Burning Questions for Tiger Woods Ahead of the 2018 Masters
Has it really been 13 years?
Yes, it has. And quite a bit has changed in sports since Phil Mickelson helped Tiger Woods, then 29, slide into the world's most coveted green suit coat—the symbol of a win at the Masters—on April 10, 2005.
At that time, Aaron Rodgers was two weeks from becoming pick No. 24 in the NFL Draft. Lance Armstrong was three months from winning his seventh Tour de France.
And Jordan Spieth—three days after what became Armstrong's final asterisked hurrah—was turning 12.
Funny thing, though, it's feeling an awful lot like deja vu these days.
Though many of his rivals spot him at least a decade in age, there's little doubt that Woods—now 42—is again the most talked-about golfer heading to Augusta National Golf Club this week.
No less an authority than CBS announcer Jim Nantz labeled it "the most anticipated Masters any of us has seen in our lifetime" on a pre-tournament conference call.
Here's a hint, folks, that's not because of Sergio Garcia.
Though Woods has been stuck on 14 major victories since the 2008 U.S. Open and hasn't even made the cut at a Grand Slam event since 2015, competitive top-five finishes at two recent tune-ups have restoked the hype machine while simultaneously lifting his world ranking to 103.
For comparison's sake, he was in the 600s at this time last year.
And when Woods has red-shirted relevance, he moves the needle unlike any other.
He's listed alongside Rory McIlroy (+900) as the tournament's co-favorite according to OddsShark, ahead of fresh-faced 20-somethings Justin Thomas (+1000), Spieth (+1200), Jon Rahm (+2000) and Rickie Fowler (+2000), not to mention to defending champion Garcia (+2500).
There's a lot of ground to cover between here and Sunday afternoon at Butler Cabin, and a lot of questions to be answered before a would-be champion Woods dons the green jacket for a remarkable fifth time.
Read on to see what we feel are the most pertinent ones.
Is He Healthy Enough?
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Following Tiger Woods for the last several years has had a prerequisite: an armchair medical degree.
Toward that end, here's just a partial list of the injuries he's sustained since his last Masters win—in 2005:
* Ruptured ACL in left knee;
* Stress fracture in left tibia;
* Sprained left Achilles tendon; and
* Frequent lower back spasms
Recurring back problems ultimately led to four surgeries for Woods, the most recent of which—a spinal fusion in April 2017—was aimed at eliminating chronic pain he'd been experiencing in both his back and legs. His early 2018 resurgence has been identified as evidence of the procedure's success, but there's no guarantee it's a permanent fix in a sport that exposes a body to extreme levels of torque.
Long-term deterioration shouldn't be an issue just yet, though, barring a catastrophe.
Practically speaking this week, the fusion of discs has altered Woods' mobility and prompted him to accommodate with more of a stand-up posture at impact off the tee. Being able to control the ball's draw is crucial for success at Augusta, so his practice rounds this week will be particularly relevant.
If he's able to do that, it'll make him a factor.
Is He Confident Enough?
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In his 20s, Tiger Woods was often invincible.
In his 30s, he was just as often reduced to blooper reels.
So, to what extent, at 42, he'll be able to rewind the clock will determine his Masters fate.
Few of the top guns at Augusta this year have been exposed to a truly competitive version of Tiger, meaning it'll take more than just a cold stare to get them weak in the knees. Thus, his margin for error is far less than in his heyday, which puts more pressure on him from tee to green than he'd typically faced.
That said, Woods' consecutive top-five finishes at the Valspar Championship and the Arnold Palmer Invitational have raised his own bar, too. He's more likely to growl after a bad shot now than in the last few years, indicative of a player who expects—rather than just hopes—to play well.
It doesn't guarantee a win this week, but it can't be anything but a good sign.
Is He Ready for the Spotlight?
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It's been a while since Tiger Woods was, well... Tiger Woods.
The player who dominated the game has been rendered irrelevant for the better part of a decade since he last hoisted a major trophy at the 2008 U.S. Open.
He's not had a top-10 Grand Slam finish since the Open Championship in 2013 and hasn't even finished four rounds at a major since tying for 17th at the 2015 Masters.
But he is still, well... Tiger Woods.
He's posted top 10s at two straight pre-Augusta tune-ups in March—with the sort of gallery following and media entourage befitting his reputation—and he'll arrive at the first tee Thursday awash in the sort of maelstrom only a 14-time major winner could understand.
And, truth be told, it sounds like he's not just ready for it. He savors it.
"There are a few guys that can do it late in their career," he told Augusta.com. "For me, I'm ecstatic to have a chance to play again and to have a chance to win golf tournaments and compete. There was a while there where I didn't look like I was ever going to be out here again, not in the capacity of a professional player. But here I am playing again and it's a lot of fun."
