Has Tiger Lost His Roar?
After a humiliating exit from the Farmers Insurance Open in California, speculations about Tiger Woods’ future have been rife. But, with the US Masters fast approaching, the once legendary superstar still feels confident he can turn things around.
Bookmakers are less confident, with Betfair offering 25/1 on Tiger triumphing at the US Masters 2015. That makes the once unassailable four time Masters champion 10th favourite a long way behind 7/2 favourite Rory McIlroy. Even the optimists and die-hard Tiger supporters will have to admit those odds are hardly encouraging, but are they fair? Woods blamed a lengthy suspension of play before he teed off and the disruption that caused to his pre game warm up for his poor performance at the Open, however, he also missed last year’s Masters and the US Open due to necessary surgery on a pinched nerve.
Everything points to those odds being a fair representation of his chances, especially taking into consideration his recent performance at Torrey Pines where he only managed to play 11 holes before ducking out of the tournament.
Woods blamed back problems for his early exit at Torrey Pines, claiming he never recovered after hurting it hitting his tee shot on his third hole. He carried on for 8 more holes and was 2-over-par when he dropped out, having double-bogeyed his last hole and dropping shots at the 10th and 12th.
The injury happened six days after his dire performance at the Waste Management Phoenix Open, and to say he was not on form during that tournament would be a huge understatement. He even managed to chalk up a disastrous 11 over par nightmare, the worst round of his career to date.
Woods has pulled out of nine tournaments during his career but three of those withdrawals have been in the past eight events, leading to the obvious conclusion that he really has fallen by the wayside and may never return to form.
He’s not won a major since 2008 and the last time he won a PGA tour was nearly 2 years ago. These facts alone should tell us he’s not going to start the Masters as a favourite.
I must agree Tiger will not be a dominate player at The Masters this year. Personally, I don’t believe he will win another major, He may win another tournament or two, but no major. Tiger has begun using excuse after excuse of why he is not playing well. One big problem is he knows he is no longer intimidating on the course, just a big crowd pleaser. that’s hard for him to handle. I wish him the best (I say that as a golfer,not a fan). Even he has admitted when he longer can compete at the level he is accustom to, he’ll call it quits. Something he might start thinking about.