What does this really mean?
Of course the first thing that every single golf fan thinks is Tiger Woods is back. Well the truth of the matter is that Tiger has been back for around 18 months now. I predicted that he would win last season, and he did. He waited until the final event of the year, the Tour Championship to do it, but he had come close many times. Entering this season I was asked if I thought he could win another Major. My answer was yes. Did I expect it to be at this Masters? No I didn’t. Actually I thought his best chance this year would be at the U.S. Open at Pebble Beach. In other words it wouldn’t surprise me if Tiger won another Major this year, and potentially finishes the Season as the Player of the Year at the age of 43. How unbelievable and surprising would that be to most people? It should be extremely surprising when you consider what he went through to get here.
Sports injuries can be overcome.
Tiger has had injuries to his left knee ACL and MCL. He has had injuries to both Achilles tendons. He has had a left elbow injury. Of course there were the multiple surgeries to his neck and back. The final of which was a Spinal Fusion that most believed meant the end of his competitive career.
I can remember when a Torn ACL meant the end of a NFL football Player’s career. Now it means one year off from football to recover from the surgery and go through rehabilitation. Adrian Peterson is probably the best example of what’s possible in that regard. In golf a back injury was the equivalent. Tiger Woods has proven that with the right surgeon, and willpower to return. Any sports injury can be overcome.
Technology isn’t everything.
I have said on many occasions that modern technology has shortened the golf learning curve significantly. This is true for both Beginners and Professionals. The greatest advantage came in the form of the Launch Monitor. Golf Simulators have made it much easier for Golf Instructors, and Golf Equipment Fitters to provide the best possible advice to their clients. What used to take repeated trips to a Golf Instructor, or years of developing a swing can be accomplished in a few hours in a Golf Simulator. Professionals can make minute adjustments to their equipment to specifically tailor their ball flight and shot shape to a particular course. It seems like every season on the PGA and LPGA tours a rookie comes out of no where and competes for Major titles immediately. There has never been this many Players playing at such a high level on the PGA, and yet Tiger won. So how did he do it? In the end it was simple. He had a plan in place, took full advantage of his greatest skill, and relied on his acquired knowledge of Augusta National to minimize his mistakes. You could say that Tiger Woods won The Masters. You could also say that Brooks Koepka, and maybe even Francesco Molinari lost the Masters on the infamous 12th hole. What may surprise you is that Tiger Woods won without even putting all too well. He finished 41rst in the field in Putting. Tiger won, and it wasn’t because he played exceptionally well. He just played the Course better than anyone else did, and that’s my point. I watched every Round of The Masters this year, and one thing became very obvious to me. While Tiger played each and every Round against the Course. His opponents weren’t playing against Augusta. They were playing against Tiger. As great a Player as Tiger Woods is, you shouldn’t ignore what an incredible test of Gold Augusta National is. Let your guard down for even a minute, and Augusta will knock you out. Many have found out the hard way over the years. You can add Koepka and Molinari to that list.
Spend as much time in a Simulator as you would like. Nothing compares to real world experience on a Course like Augusta National.
Records will fall
Sorry Sam Snead. It’s pretty obvious that your time at the top is rapidly coming to a close. Tiger Woods is only 2 wins away from passing you, and it’s beginning to feel like it will happen sooner rather than later. Realistically Tiger has been nice enough to avoid some of the weaker field tournaments where he would surely dominate. If push came to shove I wouldn’t put it past him to eventually play one though. I believe his real target is Jack Nicklaus’ record of 18 Majors. When people debate who the greatest golfer of all time is. There are only two names that are seriously considered, Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods. At this point it’s difficult to argue against Woods being number 1 were it not for one thing. Jack’s 18 Majors. For me the 18 Majors simply aren’t enough. Woods is simply the more dominant Golfer, and his achievements outweigh Jack’s 18 Majors. Still there are those that disagree. What if Woods wins 3 more Majors? The argument would be finished. Woods would undeniably be the best Golfer ever.
You think he isn’t thinking about that right now? You think he hasn’t been thinking about that for years? In order to come back from everything he’s been through, and succeed at the highest level requires some serious motivation. Becoming the number 1 golfer of all time is part of his motivation. Having his kids witness first hand what he is capable of is the other part. Look out Jack, the Tiger is loose.