Why Tiger Woods' Game Will Be Unaffected By This Latest Obstacle

By now we’ve all heard the news that Tiger Woods is back home in Orlando and spending a significant amount of time on the driving range and in the fitness center.

Despite implying during his “reading” that it could be quite some time before we see him back on the golf course, one can only assume that Woods is now preparing for a comeback in the not so distant future.

Whether he will return at the Arnold Palmer Invitational, The Tavistock Cup, The Masters, or the U.S. Open is anyone’s guess.

But here are five reasons why Tiger Woods might be better than ever when he does decide to return to professional golf.

The 1997 Masters

Back in 1997, Woods began his Masters debut with a 40 on Augusta National’s front nine.

Here’s a little snippet of what you would have heard during Woods’ abysmal start to the 1997 Masters:

“He’s going to need a lot of time to learn Augusta’s severely undulating greens.”

“Augusta is not a golf course that you can simply walk onto and demolish.  It’s a course that a player must to learn to navigate before he can conquer it.”

“Woods is still very young and not yet ready to win a major.”

How did Woods respond?

He carded a 30 on the back-nine and went on to win the 1997 Masters by 12 strokes, which was the second largest margin of victory ever recorded at a major championship.  Woods would break Old Tom Morris' 138 year old record for the largest margin of victory at a major when he won the 2000 U.S. Open by 15 strokes.

2003-2004 Swing Changes

Despite winning the Masters, the U.S. Open and finishing second at the PGA Championship in 2002, Woods decided that it was time to make some swing changes with the intention of gaining more consistency in his game.

What followed in 2003 and 2004 was one of the worst stretches of his career.  Woods was eventually overtaken by Vijay Singh as the No. 1 ranked player in the world in September of 2004.

“Woods was foolish to make these changes.”

“Why fix something that wasn’t broken to begin with?”

“Woods may never come back from this slump.”

What happened next?

Woods won five majors during the next three years and finished outside of the top-five at just two out of the 12 majors he attended between 2005 and 2007.

Earl passes and Woods misses the cut at the US Open

Woods first tournament back after the passing of his father Earl was the 2006 U.S. Open at Winged Foot, and his performance was less than stellar.  Woods missed the cut at a major championship for the first time in his career while looking dejected and indifferent on the course.

“It may take Woods a long time to recover from the death of his father.”

“Woods may not be a factor for at least the rest of the 2006 season.”

What happened next?

Woods won the final two majors of the 2006 season (The Open Championship and the PGA Championship) in convincing fashion and regained his familiar place as the undisputed No. 1 golfer in the game.   

2008 U.S. Open

Come on now, the guy hasn’t played in almost three months and couldn’t even walk a single practice round—there’s not a chance that Woods will contend.

Heck, he might not even make it through 18 holes.

What happened next?

Well, as ridiculous as it sounds, Woods somehow managed to win the 2008 U.S. Open while playing on a broken leg.

2009 Comeback

Golfer can get rusty after a week away from the game.  Woods was away from the game for more than eight months.

“It may take Woods a very long time to get back to his top form, if it’s even possible at all.”

“Woods may never be the same player again.”

What happened next?

Woods won six times and finished outside of the top-10 just twice all year.

Although Woods did not win a major in 2009, he somehow managed to put together one of the most consistent seasons of his career, not to mention at 68.05 scoring average which was more than a full stroke better than the next best player on tour.  

Needless to say, Woods’ latest obstacle will be the largest and most difficult he’s ever faced.  

He’s been humiliated, dragged through the mud by the National Enquirer and TMZ.com and has essentially had his entire world turned upside down.

One would be foolish to predict that Woods will come back and pick up right where he left off as if the “transgressions” never took place.

That being said, based on the previous 13 years of his career, is there any reason to believe that Woods will not come back and continue to dominate the game?

Any obstacle this guy has faced—including a broken leg—has failed to diminish his capacity to dominate the PGA Tour.

Pre-fire hydrant, most of Woods’ peers had seen firsthand what happens to players that call him out (i.e. Rory Sabbatini and Stephen Ames) and they wanted no part of it. 

But over the past few weeks, several of Woods peers have been quick to criticize a guy they had previously been scared to death of.

As Maximus said to Commodus in Gladiator, and what Woods is probably thinking at this precise moment, "I will have my vengeance."

We can all wish Enrie Els good luck if he’s ever again paired with Woods, although as we have seen time and time again, Else will need a lot more than luck to avoid embarrassment at the hands of Woods’ and his quest for vengeance.   

The latest obstacle in life always seems like the biggest, and in Woods’ case it actually is.

But is anyone prepared to bet that Woods will not successfully play his way through this obstacle just as he has every other throughout the course of his career?

Is anyone prepared to bet that Woods will not steamroll anyone that comes between him and his quest to become the undisputed greatest golfer of all-time?

I certainly wouldn’t take that bet.