Masters 2012: Why Tiger Woods Will Fail to Capture Another Green Jacket

Last week, Tiger Woods tasted victory on the PGA Tour for the first time since 2009. With the Masters fast-approaching, there seems to be a groundswell of support for the 14-time major winner to reclaim the green jacket he hasn't worn since 2005. 

It would make for a great story, but there are still a lot of factors working against Woods that he has to overcome before we can proclaim him the greatest golfer on the planet again. 

The Masters challenges players like few courses in the world can, and Woods has to prove he is strong enough to handle it. 

Here are the biggest reasons Woods will not walk away with his fifth Masters victory. 

Putting

Woods has started to make strides with his putter in recent weeks, but overall his short game is still not where it needs to be for a tournament like the Masters. 

The course designer at Augusta loves to make life miserable for everyone, especially Woods. They want to challenge him with difficult pin placement, and that will hurt him when he starts to get deeper into the tournament. 

As good as Woods looked at the Arnold Palmer Invitational, he is not infallible. He needs to prove early that he can hit putts, or else he is going to find it very difficult to stay in contention through Sunday. 

Pressure

While it sounds strange to say, especially since Woods is usually the one who puts pressure on opponents, he has put the weight of the world back on his shoulders after winning his first PGA Tour event since 2009. 

Now, it is not good enough for Woods to compete, he has to start winning all the time. At a tournament like the Masters, which is designed to make everyone fail, he does not need to feel that kind of heat right now. 

All eyes will once again be locked on every move Woods makes. That's not to say he should have blown the Arnold Palmer Invitational just to stay on the downlow, but anything less than a win here would be a major disappointment. 

Deeper Field

The final reason is actually more important than the first two. The PGA Tour has as much high-end talent and depth as it ever has. 

Woods might be the toast of the golf world right now, but Rory McIlroy is still the best player in the world. He dominated the tour at times last year in ways that Woods used to, before age and injuries took a toll on his body. 

Plus, there is Phil Mickelson, Luke Donald, Lee Westwood, Martin Kaymer, et al. 

No longer is Woods head and shoulders above the rest of the field. He is still in the upper-echelon of players on Tour, but with more depth it is harder to win tournaments now than it has ever been. 

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