Tiger Woods: Final News and Predictions for Golf's All-Time Great Before Masters

Heading into the 2013 Masters tournament, Tiger Woods is back to where he spent most of his adult life: atop the world golf rankings and standing as the prohibitive favorite prior to a major championship. 

It's almost as if someone who was cryogenically frozen in 2005, after Woods' last win at Augusta, and came back to life on Monday could think that absolutely nothing has changed in golf over the past eight years. 

Of course, we all know that's not the case. Woods' journey back to the top has been long and arduous, filled with more professional and personal turmoil than perhaps any other athlete in the world has experienced. He had descended from the world's greatest athlete to late-night host punchline fodder, all while Rory McIlroy supplanted him as the dominant face in golf.

Through diligence and a massive overhaul of his game, Woods seems to have finally recaptured his former glory heading into this week's tournament.

He's won three of the four stroke play tournaments he's entered this year, including a victory at the Arnold Palmer Invitational that put him back atop the world golf rankings. That win ended a process that took nearly three years to finish and has Woods playing better golf than he has in nearly a half-decade.

The 37-year-old Woods has been a favorite almost by default during his past couple of trips to Augusta. In 2013, it finally feels like he's back to earning his stripes—forgive the pun.

As such, the news cycle has been voraciously turning as Woods tries to capture his fifth green jacket. Here is a breakdown of all the latest news surrounding Tiger and our prediction for how he'll fare at the Masters this week. 

Jack Nicklaus Still Thinks Tiger Will Break His Record

Prior to just about every major since Woods ascended to his career apex, there has been talk of him breaking Jack Nicklaus' record of 18 major championships. The Golden Bear famously captured his final major championship at Augusta in 1986, becoming the oldest champion in Masters history at 46 years old.

Heading into this weekend, Woods is four major victories away from tying Nicklaus—the same place he's been in since taking the U.S. Open in 2008. The five-year drought has left many wondering not only about Woods' present—especially with Rory McIlroy looming to take over the throne—but about his place in history.

Tiger overtaking Jack seemed like a mere formality when he beat Rocco Mediate at Torrey Pines on a shredded leg. Now? Not so much. Those who have been bearish on Woods supplanting Nicklaus as golf's greatest of all time have puffed out their chests, while the Tiger chorus has fell silent.

There remains one notable driving force behind the Woods bandwagon: Nicklaus himself. The always gracious golf legend has maintained for years that he thought Woods would break his record and said this week he still believes that to be the case. 

"Obviously the older he gets, and if he doesn't win, it makes my record move out further," said Nicklaus (via CBS Sports' Kyle Porter). "But I've said it, and I continue to say it, that I still expect him to break my record. I think he's just too talented, too driven, and too focused on that.”

It's hard to argue with the Golden Bear, but Woods is going to have to strike quickly to prove his predecessor correct.

At 37 years old, Tiger is either at the very edge of his professional prime or has already entered the post-prime stages. With seven years having passed since Woods won at Augusta, the odds may be stacked against him winning No. 15 this weekend.

Tiger Defends Controversial Nike Ad

Perhaps no athlete's personal life has been more scrutinized than Woods' over the past few years.

Ever since that fateful Thanksgiving in 2009, the media has voraciously uncovered every detail Woods worked with equal fervor to keep quiet throughout his early professional days. His divorce from wife Elin and every lady on the side who came out of the woodwork to claim she had an affair with Woods became joke fodder and an easy excuse for Woods' downturn in play. 

Believe it or not, the whole shebang has been more unseemly than it sounds. The coverage of Woods' personal life has gotten so out of control that he and Lindsey Vonn announced they were dating in perhaps the most orchestrated release of photographs in mankind's history.

Privacy used to be paramount in Woods' life; now it's all about getting things out on his terms before they hit the tabloids

So perhaps it should come as no surprise to anyone that a campaign launched by Nike after Woods regained the world No. 1 ranking in late March has come under such fire. The phrase "winning takes care of everything" adorns a still shot of Woods in massive white lettering.

Plenty of folks were quick to lambast the advertisement as off-putting due to his off-the-course troubles. Whether the criticism was fair or not, Woods decided to address the controversy head-on in a press conference on Tuesday.

"That was an old quote that Nike put out there and people jumped on it," said Woods (via Golf Channel's Jay Coffin). "But that’s something that I’ve said since I first turned pro."

As an ESPN report correctly points out, Woods has indeed been saying that phrase since far before his professional life became so voraciously covered.

There tends to be a jumping of the gun in these situations and the criticism has died down, but it was nice to see Woods again getting out in front of an issue. 

2013 Masters Prediction for Tiger Woods

There aren't many surer things on this planet than Woods being in contention over the weekend at Augusta. His 40th-place finish a year ago was not only his worst since turning pro, but it also broke a streak of seven straight top-six finishes. Since the turn of the century, Woods has only finished outside the top six three times, with only longtime rival Phil Mickelson boasting a better resume in the 2000s.

It's certainly possible that Woods doubles up on poor performances. He did so in 2003 and 2004, and all bad Masters outings could just come in pairs for the all-time great. 

That being said, history says otherwise for Woods. He's one of the greatest performers in Augusta history for a reason, and he's looked fantastic heading into this week's tournament. The world's top-ranked golfer has the best per-round average of any golfer on tour by nearly a full stroke, has been knocking down putts in his sleep and seems completely comfortable with his game for the first time in years.

There's no questioning Woods will be in contention on Sunday. As for winning, again we'll have to cite recent history. Woods has been fantastic at Augusta and should be the favorite every time he sets foot at the historic course. But he hasn't put himself in a position to win early in the tournament, and it's come back to bite him recently. 

Expect a top-five finish, but expect Woods to again miss his chance at a fifth green jacket. 

Prediction: 8-under (fourth place)

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