off and getting treatment and trying to get ready for Augusta. As of right now, it’s still too soon, which is, as I said, pretty frustrating. – Tiger Woods discussing the state of his back and whether he will tee it up at the Masters in early April. (Getty Images)
Like Augusta National, the R&A at last realizes that you cannot lead by example, grow the game & exclude women members. Respect – Gary Player via Twitter praising the R&A’s decision. (Getty Images)
In a perfect world, he’d love to play Houston. He loves the tournament, loves the city and it’s great preparation for Augusta. Obviously, he’s going to make the right decision relative to what his body’s telling him. – Jim McKay on whether Mickelson will tee it up next week. (Getty Images)
