Tiger Woods Needs Strong Showing at Quail Hollow to Shake off Masters Disaster

It is no secret that Tiger Woods' bid for a fifth green jacket came up well short this past weekend as he finished in a tie for 40th at the Masters, but with a good showing at the Wells Fargo Championship at Quail Hollow during the first weekend in May, he can put all of that behind him.

When Woods scored his first PGA Tour win three weeks ago since news of his extramarital affairs became public at the Arnold Palmer Invitational, it looked as if he was finally back on track and in line to capture yet another major. For whatever reason, though, things didn't come together in Augusta, as Woods simply couldn't get going.

He looked solid on the front nine in the first round, but he bogeyed the last two holes on Thursday and never recovered. He shot well over par for the tournament and wasn't a factor from Friday onward. Tiger's failure caused many of his detractors to celebrate with glee, but one bad tournament doesn't have to halt his progress, even if it was the Masters.

Woods admitted that he allowed some old habits to creep back into his swing at the Masters and that is likely what contributed to his struggles. On top of that, his putting was abysmal, to put it nicely. Heading into the Masters, Woods was hitting the ball far and accurately off the tee and his approaches were great as well, so he certainly still has the tools to be the best in the world.

Tiger will take a few weeks off before the Wells Fargo Championship, and he needs to use that time to get back into the good habits he exhibited in previous weeks. That means plenty of range time and practice rounds. Say what you will about Woods, but every indication is that he is one of the most tireless workers on tour, so he'll do everything possible to turn things around.

As for the tournament at Quail Hollow, Woods' main goal will obviously be winning, since that is always his belief, but he simply needs to focus on putting the Masters in the rear-view mirror and pretending like it never happened. There simply wasn't anything good to take from it, so it's best if he pretends that the Arnold Palmer Invitational was his last tourney, and he just builds from there.

Winning the Wells Fargo Championship or having a solid finish won't make golf fans forget about the Masters, but Woods can't worry about that. The only thing that truly matters is his own psyche, and as long as that is intact, there is nobody who is tougher to beat.

Over the past couple of years, while Tiger has suffered through some injuries, it has all been about the mental aspect of the game. When he over-thinks his technique and mechanics, he gets into trouble. Based on what he said at the Masters, that is exactly what went wrong, so he just needs to play with a clear head.

If Woods can get back on track at Quail Hollow, not only will it allow him to forget about the Masters, but it will give him a positive result on the road to the U.S. Open.