Tiger Woods: Top 5 Questions for the 2011 Season
Following the most tumultuous year of his career, Tiger Woods will begin his 2011 season next week at the Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines.
This will be the first time Woods has returned to Torrey Pines since his epic 2008 U.S. Open victory, which also happens to be the last time he hoisted a trophy at a major championship.
The 2011 season could very well wind up being the most important season of Woods’ career.
Here are the five biggest questions surrounding Woods as he begins his 2011 campaign and, more importantly, as he re-starts his quest to chase down Jack Nicklaus’ record of 18 majors.
How Will His New Swing Evolve?
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It doesn’t take a PGA of America-certified swing coach to realize that Tiger Woods’ 2010 swing was a robotic-looking shell of the silky smooth, yet ultra-powerful, swing he displayed in 2000.
Woods finally parted ways with Hank Haney after more than six years together and began working with Sean Foley at the 2010 PGA Championship at Whistling Straits.
Woods’ initial work with Foley appeared to be paying off towards the end of the 2010 season. Woods had a strong showing at the Ryder Cup and closed out the 2010 season with three top-10 finishes, including a sudden-death playoff loss to Graeme McDowell at the Chevron World Challenge.
In just over a week, we will get the first glimpse of how Woods’ swing changes are progressing when he tees it up at the Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines, A.K.A. Tiger’s Alley.
Will He Stay Healthy for the Entire Season?
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One thing that tends to get overlooked amidst all the hoopla surrounding “The Scandal” is that Woods has not been healthy for an entire season since 2007 and, even then, Woods was dealing with some lingering problems with his left knee.
In 2008, Woods’ season ended after his epic U.S. Open Victory at Torrey Pines while playing on a broken leg. (Yes, you did read that last sentence correctly. The man won the 2008 U.S. Open on a broken leg.)
According to Woods, in early 2009 while rehabbing from reconstructive ACL surgery, he tore his Achilles tendon and played through the injury for the entire season.
In 2010, Woods had a neck injury that forced him to withdraw from The Players Championship in May and recently received a cortisone shot in his left ankle to relieve what his agent Mark Steinberg described as “lingering soreness."
Woods is only 35, which is still fairly young in golf years. However, he has suffered more physical injuries than most Champions Tour players over the past three seasons.
There are only two things that could possibly derail Woods’ quest for 18 majors and injuries are one of them.
When Will the Winless Streak End?
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The guy has got to win sometime, doesn’t he?
With 71 PGA Tour wins and 113 worldwide wins, one would have to assume that Woods’ current winless streak is more of an anomaly than the new norm.
Woods will begin his 2011 season next week at Torrey Pines, which is one of two courses (Firestone being the other) that he has absolutely owned throughout his career.
Should Woods win early in 2011, it could catapult him to a monstrous comeback season.
However, the deeper he goes into 2011 without a win, the more pressure will mount and the more difficult it will be for Woods to turn 2011 into a successful year on the golf course.
Woods needs to win and he needs to win early.
Could there be a better setting for his first post-fire hydrant victory than Torrey Pines?
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Will He Go out of His Way To Save a PGA Tour Event?
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A memo to Tiger Woods: Want to know how to win back the fans and sponsors?
Go out of your way to save a PGA Tour event.
Forget the tweeting, the interviews and the extra autographs. The easiest way to show the world that you care about something other than yourself is to commit right now to the John Deere Classic or the Transitions Championship or the FedEx St. Jude Classic or the Travelers Championship.
Tickets would sell out within weeks and sponsors would be lining up to purchase a piece of the event. Essentially, Woods has the star power to put any one of these tournaments on solid ground for years to come by simply showing up.
Whether he goes out of his way to help one of these smaller events is the big question.
It’s All About the Putter
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As stated earlier, injuries are one of only two things thing that could derail Woods’ quest for 18 majors.
The other is a lost putter.
With so many different aspects to the game of golf, it is interesting to note that the downfall of virtually every great golfer in history has been caused by the exact same problem: a lost putter.
Ben Hogan stopped winning when he lost his putter.
Walter Hagen stopped winning when he lost his putter.
Arnold Palmer stopped winning when he lost his putter.
Harry Vardon stopped winning when he lost his putter.
Sam Snead stopped winning when he lost his putter.
Tom Watson stopped winning when he lost his putter.
Even guys like Sergio Garcia, Ernie Els and Retief Goosen have lost their ability to win big-time events these days because they have lost their putting strokes.
The only two notable exceptions that have somehow managed to avoid this plague are Jack Nicklaus and Gary Player.
Two other greats who never lost their putting stroke are Bobby Jones and Byron Nelson. However, they both retired while still in their prime.
Woods' ultimate decline will likely not be caused by his golf swing, his off-the-course activities, his lost sponsorship deals or his lost intimidation factor.
Woods decline will more than likely be caused by the same thing that has caused the decline of every other great golfer in history: a lost putter.
Sometime between his epic victory at the 2008 U.S. Open and his return to the PGA Tour in early 2009, Woods lost his ability to sink those big putts at the most crucial of times.
During 2010, Woods changed putters four times and still couldn’t find any level of consistency on the greens.
Forget about everything else surrounding Woods, both on and off the golf course, other than the putter.
If Woods continues to struggle on the greens, he will have a very difficult time winning another major, let alone the five more majors he needs to surpass Nicklaus.
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