John Huggan: Whoever takes match play title, golf is the real winner this week

Published on Saturday 21 February 2009 18:46

WITH THE PROBABLE exceptions of Phil Mickelson, Sergio Garcia, Padraig Harrington and anyone else harbouring lingering – and unrealistic – expectations of mounting a meaningful challenge to the man who is already well on his way to being the greatest golfer ever to stroll any and every links, the imminent return of Tiger Woods to competitive play after major knee surgery is very good news for anyone and everyone involved and interested in the greatest game of all.

No-one, however, will surely be happier than PGA Tour commissioner Tim Finchem. Over the 255 days that have passed since the world No.1 (it is a measure of Tiger's almost total dominance that he is today, despite over eight months of complete inactivity, still looking down on the best of the rest) eventually saw off the brave yet ultimately unavailing challenge of Rocco Mediate to lift his third US Open title, things have not gone well for the game's biggest, richest and most important circuit.

Only recently, the Tour's diminutive leader made the unprecedented move of calling for his pampered and preening membership to try a bit harder in the important but apparently much-neglected area of corporate schmoozing. He even went so far as to advise them that shaving more often than once a week might be a good idea. No Tiger and a deep economic depression have apparently combined to dent even the legendary Finchem arrogance.

Still, the exact timing of Tiger's announcement was fascinating in more ways than one. The more frivolous will no doubt point to the 'fact' that he waited until Mickelson played his first decent round of the year – an opening 63 at the LA Open that will conclude later today – before stealing the headlines from the man America still sees as his biggest rival. Ticking off Phil has always been one of Tiger's favourite things to do.

More interesting is that Woods will make his return in the Accenture World Match Play Championship, an event where he could potentially be asked to play as many as seven rounds of golf in five days over what is apparently a pretty hilly layout. Given that it is safe to assume that such a scenario would not be undertaken without firm assurances from his doctors, the good news there is that Tiger's left knee is, if not 100% healed, very close to it.

A bigger question mark, of course, hangs over just how well the 14-time major champion can expect to play after so long on the sidelines. Even for a man who routinely breaks the rules of everyday, over eight months is a long time to be away. William Hill's announcement that it is already paying out on him to win the Masters says more about Tiger's capacity to generate publicity that it does about his readiness to challenge for a major championship as early as next month.

His short game, for example, can hardly be as "tight" as it would normally be after a sustained period of competition. It is therefore on and around the greens where any rustiness will be most evident. While the fluidity of the full swing and the solid hitting of full shots will surely already have been regained the feel and touch required on 'in-between' shots will take longer, even for one so gifted in that area.

Then again, coming back to this unusual event, with which he shares a sponsor, makes perfect sense. Not only is Woods the defending champion – he has won the tournament three times – it can be argued that the lack of a card and pencil in his bag will ease him back into the old routine without the added pressure of putting a number on the scoreboard. The truly bad shot hurts only on one hole. And, within each round, he will have only the one opponent. Beating one guy at a time rather than 155 all at once has to be easier. The fun factor also has to be taken into account. Tiger would have been loath to miss this event, his only opportunity outside of the Ryder Cup to indulge in a form of golf he was born to play. Three times a US Junior champion and three times US Amateur champion, all at match play, Woods has – despite a miserable record in foursomes and fourballs – lost only one of his five singles matches in the biennial battle between America and Europe. No-one, it is safe to say, has ever been harder to beat. As has been pointed out many times, while Tiger is obviously physically gifted, his greatest on-course assets are his head and his heart.

Still, for all that he possesses so many great qualities, there is always the possibility of embarrassment in an 18-hole sprint rather than a 72-hole marathon. Given the inherent vagaries of match play, even the greatest players have had ignominious moments in this unpredictable event. Australians have proved most troublesome to Tiger; twice Woods has lost to Nick O'Hern and once Peter O'Malley sent him home to the lovely Elin. And, assuming no-one withdraws between now and Wednesday's opening round, Woods will be up against yet another relative unknown from Down Under: Brendan Jones. Jones, like his compatriots, is well capable of winning at least one more hole than an out-of-sorts Tiger.

That said, stepping up isn't something too many of his so-called rivals managed to do while Tiger was off recuperating and preparing for the recent arrival of his second child, Charlie Axel. With the obvious exception of Harrington, who won both majors played during Woods' sabbatical, no-one appears ready to take on the Tiger when it really matters on Sunday afternoons. Instead, any serious debate centres on who is likely to be the game's second best player by the end of this year.

Mickelson has struggled mightily with his swing under coach Butch Harmon, a fact that no doubt amused Woods, who used to work with the part-time Sky Television analyst.

Vijay Singh, 46 today, is now nearer 50 than 40 and has only recently returned from knee surgery of his own.

Garcia still has much to prove under the severest pressure. Yes, he won a Tiger-less Players Championship last May, but his continuing fragility on the greens was more than evident over the closing holes of the USPGA Championship he lost to Harrington at Oakland Hills.

Perhaps the best bet is yet another Australian, Geoff Ogilvy. The former US Open champion isn't afraid to take on Tiger head-to-head – he saw him off to win the CA World Golf Championship at Doral last year. He's in form having won twice in the last two months, at the Australian PGA Championship and then, even more impressively, at the season-opening Mercedes Championship in Hawaii. And, perhaps most importantly, his home life is settled, he and his wife having had two children in not much more than two years.

All of that is for the future, of course. More immediately and more importantly, Tiger will bring with him enormous media interest in the six-and-a-bit weeks leading up to the Masters at Augusta National. Never has the game needed his peerless ability to generate attention as much as it does right now.