Monday, March 26, 2012

He's Back: Woods dominates at Bay Hill

Tiger Woods looked like the Tiger of old as he won the Arnold Palmer Invitational on Sunday. Tiger looked impressive as he made clutch putts and hit approach shots with laser-like accuracy. His victory reminded golf fans of how fun it is to watch him play well. I’m sure that Tiger’s victory also had TV executives smiling in their suits as the ratings on Sunday rivaled those of the NCAA tournament games. 

Tiger Woods is definitely not the same dominate player that we all remember from the past ten years. A ruined reputation and an aging body have taken their toll on the former number one player in the world. Throw in a new swing coach, new caddie, and several swing changes, and it all adds up to a 30 month official win drought.

Tiger’s win could not have come at a better time. Two weeks ago, he had to withdraw at Doral due to a nagging injury. That had people actually debating if he would ever win a tournament again. Now, it looks like Tiger is rounding his game into championship form two weeks before The Masters.

And oh yeah, did I mention the tell-all book written by former coach Hank Haney? Haney’s book comes out on Tuesday, and is said to paint a very negative picture of Tiger. What’s he really going to tell us? Tiger is arrogant, cold with the media, and loved to cheat on his wife. Really? Tell me something I don’t know. That’s all old news.

 I’ve said it once, and I’ll continue saying it- golf is just better when Tiger Woods is winning. Regardless of the poor choices he has made in his personal life, Tiger Woods has brought millions of fans to the sport of golf. Even the most casual golf fan gets interested when Tiger is in contention. Heck, my 2 year- old daughter chose watching Sunday’s final round over playing outside. (She pointed to the TV and yelled whenever I turned it off!)

Just imagine the scene on Easter Sunday if Tiger Woods is in contention on the back nine at Augusta. All of the doubters may have to fall silent as Tiger adds one more major and takes a step closer to breaking Jack’s record of 18 major titles.

  -Talk about “Must See TV.”

No comments:

Post a Comment