When last we spied Tiger Woods, he was missing a putt at the Dell match play to lose to some young Dane who grew up idolizing the guy, but who wasn’t about to give him a four-footer.
The match-play format was a little risky for Woods, as he subjected his fused back to 36 holes on Saturday — and might have faced 36 more had he gotten out of the quarterfinals.
He doesn’t think this way, but those who only care to see him fit and honestly competitive for the coming Masters are allowed to: Maybe getting eliminated wasn’t the worst thing that could have happened to Woods.
» Masters forecast: Warm, wet, azaleas
Here’s hoping he spent the last week in a warm bath. While covered up in bubble wrap. You can’t be too careful.
It has been 14 years since Woods won his fourth and most recent Masters and six years since he’s even finished as high as fourth. But then he won the Tour Championship at East Lake last year, and all things seemed possible again.
It still requires a huge leap of both faith and reason to see Woods modeling the green jacket again. He's a bit of a sucker bet these days, which is where Las Vegas comes in. He's listed at 12-to-1 to win this Masters, which starts Thursday. That's the third lowest odds on the board according to VegasInsider.com.
Woods has played in five events this season and has declared along the way, “I think that everything is headed on track toward April.” His best finish in a stroke-play event was a 10th in the World Golf Championships event in Mexico. He has finished no closer to the lead than eight shots out.
Note that some of his more pronounced faults lately — unsteadiness on putts inside six feet, inconsistency on his short approaches (ranking outside the top 100 on the PGA Tour in shots from 50 to 125 yards out) — can really be magnified at a place like Augusta National.
And then there’s the ever-shrinking advantage that Woods used to own just by showing up. He first beat guys with his presence, and then finished them off with the overwhelming superiority of his game.
“I don't know that I ever intimidated them,” he said at one point this season, coyly. “I'm not 6-6, 320. But the one thing that I knew that when I was playing at my best is that I was always going to be consistent. And my bad days were still going to be rounds that were around par or under par, and I was going to figure out a way to shoot a good score. Whether that put a lot of pressure on the guys or not, knowing the fact that I was going to be as consistent as I was, whether that was intimidating or not, I don't know.”
After he and Arnold Palmer played a practice round with the 20-year-old Woods in 1996, Jack Nicklaus famously said, “You could take my Masters (six) and (Palmer’s) Masters (four) and add them together and this kid should win more than that.”
Can Woods ever approach that level of ownership at Augusta National ever again?
Can he recall the consistency that made him so daunting for four more days in April?
If nothing else, Woods still controls the conversation at the Masters.
And here are a few of his more notable obstacles, a snapshot of favorites entering the 83rd Masters:
The Betting Favorite (or Favourite, if you prefer)
Credit: Michael Reaves
Credit: Michael Reaves
Has Rory McIlroy ever looked so good, so ready, entering the only major that has eluded him? Vegas thinks not, as he is the top choice — at just 8-to-1 – to complete his career grand slam.
Other than being out-dueled by Woods in the match play, McIlroy has finished no worse than sixth in six stroke-play events this year. He won the Players Championship with a fine finish. He seems in a mood to disregard past traumas at Augusta – think hitting practically out of a cabin credenza off No. 10 in 2011 – and get on with the business of finally winning this thing.
“I'm very comfortable with where everything is,” he said after his victory at the Players. “And yes, confidence comes from that, or I don't know what comes first, but I've sort of simplified everything. ... It's probably the best my short game has ever been.
“I think this is the best start to a year I've probably made, and I think I'm on a really good path. I just want to keep going. I'm confident in the path that I'm on.”
The World’s No. 1 (Just, please, rent a ranch-style home this time)
Credit: Hector Vivas
Credit: Hector Vivas
Dustin Johnson has been well-positioned here before — ranked No. 1 in the world, on an all-time roll with three consecutive victories in 2017. Then, the most athletic golfer slipped on some stair steps just before the tournament, wrenched his back, and had to withdraw on his way to the first tee.
No. 1 in the world again, with four top-nine finishes since February, with a win in Mexico, Johnson is approaching that level once again.
“I'm getting closer, for sure,” Johnson said. “The swing's starting to feel a lot better. The shot patterns are starting to get more consistent. Now is the closest I've been to (2017). That was probably the best form I've ever been in and getting injured it's taken a while to get back to that form. It's definitely the closest I've felt to that stage of my career.”
Bad news for everyone else. If Johnson brings his best, everyone else is playing for second.
The Master of the U.S. Open
Credit: Warren Little
Credit: Warren Little
Brooks Koepka is the ironic golfer, the one who’s getting famous for being overlooked.
Maybe you wouldn’t know it, but he’s the two-time defending U.S. Open Champion and the defending PGA Championship titlist. And he has a certain edgy mindset that plays quite well in these big events.
“The majors are, I don't want to say easier, but I feel they kind of is,” he said. “You've got so many guys playing, a couple of them are mentally going to beat themselves up. If it's tough, certain guys are going to throw themselves out, and it really kind of whittles down (the field) to a few players.”
Recovering from a wrist injury, Koepka was unable to play in the 2018 Masters. A shame, really, as he has been trending in the right direction there. His finishes since his first appearance in 2015: T33; T21; T11. He’s quite eager to see where that particular wave crests.
The Atlanta Sportswriter’s Pick (kiss of death)
Credit: BRANT SANDERLIN / SPECIAL
Credit: BRANT SANDERLIN / SPECIAL
It is Justin Rose’s time.
The world’s No. 2-ranked player is playing in his 14th Masters, so it’s not like the place is going to surprise him. He’s comfortable with every nook (Augusta National does not have crannies, too unseemly).
Rose has twice been a Masters runner-up since 2015. He thinks it’s his time, too.
“I used to arrive at Augusta and just used to enjoy the experience,” he said. “I used to kind of feel like it was a treat to be there. It was a bit of a dream to be there. And I used to walk around just trying to take it all in. Arrive on-site, walk out to the back of the clubhouse and just look at what was there in front of me and just be, wow, I'm kind of living this dream that I had as a kid.
"But then in recent years I've almost had the sort of a slightly surreal out-of-body experience like turning up knowing that I'm one of the players to beat and to contend there. That's sort of been something I've had to get comfortable with, knowing that this tournament has always been kind of dreamlike but now actually it's more of a reality. And then putting my mindset in the right place to go out and challenge to win it."
And, Finally, Why Hasn't This Guy Done Better?
Credit: Darren Carroll
Credit: Darren Carroll
Justin Thomas has played in three previous Masters. Seven of his 12 rounds have been over par, with just one round in the 60s. Average score: 72.66.
You’d think his gifts of length and touch would translate better on that course.
He said the place suits him: “I've been very comfortable there. I just haven't played very well. I don't think there's many courses consistently that could fit my game much better.”
He said he loves it there: "I mean there's no place I enjoy more going to play a fun round of golf or any round of golf than Augusta. So I hopefully will have a lot more success over it."
It’s just a matter of the place loving him back. But at the Masters, there is just so much unrequited love spread over these 18 holes.
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