Tiger Woods at US Open: Round-by-Round Predictions for Golf's Top Star

Skepticism. That's the key word when it comes to any feature story on Tiger Woods these days.

When you look at the headline of this story and see the "Top Star" label, one would not be wrong to wonder about my sanity or accuracy.  

But when it comes to a historical view, there's no doubt that Tiger Woods ranks with the biggest stars in the game's history. Put together your dream-golf foursome, and Tiger is in it, along with Jack Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer and Ben Hogan. Apologies to Sam Snead and Gary Player.

But on to the matter at hand: the 2015 U.S. Open and Tiger Woods' chances of playing four consistent rounds and actually contending for his 15th major.

Woods, as nearly all golf fans know, has not won a major since the 2008 U.S. Open. He has been stuck on 14 major championships for seven long years. When he was in the prime of his career and knocking down multiple majors on a regular basis, the question wasn't whether he would pass Jack Nicklaus and his 18 major titles. The question was how much further would he take it.

John David Mercer-USA TODAY Sports

While Woods has been in a funk for the last two years as far as his competitive play is concerned, he won five tournaments in the 2013 season, and he was on top of his game in the non-major tournaments. He did very little that year in the end-of-season FedExCup Playoffs, had a woeful 2014 season and has struggled to this point in the 2015 season.

He has battled injury problems (back) and has changed coaches. Tiger's fans keep hoping for their man to regain his form, but there is little to bank on as the top professionals in the sport get ready to attack the par-72 Chambers Bay Golf Course in University Place, Washington.

Tiger's last outing came at the Memorial Tournament, and he played decently in three of the tournament's four rounds. He shot 73, 70 and 74 in the first, second and fourth rounds. However, he shot an 85 in the third round, which was the worst score of his professional career.

So, can Tiger turn it around and play respectable golf here? One player who thinks he can is Jason Day. After playing a practice round with Tiger on Monday, Day believes that the key to Tiger playing well is finding the fairway with his tee shots.

"It's just ridiculous how good his iron play is right now, it's really special," Day told media members at the conclusion of the round. "Tell you what, if he could get on the fairway, he'd probably be back to where he was."

Tournament	Finish
2015 Masters	T-17th
2014 PGA	Cut
2014 British Open	69th
2014 U.S. Open	DNP
2014 Masters	DNP
2013 PGA	T-40th
2013 British Open	T-6th
2013 U.S. Open	T-32nd
2013 Masters	T-4th

Day said that Woods was on top of the mountain in golf for a long time, and now he is trying to climb back up, which is a very difficult task. 

But Day and other top professionals admire the mental strength Woods displayed to get to the top and stay there for such a long time. "He dominated the game for so long, and that's what I admire about him the most," Day said. "He was No. 1 for a very, very long time and it's hard to do that."

The best athletes in the world have the mentality to put their poor performances behind them. Tiger is not going to be thinking about the 85 he shot on moving day in the Memorial when he steps to the first tee on Thursday.

He is going to be optimistic about his chances and ready to take on Chambers Bay. Here's how it will go:

First round: 74, two over par—Tiger will stay within himself and play respectable golf in the first round. He will birdie the par-five 18th hole, and that will get him within three strokes of the leaders. The golf media and fans will be beside themselves because Tiger is in the top 20 and has himself in a good position.

Second round: 71, one over par through 36 holes—This becomes a huge story, as Tiger has now put consecutive solid rounds on the board in the U.S. Open. Tiger appears to be turning back the clock as he is just one stroke off the lead held by Justin Rose. Tiger's unexpected sharp performance is not only making the national news; it is the lead story. The Fox Network is overjoyed because it is anticipating enormous ratings for the weekend. Tiger is smiling and laughing and having a great time with the media.

Third round: 75, four over par through 54 holes—The dream starts to die in the third round. Tiger shot a 68 in the third round of the Masters Tournament in April, but he has averaged 73.7 on moving day of his six most recent tournaments. He has a rough start with four bogeys on the front nine, and it looks like the round is going to be a flat-out disaster. However, he gets it back together on the back nine and finishes decently. Still he loses ground to Rose and the suddenly hot Adam Scott, and he is six strokes off the lead.

Fourth round: 70, two over par through 72 holes—While Tiger plays well the final round, Rose, Scott and the rest of the leaders are struggling with Sunday pressure. By the midway point of the round, Tiger is only three strokes behind Scott and just one behind Rose, who is feeling the heat. Tiger plays exceptionally well on the back nine, as he is finding the fairway and sticking his irons, but his putter is just a bit off. He misses three birdie putts by inches, and he finishes in a tie for third. Scott finds a way to hang on, and he wins the tournament by two strokes.

All in all, it's an excellent tournament for Tiger, as he improves quite a bit off the tee and plays as well as anyone in the field from tee to green. 

While he doesn't win, there's reason for optimism at The Open Championship and the PGA Championship later this summer.