Ryder Cup Tiger Woods: Rory McIlroy Trashes Tiger; Can Woods Punch Back?
Rory McIlroy made headlines before the start of the Ryder Cup for taking a shot at the world's most famous golfer, Tiger Woods.
McIlroy told the BBC that he would love to face Tiger in the event, unless Woods somehow dramatically improves his game and that everyone on the team would love to face him at the event.
The news got back to Tiger, who when told about McIlroy's desire to play him, told the media "me too."
With that in mind, here are five reasons in which Tiger will rise up and crush McIlroy and help the US to victory and five reasons why McIlroy and company will get the best of Woods once again.
Why The Europeans Will Own Tiger No. 5: Personal Life
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While Tiger has finally cleaned up the issues that have plagued him since Thanksgiving, you know that to some extent, the past year has to be weighing on him.
He can't see his kids all of the time like he used to, the backlash to him is still somewhat there, and it just has to be a mentally exhausting experience for him.
You don't get over the loss of your marriage, even if it was your fault, overnight.
If Tiger hasn't put it behind him, I'm not sure how he can be as effective as he has been in his career.
Why Tiger Will Own The Europeans No. 5: Time Off
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Since Tiger was bounced from the FedEx Cup early this year, it gave Woods some time to rest up, heal up, and get ready for the Ryder Cup.
I feel like Tiger just threw himself into this year's field and schedule trying to make something happen and it just wasn't possible, considering he was coming off of an injury and a messy divorce that took place in the public eye.
Now with a couple of weeks off to just relax and get away, I think he'll be better for it.
At least, the US team better hope so.
Why The Europeans Will Own Tiger No. 4: Still Recovering
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The past couple of years haven't been good to Tiger in terms of his health.
First there was the leg injury that sidelined him for a good while and to be honest, I'm not sure he was over that by the time he returned to the tour.
Then in May, Woods suffered a neck injury and had to withdraw from a tournament.
It takes a long time to come back from a knee injury and with as much torque as he puts on his swing, you know it just can't feel right even now.
Maybe with a some time off it helped, but I'm still not sold that he's got his body right at this point.
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Why Tiger Will Own The Europeans No. 4: Lower Expectations
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Let's be honest, with the year that Tiger has had, who really expects much out of him at the Ryder Cup?
He was a captain's pick and didn't even qualify for the team, and you could make the case that there were probably other players he could have picked for the squad over Woods.
Tiger's coming in with everyone writing him off and with the way he is on the course, you know that has to fire him up.
I think with the expectations for his performance being down, he's going to rise to the occasion for the US team and get the job done.
Why The Europeans Will Own Tiger No. 3: They're Right
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As I said before, Tiger was a captain's pick for this and didn't even qualify for the team, something that for a golfer of his magnitude is quite a shocking thing to experience.
There are plenty of golfers on the team this year who had strong seasons on the tour and who are just plain better than Tiger has been this season.
It's the weakest we've seen Tiger on tour, and I think that other players are starting to smell blood in the water.
I'm not sure if this is a long-term thing, but other players are trying to strike while the iron is hot.
Why Tiger Will Own The Europeans No. 3: Inexperience
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For all of McIlroy's bluster, the fact is that it's his first time on the Ryder Cup team and until you experience it, you don't know what you're up against.
It's not the same as a regular tournament and plenty of great golfers have struggled in this format and McIlroy could, especially now that he's put a bullseye on his back by running his mouth to the media about Tiger.
Any mistake, and the press is going to get on him about it after those comments.
I'm sure Tiger would love nothing more than to make McIlroy look stupid. It wouldn't be the first time he's done it to another golfer, and it probably won't be the last.
Why The Europeans Will Own Tiger No. 2: Recent Results
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In the 12 events that Tiger played this year on tour, he finished in the top 25 only seven times and in the top 10 only twice.
Seeing as he made 14 top 10s last year in 17 events, it's just been a dramatic fall off for Tiger in the past year.
A lot of that has had to do with his knee and the health of it, but Tiger just hasn't seemed like he's had his head in the game for some time now.
You can't blame him, but if he's not focused, he won't succeed this week.
Why Tiger Will Own The Europeans No. 2: Practice
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I think that one of the biggest problems with Tiger this year is the lack of practice that he's had.
Woods has just thrown himself into the field and hoped for the best without really trying to get a feel for his knee and his game.
Even for the best golfer in the world and arguably the best of all time, that's not an easy feat to accomplish.
I think Tiger's figured that out and with the little bit of time he's had off between his elimination from the FedEx Cup and now, the work he's put into his game will show on the course.
Practice makes perfect, even for Tiger Woods.
Why The Europeans Will Own Tiger No. 1: History
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When Tiger plays by himself in the Ryder Cup, there's not many players better than him. Woods is 3-1-1 all time in those matches.
However, it's the team events, that happen to account for half of the points in the Ryder Cup, where he struggles.
Tiger is 6-12-1 all time in those events and that's just an awful mark, especially for a golfer of his caliber.
Woods struggles in this format and no one really knows why. It's pretty easy to take shots at Tiger in this competition and it's because he's awful at it.
Why Tiger Will Own The Europeans No. 1: He's Angry
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The one thing that people should have learned by now is to not make Tiger Woods angry.
Yet, here comes Rory McIlroy, trying to poke a sleeping giant in Tiger and it's a recipe for disaster.
Woods always plays better when he's got a chip on his shoulder and I think that if no one said anything to him, he may have struggled like he always does at the Ryder Cup.
Now that McIlroy has questioned his game, I think Tiger is going to rise to the occasion and totally destroy McIlroy and have one of his better Ryder Cup performances in his career.
Conclusion
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When looking at Tiger in this year's Ryder Cup, it's hard to ignore the history, both recent and long term for Woods.
He's struggled mightily this year and he's struggled historically at the Ryder Cup. That's not exactly a recipe for success this week at the event.
However, I do think that Tiger is going to play better than he has at the event. Does that mean he's going to dominate the event? No. But I do think he'll play well.
That's really all the US needs him to do, and I think he's going to deliver this week.
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