Tiger Woods: Fallen Star Will Be Back in Contention Before Long

The pressure has always been high on Tiger Woods, but he will soon be close to returning to his impossibly high standards.

After winning last month at Bay Hill, people were ready to proclaim that the star was "back."

These fans and analysts should remain a little more patient.

Woods has suffered through a number of injuries throughout the last few years that have kept him out of competition, continually slowing his progression.

Many would like to point to the scandal with his wife as a reason for the downfall, but the leg injuries have prevented him from gaining any consistency in his swing.

This has caused the veteran to recreate his approach over and over again until he can get it right.

And yet, Woods has performed better than anyone realizes. He was not getting wins, but Tiger has consistently been in contention throughout his run.

This will be the first Masters since 2004 in which he did not finish in the top six. He also had a few Top-10 finishes at the U.S. Open and the PGA Championship in the past three years.

For any other competitor, these would be impressive results coming off serious injuries. However, people have come to expect perfection from Woods.

Even in his poor performance, there is a lot of good to take away. He is one of few to be able to finish under par for the tournament on the first hole at Augusta.

Sure, his frustration has gotten the better of him, but keeping mentally strong will be the final piece of the championship puzzle. Calmness on the course comes from success.

Woods still has all of the tools. Once he's able to put them together, we will see a champion again.