Tiger Woods Will End Weekend Woes with PGA Championship Victory

Tiger Woods heads to Oak Hill Country Club in Rochester, N.Y. looking to do something he hasn't done since Monday, June 16, 2008: win a major.

The 2008 U.S. Open was the last time Woods won a major championship. He’s been stuck on 14 career major victories for quite some time, with his weekend performance being his biggest problem.

But this week will be different for the No. 1 player in the world, as he’ll overcome those woes.

Since Tiger’s victory at Torrey Pines in 2008, he has nine top-10 finishes at major championships but no wins. Jay Coffin of GolfChannel.com writes that Woods is 25 over par in his last seven major weekends. That’s absolutely horrible, and it's the primary reason he’s been unsuccessful over the last few years.

This year, Tiger finished tied for fourth at the Masters, tied for 32nd at the U.S. Open and tied for sixth at the Open Championship. Comparing his play on Thursday and Friday to the weekend, Woods played worse on Saturday and Sunday in two of the three major tournaments. Here’s a breakdown of his scores:

In 2013, Tiger has the best scoring average before the cut on the PGA Tour (68.75). But his third-round scoring average of 70.80 is 73rd on tour, and his final-round scoring average of 71.70 is 135th. Throughout the year, we’ve seen pre-weekend Tiger and weekend Tiger.

They have been two totally different Tigers.

Woods is coming into the PGA Championship with his head held high, though. He was brilliant this past week at the Bridgestone Invitational, where he won by seven strokes. He had an answer for everything and anything Firestone Country Club threw his way.

But Woods' win at the Bridgestone doesn’t necessarily mean he’s going to win the PGA Championship as well. Kelly Tilghman of the Golf Channel notes that Tiger isn’t always as sharp entering a major after a win.

Tiger will have a target on his back come this week—as he usually does—since he’s the heavy favorite to finish atop the leaderboard. He has 7-2 odds to win, according to Bovada. But that hasn’t stopped him from winning in the past. He needs to stay focused throughout all four rounds—not just the first two.

It’s obviously easier said than done, but Tiger’s mentality has to be in the right place heading into the weekend—assuming he makes the cut. He’s not going to win his 15th career major if he’s overthinking shots and questioning his first instincts. He needs to go with his gut and not let his emotions get the best of him.

Let’s not forget this is Woods and not some random guy looking to win a major. He’s the best golfer on the face of the Earth, and he's had a ton of success this season. But the majors have killed him as of late. Throw him into a tournament that isn’t a major and there’s no question he’ll be among the leaders.

Everyone is going to be watching Woods throughout the week as he tries to get closer to Jack Nicklaus’ all-time record for most major victories. While he hasn’t been able to finish atop the leaderboard at one of the four majors in recent memory, that’ll change this Sunday in Rochester.

Woods will play strong throughout all four rounds of the PGA Championship, and he won’t falter on the weekend when everyone expects him to. Don’t be surprised when the top-ranked golfer in the world plays better on the weekend than he does Thursday and Friday.

No. 15 for Tiger is only a few days away. 

All statistics in this article were obtained via PGATour.com unless otherwise noted.