Tiger explains how he outdrove Bubba on par-5 16th hole
Bubba Watson leads the PGA Tour in driving distance with a monstrous 314.5 yard average, which makes Tiger Woods's 295.7 yard average (T30th) look pretty average.
However, Tiger can still pop one out there from time to time. With the tees pushed forward on the par-5 16th hole to an appetizing 610 yards on Friday, Tiger and Bubba were both thinking about reaching in two and they each hit massive drives down the fairway. The surprise? When those tee shots stopped, Tiger's ball was about 20 yards past Bubba.
During a post-round press conference in which Tiger took obvious pleasure in recounting his best shots, a reporter asked him about outdriving Bubba on 16. Tiger's response was illuminating.
Was it enjoyable to be about 20 yards past Bubba on 16 today?
TIGER WOODS: The tee shot on 16, it's obviously it's easier for me to hit the ball further because I'm turning it and I'm working it with some kind of top spin, a little draw.
And I hammered it out there, but Bubba's playing a big cut. He teed off in the middle of the tee box. He didn't go to the right and hit a straight ball slice or straight ball/cut. He went to the middle part of the tee box and shaped it more. So he burned a little bit of distance off of that, and just tried to get the ball in play.
He did the same shot on the second shot, which is kind of cool to see, to hit a driver that high off the deck. It's not easy to do.
(Photo: John Biever / SI)
