Is Memorial Victory the Kickstart Tiger Woods Needs to Win U.S. Open?

Staring at an impossible shot while standing on the green-side rough of the 16th hole at the Memorial on Sunday, Tiger Woods found his mojo. He drilled his chip and the gallery instantly went bananas—letting out a roar that should have the rest of the PGA terrified as we quickly approach the U.S. Open.

Tiger was in the rough and staring at a slope in front of him that broke down as the fringe turned to green. He had little room to work with and water behind the green. He was also one shot off the lead with time running out.

This is the kind of shot that separates good golfers from legends, and Tiger stepped up and proved he is still fully capable of adding to his legend. Check out the shot:

This mind-boggling impressive shot left even the great Jack Nicklaus grasping for superlatives to put it into context. Nicklaus had this to say from the TV booth, and was later quoted by the Associated Press:

"

The most unbelievable, gutsy shot I've ever seen. Look at the position he was in. If he's short, the tournament is over. If he's long, the tournament is over. He puts it in the hole.

"

As the ball plunked into the bottom of the cup, Tiger unleashed his iconic uppercut fist pump. The kind that was once somewhat commonplace but had been reduced to a memory. 

And it was in that reaction, as much as the shot, that proves Tiger is ready to win the US Open. 

The Completion of Tiger's Comeback

This was Tiger's second win of the season. His first came on March 24 at the Arnold Palmer Invitational. That win came after a fourth-place finish the week before and led many, including yours truly, to proclaim Tiger was back. That was premature. 

Tiger went through one of his worst stretches as a pro in the three events following, which included a 40th-place finish at the Masters.

I was shocked to see Tiger fall off the cliff. Statistically, he was playing nearly as good as ever. His driving distance and accuracy and greens-in-regulation marks were all nearing career highs. 

By all indications, it looked like he had put the finishing touches on his new swing and was ready to reap the rewards. 

However, looking back on it, there was one part of his comeback he had not completed. He had not had one of these fist-pumping, iconic moments since scandal and injury had derailed his career, and it's not just the action of the fist pump, but the mindset behind it. Take a look at some these kind of moments from the past. 

The sheer intensity of Tiger's reaction is a product of the crazy-competitive individual, and that drive is what has allowed him to turn his amazing talent into one of the most dominating careers the sports world has ever seen. 

He has found that source of intensity again, which tells everyone that he is finally free from the clutter of his life and the mechanics of his swing and able to simply focus on competing.

The birdie on 16 ended up being one of three on the concluding four holes. It was an absolutely dominating finish to take a tournament victory. 

This is the kind of moment and close that established the Tiger aura, and it is that aura that can infiltrate competitors' heads, whether they admit or not. This is the aura he is building as we approach the U.S. Open, which begins on June 14 at the Olympic Club in San Francisco. 

Looking at the Open

The Olympic Club is not an ideal course for Woods. For starters, it is a par 70, and Woods loves to chew up strokes on par fives. 

The Open was last played on that course in 1998. Woods finished tied for 18th and 10 shots off the lead in that tournament. It needs to be mentioned that 1998 was not a great year for Woods. He won just one PGA event that year, and his results at the Open were not uncommon for that year. 

In other words, he can't be counted out of this Open just because he failed there in the past and the course is not well-suited to his strengths. 

The way Woods is playing now, he can win anywhere. He led the Memorial in driving accuracy and greens in regulation. He struggled a bit with his putter on Saturday, but was solid otherwise, and most importantly, he has that fire and confidence back. 

For my money, Woods just announced himself as the man to beat at the U.S. Open.