Why Tiger Woods Might Suprise Us All in 2009

If we have learned anything over the first 12 years of Tiger Woods’ career, it has been that ordinary logic simply does not apply to Woods’ game or his ability to win under just about any circumstance imaginable. 

Back in 1997, most believed that Woods was an extremely talented young golfer but still had a lot to learn before winning his first major. 

So what happens?

Woods goes out and wins the 1997 Masters and becomes the youngest, and first black, player to have ever won the event, while also setting the record for the largest margin of victory ever recorded in a major championship.

During the 2003-2004 seasons, Woods decided to make some adjustments to his swing with the intention of gaining more consistency. 

At the time, many believed Woods was out of his mind to mess with a swing that had just won him the Masters and US Open in 2002.

When Woods’ swing changes took longer than expected to produce results, people began questioning his sanity and even hinting upon the thought that Woods might be just one more highly-talented player to have completely lost his game.

Woods responded by winning the Masters and British Open in 2005. 

In 2006, Tiger Woods’ father passed away shortly after the Masters. 

Woods was understandably crushed by the loss and didn’t even pick up a golf club until just before the US Open at Winged Foot, where he missed the cut for the first and only time in his career at a major championship. 

Once again, the rumblings began circulating about how Woods mind was elsewhere and how the rest of the 2006 season might be a complete washout for Woods. 

And once again, Woods responded by silencing all of his critics by winning the British Open a few weeks later and then the PGA Championship a few weeks after that.

In June of 2007, Woods welcomed his daughter Sam Alexis to the world. 

Amazingly, people began to predict that Woods’ young family might have an affect on his mental toughness and the now legendary practice routine he had become accustomed to.

Once again, Woods silenced his critics with an exclamation point by winning five out of his last six events in 2007 including the PGA Championship

A few days after Woods’ second place finish at the 2008 Masters, he announced that he would be undergoing arthroscopic knee surgery to clean out some loose cartilage. 

Most predicted that Tiger Woods would be back on the course for at least one warm up event prior to the 2008 US Open.

When Woods showed up at Torrey Pines for the 2008 US Open having hardly touched a golf club in the previous six weeks and unable to play more than nine holes of a practice round with the assistance of a golf cart, many believed that Woods would not even be able to walk 18 holes, let alone win the event. 

Now, even if you have been living under a rock for the past year and don’t know the outcome of the 2008 US Open, you will probably have picked up on the theme of this article by now and realize that Tiger Woods managed to win the US Open on one leg. 

Other than Hogan’s return from a near-fatal car accident to win the US Open, Woods’ performance at Torrey Pines was arguably the greatest feat of human strength and determination in the game’s history.

Even more amazing, Woods admitted that he had been playing on a torn ACL since the week after the 2007 British Open. Since that point, Woods had been on one of the most dominant runs of his career winning nine out of 11 events including the 2007 PGA Championship and 2008 US Open.  What could he have possibly done with a completely healthy left knee?  

After Woods’ improbable win at Torrey Pines, he shocked the golf world by announcing that he would be having season-ending reconstructive ACL surgery. 

Once again, the rumors began to fly and the rumblings began to circulate about how Tiger Woods will probably not do much in 2009 and might never be the same player again. 

In 12 years, have we not learned our lesson about using standard logic to make predictions about Tiger Woods? 

Sure, logic would tell us that a player returning from a surgery as major as Woods underwent is unlikely to return to full form in 2009. 

Woods’ knee surgery also happened to be on his left knee which absorbs the full brunt of his incredibly powerful swing, making his return to full strength that much more likely in 2009. 

But this in not your average Joe we are talking about; this is a man who has time and time again defied ordinary logic and silenced his critics in resounding fashion.

Recently, there has been a lot of talk about the way history has a tendency to repeat itself.

Based on ordinary logic, one could pretty accurately predict that a player returning from reconstructive ACL surgery on his left knee will be unlikely to return to full form in 2009 and might never be the same player again.

But that logic goes against what history has told us over the past 12 years of Woods’ career, hence making that form of logic, well, illogical.

History has shown us that every time Woods is discounted in any way or form, he completely defies the odds and silences his critics with an exclamation point. 

The logic that we should be applying to Woods’ return should be based on what history has taught us, which would suggest that Tiger Woods is likely to come back stronger and better than ever in 2009, because that is the type of thing he has done unwaveringly throughout the course of his entire career.