Barclays Golf: Why Tiger Woods Divorce Will Lead To a Win This Week
As of yesterday, Tiger Woods is no longer a married man. His divorce to Elin Nordegren is now official and finally, almost mercifully, Tiger can focus on golf.
He's no longer worried about having to focus on a list of floozies coming out of the woodwork, loss of his sponsors, trying to repair his marriage, and heading to rehab.
His first tournament after is the Barclays and here are the Top 10 reasons why this could be the week Tiger Woods finally wins a tournament.
No. 10: Closure
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Since November, Tiger Woods' life has been hell.
He's had his personal life thrown into the public eye and has been scrutinized and vilified by the public. Tiger went from being one of the most popular athletes in the world to one of the most hated.
Now, Woods can move on with his life. He can rebuild his image and put the past behind him. From now on, I expect to see a new Tiger, a devoted father and a dedicated golfer. It'll be far from the womanizing, scummy person that he was revealed to be this past fall.
No. 9: Media Focus Dies down
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It seemed like whenever Tiger Woods stepped in front of a microphone, the focus always shifted from golf.
Even when Tiger was trying to escape his problems by immersing himself in golf, the press always seemed to turn its attention to the scandal and his pending divorce.
Now, with Tiger's struggles on the course continuing, it's a godsend in terms of the media.
Now the questions are about Tiger's inability to win since the scandal and Woods trying to regain the form that used to strike fear into the hearts of other golfers.
In fact, I'll go as far to say that Tiger stinking up the course is one of the best things that has happened to him in a long time.
No. 8: Focused
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Since November, Tiger's had his focus divided in a million different places.
He's had to focus on rehabbing an injury. Tiger's had to try and save his marriage while trying to get help for sex addiction (a total lie, but something he went through nonetheless).
Not only that, Tiger's had to hammer out a divorce and custody settlement with his wife.
Putting all of that on top of trying to win a golf tournament makes it almost impossible to succeed. There's so much time to think out there on the course and I'm sure that those thoughts creeped in at some point.
Now Tiger's free to focus purely on his golf game and it should lead to better performances.
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No. 7: FedEx Cup
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The Barclays is the first event of the FedEx Cup. The cup is the the championship of the PGA Tour and Tiger is the winner of the first ever cup and is the defending champion.
Woods has won all but one FedEx Cup, with Vijay Singh being the only other golfer to win the title. Along with the trophy comes a $10 million prize.
While Tiger hasn't won a major this year, winning the FedEx Cup is something that would be a huge statement and a momentum boost heading into next year.
I think the fact that this is more than just another tournament really boosts Tiger's chances this week.
No. 6: Ryder Cup
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With how poorly Tiger's year has gone, and let's be honest, for Tiger Woods, he's sucked. Woods was not able to secure a spot on the Ryder Cup roster.
Now it's up to team captain Corey Pavin to put Tiger on the team and while Pavin has said he'd love to have Woods on the roster, we all know Tiger has to show some signs of life to warrant the use of a captain's pick.
If Tiger bombs out, I wouldn't want to put a liability like Woods on the roster, especially with how poorly he's played in the event in his career. However, if Tiger wins the Barclays, it may lock up a roster spot.
Tiger wants to play on the team and I expect him to make a strong push for it.
No. 5: Stability
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After months of having his life turned upside down and his routine, which had been carefully crafted throughout the years, ripped to shreds, Tiger can finally get back into his groove.
Now that he doesn't have to worry about a divorce or having to hold press conferences to speak about his scandal, Tiger can have his life revolve around golf. Athletes always perform better when they stick to a routine tailored to their strengths.
I think now that Woods is getting back into his comfort zone, the performances are going to improve. Tiger's been just throwing himself into the field and struggling because of it. The more reps Woods gets, the better off he'll be.
Tiger's on the verge of putting the fear back into the field again.
No. 4: Confidence
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For the last couple of months, Tiger Woods has looked like a defeated man.
He just hasn't looked like the same Tiger who marched up and down the course with a look that said he knew he was better than everyone else and that no one on the field could stop him from winning. Now, Woods looks like he doesn't trust himself, his swing, or his reads on the green.
After some horrendous performances, Tiger believes he's getting close and if he believes, it spells trouble for the rest of the field.
No. 3: Practice Makes Perfect
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After flaming out at the Bridgestone Invitational, Tiger went back to the drawing board and started having people look at his swing and practicing to try and find his touch again.
Practice is something that has been in short supply for Woods because of all of that has surrounded him. He's had obligations to his family and to himself thanks to his scandal and it's cut into how much time he could spend on his game.
Throw in his knee injury and Tiger was just asking for trouble on the course.
The more Tiger gets out on the course, the better he'll be for it. The Barclays could be where it all comes together for Woods.
No. 2: Something to Prove
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With each failure, Tiger has had to hear about how he'll never reach Jack Nicklaus' record. He's had to hear about how he'll never be the same golfer again.
People have labeled Woods as a broken man, a broken golfer. It's been said that the best days are behind Tiger and that the man who won four straight majors is long gone.
I think all of that is ridiculous and reading too much into what's going on. There is no athlete in the world who could have focused on his craft with all of that going on.
With Tiger being able to put his scandal behind him, I expect to see an angry Tiger who is out to prove his doubters wrong.
No. 1: He's Due
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Let's face it. Tiger Woods is too good to go forever without winning again.
If Tiger believes his game is coming along, then I'm apt to believe him. While Tiger has had some horrendous finishes this year, he's also had some strong ones too. I think that Woods is just due to win.
It's a high profile tournament and Tiger has always done well under pressure (unless he was trailing heading into Sunday but that's another story) and I think that this is the week for Tiger. If I'm wrong, I'm wrong, but my gut says this is Woods' week.
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