Why Tiger Woods Has an Advantage at Medinah Country Club

Tiger Woods won’t have an advantage off the tee when the first matches of the Ryder Cup are played Friday morning at Medinah Country Club in Chicago.

He won’t have an advantage from the fairways or, for that matter, the rough on Course No. 3 at Medinah.

He certainly won’t have an edge with his short game, where from 100 yards and in, he remains wildly inconsistent.

His putting once separated him from all the rest and he seemed to be nearly automatic from inside 15 feet.

But there are three advantages the man who once was king has over everybody else who’ll be in uniform this weekend.

Mental toughness, determination and a bit of guilt.

We’ve seen the best of the physical aspect of his game. He’s never going to be what he was in 2000, 2001 or 2002. But as his game continues to improve, Woods has become a force again.

When he was dominating the world of golf, Woods had the mental toughness, discipline and focus that carried him through difficult times on the golf course. Remember the Tiger glare that rendered opponents useless in tournament after tournament? Ok, so maybe it’s not as bright as it used to be, but Woods has retained that stare to some degree.

As Woods has aged, his commitment to the Ryder Cup has increased. Early in his career, he played in the events because it was the thing to do. But he was the best in the world and acted like it. He was his own man and wasn’t much of a team player and had something of an indifferent attitude.

Woods knew the importance of the Ryder Cup, but was never really committed to it.

But as he has become more of a leader, this event, as well as the Presidents Cup, have taken on more of an importance. He’s taken his level of interest to the next level and, as he did when he came out on the PGA Tour, he’s raised the level of interest in the Ryder Cup, too.

Now, that hasn’t translated into much in the way of wins, either for Woods or the United States team. Woods has a 13-14-2 record overall, including 4-7-1 in foursomes and 5-6-0 in fourballs. He’s 4-1-1 in singles competition and hasn’t lost a singles match since his first year in 1997.

And this is where his third advantage comes into play: guilt.

As he said during a press conference Tuesday, “"I certainly am responsible for that because I didn't earn the points that I was put out there for," Woods said Tuesday during a Ryder Cup news conference. "I believe I was out there for five sessions each time and I didn't go 5-0 on our side. So I certainly am a part of that, and that's part of being a team. I needed to get my points for my team and I didn't do that."

Critics might say those are just more empty words from Woods, who has made a career of not really answering questions.

I don’t see it that way. He still has a long way to complete his comeback, but all the self-inflicted wounds of the last few years seem to have made him appreciate where he is and the importance of what he’s doing.

I look forward to seeing just how much of an advantage these things will be.