Tiger Woods: What Tiger Must Take Away from Masters to Improve in 2012

Tiger Woods had shown his revamped golf swing and all the physical tools at the 2012 Masters, but for once, he succumbed to the lofty expectations. 

Finally, his swing was no longer the issue. Sean Foley had done his job and had gotten him prepared for the year’s first major tournament. The rest was up to Tiger to put it all together.

Then Augusta National chewed him up and spit him out.

It was his worst Masters as a professional, one where he logged the second-lowest fairways-hit in the entire field. To add insult to injury, it was his first tournament at Augusta in which he never scored one round under par. The par fives that had been his bread and butter became his kryptonite, scoring only two birdies on them the entire tournament.

When his emotions got the best of him in his final round, Tiger’s tournament came crashing down with a proverbial kick.

It happened on the 16^th tee. Tiger missed the entirety of the green for the umpteenth time that day. He dropped his club down his backside to the ground and put on his best field-goal kicker impression.

After the scene, the CBS commentators put it simply:

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“We can say Tiger has lost his game…and his mind…and his temper”

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Tiger has had his moments when his emotions had gotten the best of him. He’s yelled at the crowds to quiet down and had his time with profanity on the course. Those moments, however, were drawn from his competitiveness, the attitude that we can’t help but respect when we watch Tiger. The kick, though, stemmed from his failures, for once we were presented with a different side of Eldrick Woods: a defeated Tiger.

Tiger cited a weak ball-striking round, which was clearly eminent. Golfers can’t be perfect, even though he’s gotten close. Everybody learns at a young age, "you have to take the good with the bad." Perhaps, too much good was Tiger’s curse.

The other golfers in the field can relate to Woods, the Bubba Watsons, the Louis Oosthuizens, the Rory McIlroys. They spend the majority of the PGA season chasing Tiger early in their careers, fighting the ups and downs, hoping that one day it would be their time.

They learned that how they responded to adversity would dictate whether they would be victorious or watch gloomily from the clubhouse. Tiger hasn’t had to learn that lesson. The vast majority of his major championships have resulted from cruising to an early lead.

McIlroy took the bumps and bruises of choking a final round at Augusta in order to rebound to win at the U.S. Open. Watson had gone through many missed opportunities and temper tantrums on his journey to last Sunday’s Masters victory.

The world thought Tiger was ready to become the tour-de-force. It will take a few more bumps and bruises before he takes over the PGA tour any time soon.  

Keep on, keepin’ on Tiger. In due time, staying on a even-keel will be rewarded.