It’s hard to believe that Tiger Woods is currently the 111th ranked player in the world. That ranking should be better after the week he had at Augusta National. For the man that dominated the PGA tour for so long, it is almost impossible to believe that he has fallen this far down the top of the mountain. There are many speculations as to why Tiger has fallen so far down, but that is not what this is about. This is about Tiger working his way back up the mountain.
The 2014 PGA season was not a good one for Tiger. He played in only seven events due to injury and made five cuts and only finishing in the Top 25 one time. The 2015 Masters at Augusta National was only the third tournament that Tiger has played in this year. It also happened to be the only one that he has been able to finish. Tiger began his year at the Waste Management Phoenix Open and didn’t make the cut after shooting 13 over par the first two days. The next weekend, Tiger withdrew from the Farmers Insurance Open and hadn’t been seen in a competitive match since this past weekend.
Tiger’s first day at the 2015 Masters did not start off well as he bogeyed the opening hole, but he was able to bounce back with a birdie at the second. He ended up finishing the day +1 with an opening round 73. He had four bogeys and three birdies. The second round saw Tiger get off to a little better start and he was able to finish his day with a three under 69 to finish the first two rounds with a two under 140.
The third round of the Masters seems to be the day that a lot of players like to make their moves and Tiger was no different. He started the day with three birdies in his first four holes and four on the front nine of Augusta. His back nine was a little shaky as he had two birdies and two bogeys. He finished the day with a 68 to bring his overall score down to six under 208. Normally, entering the final day at six under is a good position to be in. Unfortunately, Jordan Spieth just happened to be playing out of his mind this week at Augusta.
It would take a near miracle for Tiger to have any chance at all to capture his fifth Green Jacket and first since 2005, ten years ago. Sadly, it was not to happen has Tiger finished the day with 73 which was good for a tie for 17th place.
Tiger is nowhere near where he used to be when he dominated the game for so long. He may never reach those levels again as the new generation of golf is upon us. Will Tiger win another major? This writer believes he will and if he continues to play the rest of the season the way he played at Augusta, it may even be this year.
The next major on the PGA Tour list will be the U.S. Open at Chambers Bay in the Pacific Northwest. It will be the first time a U.S. Open will be played in the Northwest and the first time most of these professional players will have ever played Chambers Bay in University Place, WA. Depending how Tiger’s health, Chambers Bay could be the site of his first major win since the 2008 U.S. Open.