Sabbatini Takes Another Shot at Woods

by Mulligan Stu on Aug 4, 2007 8:36 PM EDT

Earlier this year, at the Wachovia Championship, Rory Sabbatini took a 1-stroke lead over Tiger Woods into the final round in which they were paired together. And like so many others paired with Tiger, Sabbatini couldn't take the heat. Woods shot 69, Sabbatini 74, and Tiger won the title.

It was a few days later that Sabbatini gave his now-famous sililoquy in which he stated, in so many words, that he wasn't afraid of Woods, couldn't wait for his next shot at him, and that Woods looked "more beatable as ever."

That next shot comes Sunday at the WGC Bridgestone Invitational, when Sabbatini and Woods are again paired together in the final round, Sabbatini again holding a 1-stroke lead.

And Rory is at it again:

"Tiger is the two-time defending champion here. He's won five times here. Somebody has to knock him down. ...

"Tiger has done a lot to deserve all the respect he has (but) there's always going to be that point where somebody beats you, so maybe tomorrow is my day. If you go into a tough situation and mentally you're always looking at yourself as second, you're going to be second. If you go in with the belief you're there to compete and you can do it, then you will."

I like Rory's attitude, and while his comments earlier this year were ill-phrased and ill-timed, the quotes above make a lot of sense. It's good to see someone unafraid to say, "Yeah, I want to kick Tiger's butt, and that's what I'm going to try to do." So many players either tiptoe deferentially around Woods (see: Mickelson, Phil) or let their employees or friends do their dirty work while pretending to stay above the fray themselves (see: Singh, Vijay).

Sabbatini is one of the least popular guys on Tour among his peers because he's viewed a loudmouth. But in this case, maybe his peers could learn something from him.

Stuart Appleby - who could use some of Sabbatini's spit-and-vinegar - explained in Golf Digest why Rory is so unpopular with many of his fellow players by discussing Sabbatini's comments from earlier this year:

Tiger is a man of action. Rory is a man of words. Rory has a great deal of belief in himself. I'm sure that confidence is one reason he's where he is. But he likes that First Amendment, even if what he said about Tiger (being "more beatable") is bull. Rory lets his mouth move before his golf club. He leads the FedEx Cup points race in that department - comfortably.

With his typical class, Tiger Woods had probably the best reaction to Sabbatini's fightin' words, a combination of "I appreciate where he's coming from" and "bring it on":

"He's trying to obviously think of ways to motivate himself," Woods said. "A lot of guys don't externalize it. We all say things like that inside, and he's just trying to gain any kind of edge mentally.

"He believes in what he can do, and there's a lot to be said for that. I've got to do my business and I'm sure he'll do the same."

So Sabbatini vs. Woods tomorrow isn't exactly Mickelson vs. Woods at Doral, but I'm eager to see what happens.

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