Tiger Woods: Why Fluke Performance Doesn't Prove He's Back

Don't look now, but there is a chance that Tiger Woods is back. Well, he's on his way back. He's still a little while from proving that he's back.

But two solid rounds have put him on top of the leaderboard at the Australian Open.

So, why am I calling this a fluke? Well, two years ago, Tiger won his last tournament. We all know what's happened since then, there's no point in rehashing that. 

But since then, Tiger has played well at times, but he's never put it together. As a general rule, his play has been bad, at least when looking at the final scorecard. 

Until Tiger figures out a way to put it together and win a tournament, good rounds will be considered flukes, even with all that Tiger has done in the past. 

And really, his past is all of the proof you need that he's not back. Woods is one of the best players in the history of the game. His career has been defined by winning and winning majors. Until he wins a few regular tournaments in relatively short order, or wins a major, then you can't say that he's back.

Frankly, to use these two rounds as proof that Tiger is back is insulting to Tiger. Now, I haven't heard that specific speculation, but everything with Tiger is magnified. It always has been.

With Tiger, the best thing that we can do is be patient. At the very least, we need to sit back and watch how these next two rounds unfold.

If he runs away with the tournament and players around him consistently crumble, then a case could be made that he's at least well on his way to being back. 

But until that happens, we need to hang back and not be too quick to pass judgment.

With Tiger, people always seem quick to pass judgment, good or bad. Those days need to come to an end.

For Tiger and his fans, there is reason to be encouraged. Just don't jump the gun with your excitement.