TOOTHLESS TIGER

BUILDING A BETTER TIGER?

Over 400 days and counting.

Tiger Woods' winless streak has become a black hole of futility, sucking in more greatness at each tour stop.  Instead of laser accurate iron shots into the green, we're now left with "average".  For all the body of work we've witnessed of this golfing legend, "average" was a label that didn't fit.  It's now become part of his tournament experience.

RICKIE "ORANGE CRUSH" FOWLER

Even at courses he's dominated in the past, Woods now struggles for consistency.  You'd like to believe him when he extols that his game is coming around.  But, the leaderboard don't lie.  Much like Austin Powers, Tiger has lost his "Mojo".  He desperately needs a win to get his swagger back and no better stage to accomplish that than at Augusta National next week.

I know golf has somewhat lost it's luster when my wife pauses at the television and asks, "Oh, my, who is that wearing an orange outfit?"  For the record, it's Rickie Fowler, one of golf's young, free swinging talents.

The PGA doesn't like to admit it, but it's a better golfing world when Tiger Woods is on top of his game.  Tiger in the hunt on a Sunday is TV ratings gold.  Parity is a wonderful thing and there are a number of young talented golfers making an ascent, but a rotating champion structure week after week isn't a ratings bonanza.  Baddeley, Laird, Barnes, Mahan, Johnson - all nice pieces - just not show stopping material yet.  The NBA needs the Lakers & Celtics, MLB the Yankees & Red Sox, the NFL the Patriots & Colts.  Teams with marquee talent or storied pasts.

Though he was not in contention during the final round of the Arnold Palmer Invitational, Woods played host to the largest gallery.  Tiger at your event translates into bigger profits.  Quietly, a number of Tour professionals are rooting for Tiger to exorcise his demons.  For the good of the sport, he needs to start winning again.  Lately, though, it looks like Tiger needs to re-fit his bag with game improvement clubs.  And he's experimenting.  NBC golf analyst Johnnie Miller let the cat out of the bag at Bay Hill by revealing Woods was playing with new irons.  Add that to the lack of confidence he's exhibited in his Scotty Cameron putter, in rotation, out of rotation.

Who is this guy?

Tiger's swing wasn't broke once before when he tinkered with it and came out shooting dart golf.  He was younger then, seemingly untouchable, his world intact.  He's in his 30's now, totally exposed, a divorced father of two, and much like Humpty Dumpty, trying to put the pieces back together again.

It's as if Woods is trying to remake himself.  Determined to prove to the world he's a born again golfer.  What he has to come to terms with is, what's done is done.  He's absorbed all the punches and shots naysayers have thrown his way.  Yes, it was embarrassing and incredibly stupid.  It's now time to stand up and be counted again.  If the golfing public loved Woods before, they'll love him again, perhaps even more so because he's proven to be human.

You can't be all things to all people.  Granted on numerous levels, Tiger has to evolve, but he should also look in the rear view mirror to remember what made him a dominating force on the golf course.  If it ain't broke, don't fix it.

Go out and play with all the freedom and confidence
of a champion many times over.

SEARCHING FOR GREATNESS AGAIN

IS IT TIME TO SHUT IT DOWN? A TIGER WOODS INTERVENTION

Woods at British Open

Muhammad Ali was toward the end of his career when you just couldn't stomach to look anymore.  He should have shocked the world and walked away after the 1975 'Thrilla in Manila.' 

For Tiger Woods,  there has been no Joe Frazier.  Sergio gave it a run and Phil continues to chase.  Unfortunately, Woods has proven to be his own Trojan Horse, imploding from within.  No one was allowed into his private sanctuary until he C4'd his own fortress, leaving a gaping wound for the entire world to see.

2010 has been brutal.  Seven tournaments.  Zero wins.  His wife and children moved out, sponsors moved out, his swing coach exited and Woods' golf game is better on EA Sports.

Prior to the start of the British Open at St. Andrews, a course Tiger has tamed twice (2000 & 2005), he switched from long-time ally Scotty Cameron to a Nike Method putter.  His reason?  The greens were too slow.  On the course for the final round, guess who was back in the bag.  So now we have a Tiger Woods that is second guessing himself.  Who is this guy that is not remotely in contention on red shirt Sundays?

I made a $30 bet with a co-worker before the British Open.  Not to win the Open per se, but for Tiger to win any tournament for the rest of the year.  I was dancing like Mr. Bojangles when he accepted the conditions.  Tiger not win at all in 2010!  Get real! I jumped all over that wager.  I'm a little less confident now, but there's still plenty of time.

