Tiger Woods: Elbow or Not, Tiger a Great Unknown at British Open 2013

Tiger Woods declared his damaged elbow healed and rested this past Saturday on his website, just five days before he launches yet another attempt to win a major championship for the first time in five years.

Despite that confident declaration, considering the amount of misfortune the world’s top-ranked golfer has endured in majors this year, we’ll pause before dismissing Tiger's strained elbow as a significant roadblock to his chances of winning the 2013 Open Championship this week.

There’s little doubt Woods arrives at Muirfield hungry to win that elusive 15th major and re-energize his pursuit of Jack Nicklaus' record of 18 career titles in golf's biggest events.

Before his Saturday comments regarding his improved health, the overriding question surrounding the world No. 1 was whether he would have to do it with one elbow tied behind his back.

Tiger now says no, but we’ll let the results speak for themselves in about four days’ time before declaring absolute judgement.

Woods hasn't played since a nightmarish U.S. Open at Merion Golf Club, where that bad elbow and an equally poor short game converged into his worst-ever performance in a major championship.

That same injury kept Woods from playing in his own AT&T National a couple of weeks later.

So with little momentum, a potentially rusty game and shaky confidence, Woods looks to win his first major since that epic playoff victory over Rocco Mediate in the 2008 U.S. Open at Torrey Pines.

Despite playing so well on the PGA Tour this year, Tiger navigated a rather rocky road of inconsistent play and really bad fortune in the two previous majors of the season.

The controversy around the "Friday bad drop" at The Masters is well documented, and it certainly cost Tiger a chance to win a fifth green jacket at Augusta National in April.

The bad elbow, which was apparently first injured in Woods’ triumph at The Players Championship in May, all but derailed his hopes of winning a fourth U.S. Open at Merion last month.

Between those unfortunate breaks has been a poor short game that has added to the stress of Tiger’s prolonged major drought and fueled speculation from some that not only will he fall short of Nicklaus, but he might well be done winning majors entirely.

There’s no chance we’re going there, but it's safe to say Woods continues to face an uphill battle in winning major No. 15.

The extended layoff following that elbow strain, which showed itself multiple times during the U.S. Open, hasn't done Woods any favors heading to what promises to be a challenging Muirfield test this week.

On the verge of that examination, however, Woods sounds like a much more confident version of his former self.

"I'm very confident that my left elbow strain won't be a problem and I will be able to hit all the shots I need to hit," Woods said on his website.

"That's why I took the time off, so it could heal, and I would feel comfortable playing again. I'm still taking anti-inflammatory medication for my elbow and getting treatment, but the big thing at Muirfield Golf Club will be to avoid the rough."

That's a good game plan, but its execution will be key, and recent history raises reasonable doubts.

Since banging up his elbow at TPC Sawgrass two months ago, Tiger’s game has been an absolute car wreck, to put it mildly.

In the two events since his second Players title, Woods has performed to a combined 21 over par, including an eight-over performance at the Memorial Championship in late May.

In both the Memorial and the U.S. Open, Tiger’s short game was in shambles, low-lighted by some of the worst putting of his career.

It took Tiger 127 putts to complete that painful 13-over effort at Merion. By contrast, he needed only 100 putts to win earlier this year at Doral and only 102 a few weeks later in yet another triumph at Bay Hill.

There’s little doubt the elbow injury had an effect on that choppy short game, which ultimately failed to support a rather decent performance off the tee at Merion.

That said, if Woods is truly 100 percent after the month off, health is one concern he can scratch off his list heading into this week’s Open Championship.

There are, however, other hurdles Woods has to clear to win a fourth claret jug and get within three majors of his Golden Bear career target. First and foremost, Tiger has to adjust the mindset he brought to Merion before teeing off at Muirfield this week.

At the U.S. Open last month, Woods appeared to be pressing and grinding with every shot. He seemed tense in the first couple of days, and it translated into stressful rounds of golf. The exact opposite approach is required this week in the Open Championship.

Provided his self-diagnosis is accurate and Tiger is indeed healthy, he already has a leg up heading into the Open Championship.

Provided his mind is equally right, Woods will be in the mix to end his major-less drought at Muirfield come Sunday.

If that is indeed the case, he may finally shake off a half-decade of frustration with a healthy elbow and a renewed energy toward his career goal of passing Nicklaus.