Tiger Woods: Tiger Will Be Back in Winner's Circle Next Season

Tiger Woods had a hard day with the putter on Friday at the Australian Open with a three-over par 75, but he has shown enough this weekend to get excited about where he is going to be when the 2012 season rolls around. 

It has been two years since Woods won an event. In that time, his personal life has fallen apart and his body started to fail on him. He has not been right physically or mentally since 2009, but all that appears to be changing now. 

As Bob Harig of ESPN.com wrote, we must not be quick to judge Woods based on the one bad performance he had on Friday.

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"This sort of ebb and flow happens in golf, but seemingly with every tournament, every round, every swing, Woods' prospects among the masses can go from doom and gloom to winning multiple majors.

Of course, it doesn't work that way, but with Woods, everything is skewed. Perhaps it has something to do with the small sample of work to judge. This is just the fourth tournament for Woods since he returned from injuries that sidelined him all summer, and a limited schedule has always led to more scrutiny."

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There are still going to be moments where Woods loses himself because he is not completely healthy, but all things considered, this is as strong and focused as he has looked in two years. 

All the talk about Woods' slump had to do with his personal life and the mental state he was in, but did we ever stop to think that he has been injured for the last two years?

Golf is a tricky game. The slightest change in anything that you do is going to throw everything off. It is going to ruin your swing and you will not be able to putt properly. 

Woods is finally starting to get his swing back, but he still has to work on his short game. It's not an overnight process, so don't expect instant results. 

With time and practice, we will see Woods back in the winner's circle many times in 2012. The Australian Open is just a warm-up performance to the main course that comes in two months.