Will Tiger return to form at Pebble Beach?
By: Larry Fitzgerald
Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder
Originally posted 06/15/2010
It’s mid June, and Tiger Woods has not won a golf tournament yet. Can you believe that?
Last year he won six times on the PGA Tour and captured his second Fed-Ex Cup title. So far, in just four tournaments in 2010, Woods has finished fourth at the Masters and 19th at the Memorial. He missed the cut once and failed to finish the Players Championship after a neck injury.
Tiger has won only $405,000 this year; by his standard, that’s nothing. He is ranked 111th on the PGA Tour official money list. In other words, his game has fallen off the charts. He has won 14 career Majors and is the world’s only billion-dollar athlete. He is still officially the world’s number-one ranked golfer, but people are mumbling and whispering.
His well-documented personal life and marriage issues have clearly affected his once-pristine position in golf. His career has clearly been jeopardized by his many indiscretions. This week Woods returns to the site of his greatest triumph where in 2000 he won the United States Open, America’s National Championship at Pebble Beach, by 15 shots.
Woods is going at it solo these days in more ways than one, having released his longtime swing coach Hank Haney. So, Woods this week will be measured in many ways by where his game is in this, his second Major of the year. He is still just four Majors behind Jack Nicklaus for number one all-time.
It has become quite apparent that many commentators are highlighting what Woods has not done in 2010 instead of focusing on his remarkable career accomplishments and what he potentially is capable of. So this week maybe, just maybe, the Woods we’ve grown to know and love will return to form and once again quiet his critics. Because many of them are like sharks swirling ready to attack and write him off.
Despite the fact that, after all he’s been through since that now-famous after-Thanksgivings car accident on his own property, he’s still only 34 years old.
In a recent Harris interactive poll of nearly 3,000 adults who were asked who America’s favorite sports star is, Tiger Woods was number one followed by Michael Jordan at number two, LeBron James at number three, Kobe Bryant at number four and Derek Jeter at number five.
Woods, unlike the other athletes listed, goes at it alone; he does not have teammates. He plays individually while the others play in team sports. I kind of get the feeling he will rise to the occasion this week and remind us again that he is still Tiger Woods, athlete of the decade.
Larry Fitzgerald can be heard weekday mornings on KMOJ Radio 89.9 FM at 8:20 am, and on WDGY-AM 740 Monday & Saturday mornings at 7:50 am and Fridays at 3:50 pm; he also commentates on sports 7-8 pm on Almanac (TPT channel 2). Larry welcomes reader responses to lfitzgerald@spokesman-recorder.com , or visit www.Larry-Fitzgerald.com .