However, Tiger Woods and Eldrick Woods need to have a sit down.  When you've lived on top of the mountain known as Tiger for so long, Eldrick tends to get lost.  Eldrick can't get a word in.  Magic Johnson experienced the same thing during the heyday of Showtime in L-A.  He said Magic was a whole different person than Ervin.

Happy Days

For Woods, I can relate to one of the most difficult times in his life.  I'm not talking about right now-- I'm talking about losing his father Earl.  When you're that close, when you lose the one person in the world whose opinion carried a great deal of weight, you wake up a little broken.  Tiger went on to handle the golf part easily enough.  It was the one place he could find peace, the one place he could continue to make his dad proud.  It was the off the course stuff that Tiger handled badly.  For that, perhaps he needed to be more like Eldrick, the man few of us know.  With Earl gone, there was no one to keep Tiger grounded, no one to remind him how hard the journey to now was, and what it still could become. 

To some degree, I imagine Tiger thought marriage would help keep him grounded, but by then, it was probably too late.  As Woods admitted himself, it seemed as if Tiger could do whatever he wanted without there being any consequences.  It's a hard to lesson to learn that we all put our pants on the same way.  Some pockets are lined with more stuff, but the process is the same.

So how can Woods recover?  Clearly there is a ton of stuff on his mind.  Reports and details of his marital status, true or fabricated, make the headlines.  He has to sit and at least listen to questions never before asked by the media at golf tournaments, knowing full well the deck is stacked against him.  How he answers is scrutinized just as much as club selection on a tricky hole.  Woods has to get his personal life in order and decide what kind of man he's going to be.  He should know all too well the importance of being a father.  Doing it right can enrich one's life beyond words.  It makes all the superficial stuff seem ridiculous and mundane. 

In other sports, when a great player is in a slump, they manage to work it out.  A shooter in basketball is told to keep shooting, it will come back.  A baseball player in a hitting slump has to keep swinging, take extra batting practice in fact, and maybe even take a day off to analyze.

For Tiger, with no swing coach, he's trying to figure it out all by himself.  Eventually, he'll get there.  His DNA will see to that.  It's just painful to watch at times now.  On some level, maybe he feels this is part of his penance, to painfully fail before the masses.

When the pain finally subsides, Tiger will be back.  I'll bet you $30 on that.

WOUNDED TIGER WILL ROAR AGAIN

For the past week and counting, Tiger Woods has had to negotiate the trickiest slope of his life – a slippery one.

In the blink of an eye, the millisecond it takes to get into a car crash, the air bag deflated on his pristine reputation.  Herculean on the golf course, Tiger admitted last week that when off the fairway, he was human like everybody else.  Prone to make mistakes.

Mr. Woods, Welcome Back. We've Missed You

If one of the golfers participating in the first round of the Northern Trust Open backed away from a putt yesterday, it was understandable.

Despite the serene setting of Pacific Palisades, California, no doubt the field heard the roar that rode a wave all the way from Windermere, Florida. Simply put, the Freddy Krueger of golf - Tiger Woods - announced he was coming back next week to defend his title at the WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship.

Woods is the nightmare players see in their sleep. He's a wake up call that they better be working on their game because normal won't cut it when he's on the prowl. Woods is a single entity, a man who shrewdly controls his image. And yet, wherever Tiger goes, it's as if the entourage of the "Can You Hear Me Now" guy is behind him.

When play begins next Wednesday, it will end 254 days of Tiger-less golf. In between that time, the Golf Channel will more than likely give us nearly around the clock Tiger coverage. Coming off re-constructive knee surgery, the golfing world is anxious to see if rust and a new baby have taken their toll.

Tiger's absence has been great for lessor names to sneak into the headlines and grab a share of tournament dollars but there's no question having the world's number one back will be golf's version of an economic stimulus package.

"I think it's awesome," golfer Kenny Perry said. "The economy is down. We need something to boost us up. And there's going to be a gazillion reporters there, so it will be fun to be around. That place (Tucson) is going to come to life."

It will be the shot in the arm the PGA tour has been sorely missing since the excitement of Woods' US Open victory and the joy of a U-S Ryder Cup victory.

Team Tiger is a well oiled machine too. Alex Rodriguez paid hundreds of thousands of dollars for a public relations team that may or may not have earned their money. Woods merely channeled his impending announcement through Mark O'Meara, John Cook and caddie Steve Williams.



Already though, you have to feel sorry for Brendan Jones of Australia. Unless someone withdraws before next Wednesday, he'll be the March Madness version of a 16 seed versus a one. Tall order to face a hungry Tiger that's ready to prove something to the world.

"I think he'll be ready to rock," Perry said. "When he comes back, he's always raring to go. He must be spittin' nails right now. I think he'll be better than ever. He'll probably kick our butts like crazy. Let's face it. People play differently when they're playing him."

Can you hear me now?