Tiger Woods: Playing in Honda Classic Is Vital to 2012 Season

Tiger Woods is on his way to having a pre-scandal type of Tiger year. The former No. 1 golfer in the world has found his swing and his short game, but still has one hurdle to cross. 

He has been in contention in the final rounds of the two tournaments he has played this year, but has faltered on Sundays. 

The only way he is going to get past his late round failures is by playing, and Tiger obviously gets that. He has announced that he will be playing in this year's Honda Classic that begins on March 1st in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida.

It is the first time he will have played in this event since he was an amateur. 

Bill Van Smith of the Miami Herald reported that Woods would be playing and also shared the following quote from Woods:

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I have heard great things about the Honda Classic. Jack Nicklaus’ involvement in the tournament and the benefits in the local community are also important.

"

Tiger certainly goes the PC route with his statement about playing, but it doesn't take a giant leap of speculation to see the real reason he'd want to play in this tournament. And that is because he wants to make sure his game is ready for the Masters at the start of April. 

This is an easy fix for him now that the heavy lifting of rebuilding his swing has been done, and here is why it is going to work: 

The Wisdom of Adding Events

In the long road to regaining his form, Tiger completely rebuilt his swing. This led to some ugly outings for Woods. He was battling himself as much as the course. 

Tiger wasn't free to play with a clear mind and attack courses because he was caught up thinking about the mechanics of his swing. 

This also carried onto the greens. Tiger's putting was off, and he was missing putts he typically drills with his eyes closed. 

He is now past that point. He is comfortable with his swing and confident on the greens. That is, until the pressure of the final round rolls around. 

The first thing that seems to go on Sundays is his putting. This leads to him pressing in the rest of the game, and he just doesn't have that extra gear yet. 

Tiger missed a makeable putt on his second hole in the last round at Pebble Beach, and this set the tone for the whole round. He missed several more easy putts, and couldn't make up for that with the rest of his game.  

He ended up firing a three-over 75, after never hitting a real groove. He talks about not being able to get comfortable on the course in this post-round interview:

This isn't a matter of reshaping a swing or putting stroke. He doesn't need to change his approach to the game. He just has to continue to get comfortable with his game and keep that rolling in the pressure of the final round. 

Tiger will get through this by playing. He needs to keep exposing himself to those situations. This will lead to him getting more comfortable, and he will succeed under the pressure of the final round soon enough. 

That will only build his confidence, and that is going to lead to tournament victories. 

It's been a long way back for Tiger, and he isn't going to let an easy fix like this keep him from the finish line.