Tiger Woods: 5 Things We Learned from His Presidents Cup Performance

A lot was said when Fred Couples picked Tiger Woods as one of his wild cards. Former world No.1 was going through the worst slump in his career when he got Freddie's vote of confidence.

A lot was said by fans and the media, who thought Keegan Bradley would have been a better choice since he was not only in better shape, but had won twice in 2011, including the PGA Championship.

Nonetheless, Couples stood by Tiger and defended his decision. At the end, Tiger finished in style...

Adjustments Are Paying off

After battling with the adjustments and new drills he's been working on with Sean Foley, Tiger finally showed improvement and even seemed comfortable with his swing and putting.

True, the first couple of days weren't any different from what we've seen lately, but during the weekend Woods played some of his best holes of the year.

There's Room for Imporvement

During the week, everyone noticed how Tiger's game turned around and improved gradually. It's been a couple of tough years, but last week we saw a glimpse of what he used to be.

On Thursday's foursome matches, along with Steve Stricker, not only did they tie the worse score in the event's history (7 & 6), they couldn't score a single birdie.

By Sunday, in singles, he sank five of them.

His Mentality Is Getting Stronger

Despite having his worst start in Presidents Cup play since 2005, when he also lost the opening foursomes along with Fred Couples, Woods overcame adversity. His performance improved day by day and by Sunday, he was so focused that his game proved it.

Since the Australian Open, a week prior to the Presidents Cup, and former caddie Steve Williams' comments, Tiger demonstrated how much he's been working on his psyche and has remained calm and relaxed with media, crowds and fellow players.

Confidence Is Coming Back

Tiger might have been working hard towards becoming the best, but what he needed desperately was a vote of confidence, as big as the one Freddie gave him.

Moreover, media scrutiny went from focusing on how bad he was playing to how much improvement he had made in the last couple of weeks. This translated into a more laid back and confident Tiger, one we hadn't seen for a while.

He's Not Done Yet

It's true we can't say Woods is back for good and that he will win five-plus tournaments next year just because he had a Tiger-esque round. Nonetheless, he demonstrated that he has both the game and the passion to make a comeback.

Woods needs to keep working to gain consistency and reclaim the spot he once owned. He's getting there and if he continues to take baby steps, we might see him back in the winner's circle next year.