Tiger Woods: How 2011 WGC-Bridgestone Invitational Can Salvage His Season

Tiger Woods Can End Rocky Streak with Win at WGC-Bridgestone

Tiger Woods is back in action. It's been 11 weeks since we've seen Tiger on a golf course, and the anticipation to see him in the tee box is mounting.

Bogged down by knee injuries, personal issues and now an unappealing beard, Woods will make his way to the WGC-Bridestone Invitational.

Woods has had a horrific year thus far. Scratch that—Woods has had a horrific stretch in his career since Thanksgiving 2009. After going through public humiliation, divorce, surgery, swing changes and now a caddy change, it's understandable that Woods isn't performing up to his standards.

Even so, he could salvage his 2011 season with a win at the WGC-Bridgestone invitational. At this point, some are questioning whether or not Tiger will ever piece together another victory. Whether or not he will even be able to complete in this tournament has been called into question.

Winning this tournament would already make Woods' 2011 season more decorated than his winless 2010 season.

Woods just might need a win or two to kick start a resurgence. That doesn't necessarily mean that he needs to win a major to become relevant once again. Taking down Rory McIlroy and the rest of the field would prove that the quest to be "the next Tiger Woods" will have to be put on hold for the time being.

Tiger is down, but he isn't out. With the PGA Championship right around the corner, this would be the perfect time for Woods to get back on track and gain some momentum.

Everyone is obviously looking for Tiger to come out guns blazing in a major, returning to his dominant state and burying the field. For Tiger, it's not going to take a major win for him to consider this a monster success.

This is the perfect tournament for Woods to win as, by doing so, he can shake off some of this perception that he should be written off in every tournament he enters.

Tiger will never be the same golfer he was when he accrued his incredible 14 majors. Even so, he's still got a lot of golf ahead of him. His knee will be a huge obstacle for him to overcome for the rest of his career, but it seems to be his mental state that is the biggest hindrance to his career.

It's time for him to regain some of his confidence. He can't do so on one leg, so if his knee quits on him, this could be a huge setback for Woods, rather than a step towards regaining some of his moxie.

Hopefully for Woods' sake, his new facial hair provides the swagger necessary to make him forget about how poorly he's played and how badly his knee hurts.

Follow Kyle Vassalo on Twitter @ASU52