The Masters 2011- Can Tiger win it?
We saw glimpses of Tiger’s best at Doral on Sunday, but can the former world number 1 and golf superstar capture his first major since 2008 at Augusta next month? Tiger’s 6 under par, 66 at the challenging TPC Blue Monster confirmed that things are getting better. The problem seems to be stringing four decent rounds together. Can he achieve this in the first Major of 2011? It’s one of his favourite courses; I guess we’ll find out on April the 10th!
Tiger’s dominance of the Masters is only overshadowed by the achievements of the great Jack Nicklaus who has won the tournament a record 6 times. However in the current generation of golfers Tiger is unmatched. Over the course of his career at Augusta, Woods has won the championship 4 times, matching the great Ben Hogan. He became the youngest ever Masters champion in 1997, at just 21 years old.
It’s only a matter of time before he wins another tournament, that’s what we’ve been saying for months. His unbelievable play on the final day of the Ryder Cup in Wales showed that he still has the tiger-factor. 9 Under through 15 holes is incredible golf but with every good day he seems to follow it with a bad one. For example, his poor play in the first round on the Accenture Matchplay saw him knocked out by Thomas Bjorn which left us all scratching our heads in disbelief.
Could he turn it around and prove us all wrong in Georgia next month? The answer is undoubtedly yes. Nobody could ever write him off. Arguably the greatest competitor of his era, the world’s first billionaire sportsman, one would be stupid to bet against him.
However, as we have found out in the past 18 months since his fall from sporting grace, he is beatable. The new all-European top 4 will have a few things to say about Tiger’s chances I’m sure. Lee Westwood will be hunting his first Major, he’s come close before and the World Number Two will be aiming to rid himself of the ‘Best player never to have won a Major’ tag that all golfers despise. Kaymer will be fancying his chances of back-to-back majors. He’s shown great form this year already. Luke Donald, winner of the WGC Accenture Matchplay in Arizona, now knows he can beat the best, his game is certainly suited to Augusta’s narrow fairways and undulating greens. Past winner Phil Mickelson is capable of golfing genius on his day. He’s been struggling of late and will be looking to defend his title and kick start his year.
Can Tiger break out of the longest barren patch of his career? For the good of Golf, I’d love to see it happen. He keeps hinting that his game is getting better, consistency is the issue. It would be typical of Tiger to Win the Masters and prove all his critics wrong. Who knows what would happen if he does win his 5th Green Jacket? I definitely wouldn’t bet against him winning all 4 Major’s of 2011. He has to break Jack Nicklaus’ record one day….Right?
