Masters 2011: Tiger Woods Shows Signs of Revival, but Youth Is Better Than Ever

Tiger Woods put on a show after a slow start on Friday. He was a winner again, stomping up the leaderboard with the same presence of yesteryear. Fearless, full of confidence. And it could continue.

Of course, my view is that it will not. And the reasons and their seeds came in the early holes on Friday.

While the Young Guns (Rory McIlroy, Jason Day and Rickie Fowler) were scoring well below par over the first nine holes, Woods was even. And even if you think that the first nine holes do not count, they are the meat of the golf course.

Amen Corner is just the middle. And while Tiger was great at the end of the last nine, it is not there where this Masters will be won.

Sure, Woods could still put on a great nine holes tomorrow. And he had better. Because the Young Guns are not just coming into their own. Their play showed that they have arrived.

They are not likely to be intimidated by the others in the field. Their drives and putting are just too good, and their touch on the greens sensational.

The funny thing is that recently there is some talk that the Masters is the easiest of all the Majors. And this talk could have some validity. Look at Tiger Woods in his early years. Piece of cake.

But the true test is always Saturday, and if you are in contention Sunday as well. The separation that happens is tomorrow's front nine. And that is where the Young Guns have started to shine.

The ideal top pairing for the Young Guns is Rory McIlroy with Jason Day. This happened for both their benefit. It is possible that either would have cracked facing Woods.

The telling place for them is the front nine. If they play off of each other, as they did on Friday, Woods is toast.

Woods has meandered in other tournaments with lesser foes. His pairings at the Masters have not been ideal so far.

Tomorrow, the pairing will remain subpar, and I do not mean in golf terminology. Choi will be a very bad pairing for Woods, and it will show.

Meanwhile, Fowler's pairing with Fred Couples could not be better. Any young player will benefit from Couples and his sunny disposition.

So we go toward the final two rounds of the Masters with the intangible of the paring favoring the Young Guns, and Tiger Woods still behind.

If he catches up, then the real fun could begin. Everyone cheering for Tiger, especially if either Day or McIlroy falter a bit and he is in the last pair on the course. That is made for Tiger.

But the Young Guns seem poised for greatness. And McIlroy or Day are capable of maintaining their approaches to the game which make it fun as they treasure each hole.

For Woods, it is business as usual. And if he does escape his past for another day, concentrates on his game unlike in other recent tournaments, then he has a shot.

History does not favor Woods. He has not won a Major since 2008, and only won one that year and in 2007. He is older, with fewer tournament wins likely. He was in first or second in all but one Masters by the end of the second round.

His length is no longer fascinating, with all of the Young Guns capable of crushing the ball at least in the neighborhood of those hit by Tiger Woods.

But finally, and perhaps the most important, Woods is no longer the Intimidator. Instead, he is just better than many in the field. Everyone knows this.

Experience has counted some at Augusta. But it did not make much of a difference to Woods who smashed everyone in 1997.

So while the nostalgia buffs, and the sycophants of Tiger Woods continue to believe in him, and he showed the same type of round as he showed earlier in the year when everyone started predicting he would win, the reality is that Tiger Woods is more likely to drop today in the leaderboard rather than gain any ground.

Even if he does not, the Young Guns should win. It will just be a matter of which one.