Faxon on D&C: Tiger 'going to find his way'

PGA golfer and analyst Brad Faxon joined the Dennis & Callahan show Monday morning to talk about the Masters. South African Charl Schwartzel finished with birdies in his final four holes Sunday to win his first Masters at age 26.

"If you don't like golf, you wouldn't have liked that. That was an unbelievable day," Faxon said. "[Jack Nicklaus' win in 1986] might have been the best one to watch. This one was a close second."

Rory McIlroy had one of the tournament's greatest collapses in the final round, but Faxon said McIlroy has the right demeanor to overcome such a disappointment. "The guy's 21 years old. He's going to forget about this stuff pretty quickly," Faxon said. "I'm sure he had a pint last night with a few of his buddies, and he's gone. … He walked off this [course] kind of smiling and laughing. Rory McIlroy is going to be fine. This is definitely not the last we've heard from him."

Tiger Woods made a final-round charge, shooting a 31 on the front nine en route to recording his best-ever Masters round with a 67, but ended up tied for fourth. "What amazed me about Tiger is, I still think this guy's the best player I've ever seen, but he's not right," Faxon said. "You can tell he's not right. And he can still win a tournament when he's not right. Shooting 31 on the front nine at Augusta is almost impossible."

Added Faxon: "He's reworking his golf swing again. He made the comment, which blew me away, that he's trying to re-change the way he pitches and chips the ball. It just shows me this guy never stops thinking about his game, trying to improve. For a guy at his level, it's impossible to improve any more than where he is. I think it's scary. He's going to find his way. I think it's just going to take him a little time."

No Americans are reigning majors champions, and Faxon implied that it doesn't appear likely to change anytime soon. "It's an amazing phenomenon, and it's worldwide," he said, adding, "The young international talent is pretty impressive. Our guys have got to do something. I don't know what it is. We relied so much on Tiger and Phil [Mickelson] to win these tournament the last 10 years. Everybody else has caught up."

To hear the interview, go to the Dennis & Callahan audio on demand page.