The four-times winner is in his best form for years after back surgery but there are plenty of other Americans with a chanceThe Masters has never been a more international affair than in recent years. When the season’s first major championship tees off on Thursday morning amid the flowering dogwoods and blooming azaleas at Augusta National Golf Club it will mark the 12th straight year the Americans in the field will be outnumbered by players from outside the country – with six of the last 10 winners hailing from foreign soil.A global contingent including Rory McIlroy, Justin Rose, Jason Day and the defending champion, Sergio García, are the prime contenders to keep the Green Jacket off a homegrown player’s back...
The 14-times major winner’s second place at the Valspar Championship has generated excitement but talk of him conquering Augusta again may be prematureBookmakers are apparently revelling in these fevered times for golf. By Monday afternoon, the only absent bulletin was the price for Tiger Woods to walk unassisted on Rae’s Creek when taking to the 12th green during his first round at the Masters. That may be in the post.Woods’s surpassing of expectations has been timely. With the first major of the year, the Masters, only three weeks away, the 42-year-old finds himself listed among the second favourites to prevail. Woods can be backed at shorter odds than Sergio García, the defending champion, Justin Rose, a modern day Augusta specialist,...
Galleries who never warmed to the 14-times major champion are willing him to make his latest comeback one of the greatestTiger Woods seemed destined to be celebrated but not loved. If that appears harsh, the greatest golfer in a generation appeared perfectly at ease with that scenario himself. Until now.Woods’s complex relationship with US galleries conjures gallows humour. A string of relationships, after all, were so damaging not only to Woods’s personal life but his broader reputation. Woods, already deliberately distant from fellow competitors, was apparently forever tarnished as tales of his extra-marital antics emerged. Phil Mickelson, the immaculate blue-eyed boy and long-time Woods rival, benefited in popularity terms. Related: Tiger Woods says Masters plan on track as Justin Thomas...
A promising comeback at the Hero World Challenge has led to optimism but only after greater tests will we know if the former No1 is the real deal againPerhaps the smartest conclusion would be to avoid drawing any from the Hero World Challenge. A year ago, after equalling tournament winner Hideki Matsuyama for number of birdies over four rounds, Tiger Woods departed the tournament supposedly on the verge of a great renaissance.Woods spoke positively about the future, just as the wave of expectation surrounding him rose once more. By the start of February, Woods cut a stricken figure as he limped from the Dubai Desert Classic whilst unable to counteract back spasms beyond 18 holes. It would be easy to...
Woods has endured another troubled year culminating in pleading guilty to reckless driving but he is remodelling himself as a mentor as well as a competitor as he plots his latest returnWhatever else Tiger Woods may have developed during his latest lengthy absence from competitive golf there appears a new willingness to display a sense of humour.That Woods privately does a sharp line in wit has been insisted upon for years by those who know him, and the 41-year-old has raised smiles by offering thanks to “the committee of one for picking myself to play” in the Hero World Challenge in the Bahamas at the end of November. Woods essentially hosts the tournament, managed by one of his companies, and...