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Does He Deserve to Be a Favorite?
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Most of the guys in the Masters field haven't won a major since 2008, if at all. And most of the guys arriving at Augusta haven't finished second and fifth in their last two tune-up events.
So, based solely on week-to-week momentum, Tiger Woods is as legitimate a choice as anyone.
But does that warrant him sharing favorite status with a guy like Rory McIlroy, who's finished three-quarters of the career Grand Slam since Woods last won a major?
No, probably not.
The Northern Irishman is one of a flock of bigger, stronger athletes who rode Tiger's wave and transformed the game's upper echelon from chunky chain-smokers to chiseled gym rats—meaning there are probably 20 players in the 2018 field alone who are as physically gifted as Woods was two decades ago.
There's little reason to expect going in that Woods beats them all.
Will His Presence Impact Other Players?
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Jordan Spieth was 11 when Tiger Woods last won the Masters.
Rory McIlroy was 18 the last time the four-time Augusta king was inside the top three.
So, the idea of them and others in their age bracket quaking at the prospect of a final-round pairing with an injury-riddled 42-year-old flies in the face of competitive logic.
But two-time major winner Curtis Strange says there's more to it than meets the eye, particularly now that Woods will enter the 2018 event on the heels of two top-five tour finishes.
"If Tiger Woods continues to play well, there is a real influence of intimidation out there," Strange told the Irish Mirror. "The way he carries himself, the way he acts, the way he plays and then the aura about him. It’s not just about how he hits the golf ball."
Spieth and McIlroy missed the cut while Woods went on the finish second at the Valspar Championship in early March. McIlroy won the next week's Arnold Palmer Invitational, finishing eight shots ahead of Woods.
"Intimidation is a real thing, and we’ll see how they handle it," Strange said. "I’m not going to say they don’t handle it well, but it really does put pressure on the first tee when you’re standing up there against Tiger Woods or Jack Nicklaus in his prime, you know you have to play your very, very best to beat this guy today, and that in itself is a lot of pressure."
Is His Game Ready?
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His iron play at Augusta has often been outstanding.
And there are more than a few highlight reels that show him making clutch Masters putts.
So the element of Tiger Woods' game that'll play the biggest part in his contention this week will be how well the former world No. 1 plays with a driver in his hands.
Hitting the fairways and maintaining manageable angles into the greens is vitally important at Augusta, so while Woods' 304.2-yard driving average through five tournaments (37th on the PGA Tour) is respectable, his 51.61-percent accuracy with the driver (202nd on the PGA Tour) is a bit more of a concern.
Big mistakes mean big numbers, particularly when the ideal target is about the size of a tablecloth.
Woods' career scoring average on the four par-5s at Augusta (Nos. 2, 8, 13 and 15) is a ridiculous 150 under par, while he's 28 over on four par-3s (Nos. 4, 6, 12 and 16) and 33 over on 10 par-4s (1, 3, 5, 7, 9, 10, 11, 14, 17 and 18).
In the end, it may simply boil down to how sharp Woods—who played fewer events from 2015-17 (15) than either Rory McIlroy (18) or Jordan Spieth (24) did in 2017 alone—can stay over 72 pressure-packed holes.
Can He Win?
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Imagine Tiger Woods sinking a Masters-clinching putt on the 18th green this Sunday evening, then imagine the Internet being pushed to Kardashian-stretched seams in the aftermath.
If there's been a bigger sports story in the last decade, it's not so easy to recall off hand.
So, after assessing queries about Woods' health, mettle, aura and production, only one worthwhile interrogative remains:
Can it happen?
The short answer: Yes.
Given the way he's played at three tournaments since missing the cut at the Genesis Open in mid-February, Woods arrives at Augusta with as much positive mojo as anyone in the field. He's healthier and more consistent than he's been in years, brimming with a confidence and contentment that's been absent even longer and has had more success on the course than anyone not named Jack Nicklaus.
But don't hold your breath.
The flip side to all the positivity is that Woods, at 42, is still 14 years older than the average 28 years of the top-10 players in the world and has a 14-year head start when it comes to aches, pains and battle scars. He doesn't hit it as far or as accurately as many of his younger rivals, many of whom have built Grand Slam identities of their own—free from the nerve-jangling specter of a red-shirted Woods.
Those edges won't be easy to overcome, short of precedent-setting Augusta weeks strung together by 40-somethings Nicklaus (46, 1986), Ben Crenshaw (43, 1995), Gary Player (42, 1978), Sam Snead (41, 1954) and Mark O'Meara (41, 1998). It's no accident that it's been 20 years since anyone with Woods' mileage has won, and given the depth of fresh-faced guns in the field, it's no slam dunk.
Still, it sure is fun to imagine a Tiger-led stretch run, isn't it?
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