Golf: Augusta expects as Tiger regains his sharpness - with picture slideshow

Published on Tuesday 7 April 2009 23:29

SINCE he has undergone career-lengthening surgery on his left knee four times, it's little wonder the idea of managing his game at the Masters, rather than the pain which complicated the challenge of his previous major victory at the US Open last summer, is such an ebullient prospect for Tiger Woods.

Fully recovered from the most recent reconstruction of his wounded knee, as well as that double stress fracture of the tibia in his left leg, the world No1 served notice at Bay Hill two weeks ago that he has also regained the mental sharpness required to produce his best golf under the gun.

Click here to see a slideshow of Masters players during their practice rounds

What Tiger proved with his first victory since the extraordinary drama of Torrey Pines was that he has lost neither the presence to intimidate opponents nor an unsurpassed gift for holing critical putts under pressure. Both assets will undoubtedly serve Woods well as he seeks his fifth green jacket in 13 professional appearances at Augusta as well as his 15th major win since 1997.

"I didn't want to have to go through all the things I went through," Tiger acknowledged when he was asked about the impact of those nine months spent on the sidelines. "But when it's all said and done, I'm feeling so much better now than I did for years.

"It was nice to be able to finally get to do the things Hank (Heaney, his coach] was trying to get me to do. I wasn't able to do that for a number of years, because I didn't have a leg to do that on. It was finally nice to hit the shots we were trying to hit. I can hit them now."

Asked if he still expected to win the Masters in spite of that nine month absence from the game as well as only being able to play three times in 2009, Woods could hardly have been more succinct. "Always," he replied.

Those of us fortunate enough to be present and correct at Augusta 12 years ago when Woods won his first Masters at 21 by the ridiculous margin of a dozen shots would not be surprised by a track record which shows the world No1 has never finished outside the top three in the season's first major since his last victory at Augusta in 2005. It's just one of the persuasive reason why he's rated by bookmakers as the 7/4 favourite. What makes his statistics at Augusta all the more remarkable is the knowledge that a course built originally for excitement was re-fashioned with extra length, more trees and areas of rough in order to prevent him further embarrassing one of American golf's most hallowed shrines.

Woods can still floor the accelerator at the Masters as thrillingly as any golfer who ever lived – just think of that extraordinary chip from behind the 16th green which helped him to defeat Chris DiMarco four years ago – but he has also learned to cope with the dourness which identified Trevor Immelman and Zach Johnson as the most recent winners. "There are really no roars out there any more," he observed last year. "It's hard to make eagles and the big birdies. The golf course is playing so much more difficult now."

Yesterday he elaborated: "The golf course has changed quite a bit. You know, your strategy has changed. You don't go out there looking to shoot super low rounds because they are not out there anymore, especially with these conditions that we have the last two years. If it calms down, I'm sure you can probably shoot one of those good numbers, but there's going to be a different way of doing it."

Although Augusta now asks questions of every club in the bag, it's still the putter which wields the decisive strokes on the trickiest greens in championship golf. According to Greg Norman, who makes a farewell appearance at the Masters this week, Woods' rivals should feel relieved the world No1's ball striking isn't quite as reliable as his putting.

"If Tiger's ball striking matched his putting, oh my God," reflected the Shark. "If you took what he was like in 2000 – I think he swung the golf club and hit the golf ball the best when he won (the US Open] at Pebble Beach by 15 shots – with his putting ability now, then you would expect the guy to win every golf tournament."

Sergio Garcia, arguably the best driver of the ball in the game today, also bows to the consistency of Woods' putting. "Some putts, you get over them, and you just can see the ball is going to go in," observed the Spaniard. "Obviously he's able to do that, when it matters the most down the stretch, more than the rest of us. And that's why he's a little bit above us."

While many expected Padraig Harrington's search for a third consecutive major – a feat only previously accomplished by Woods and Ben Hogan – to be the main talking point in the build-up to the Masters, Tiger's return to form has inevitably trumped talk of the "Paddy-Slam". Not that Harrington seems to mind taking a back seat.

"When you get to the bigger stage, Tiger is the top dog and he deserves the attention with what he's done," reflected the Irishman.