GO ALEX... GO!!

"Can Alex Čejka win?", "Will he be able to withstand the pressure of playing with Woods?", "If Woods starts hitting fairways, isn't Čejka done?", "What about the gallery? He has never played in front of so much gallery. How much pressure will he have?"

First of all, every golfer feels pressure when in the heat of the battle; second, even Tiger feels pressure, he just handles it differently. I truly believe that in this one, there is as much pressure on Tiger as there in on Alex. Different types of pressure. Alex, for sure, will be trying to forget what he is playing for and who he is playing with, but, he is also well aware that he has a 5 shot lead. In professional golf, that is a lot, even with Tiger behind you. So, if you can concentrate on hitting fairways and greens, you know that Tiger will have to take his chances, and if you play well, chances are in your favor. Remember, "good things happen to those who wait", Alex has waited long enough.

Tiger, no doubt, is the best player in the world, will be having pressure of a different kind, as everyone expects him to make up shots as if everyone has given him already the trophy, as if all he has to do is show up and he'll win. He knows better, and that is where the pressure will come from, because seemingly impossible things are expected from him. He has been there, but when starting behind, even in the last group, he has lost more than he has won. People forget that. Tiger is human too. He wanst to win, and knows he will have to take some chances, even if calculated chances, but chances nonetheless; and when you take chances, you have to play perfect golf.

The hype around the final round of the Players Championship is tremendous. It is almost like all golf announcers are expecting Alex Čejka to fold.... and Tiger to pick up the spoils. I hope that does not happen, and, I predict it won't. Golf at that level, for one week, for a person like Alex, is far from the best accomplishment. Think of this, Alex Čejka, at age 9, literally swam across the river, escaping communist Chzekoslovachia and settling in Western Germany, eventually becoming a German citizen. He has seen it all, experienced it all, from poverty to success. He is a millionaire who now has a home in Las Vegas and one in his native Czek Republic (Prague), and while he has not not anything in the majors worth giving Tiger a scare, his mere presence in the leaderboard tells you that this is his week.

Once, they asked Ben Hogan, "going to the last round, do you prefer being one shot ahead or one shot behind", "what a stupid question!" he answered... Tiger and Alex would say the same!