Wednesday, April 6, 2011

Can Tiger Woods win The Masters?


Yes, Tiger CAN win The Masters, but he won't...



In short, Tiger Woods has the capability to win the Masters, but I am sure he won't get the job done this year.  Here's why:  He's not playing at a world-class level right now.  Simple enough, right?

Rarely has a Masters winner come from out of nowhere to win, unlike some winners of other majors, like the PGA Championship.  You have to be on top of your game in all areas to win at August National.  Accurate driving, greens in regulation and a little flat-stick magic are all required to top the leaderboard at Augusta.  Let's look at where Tiger stands in these statistics, compared to the rest of the PGA Tour:

Driving Accuracy: 47.6%, 191st on Tour
Greens in Regulation:  67.6%, 57th
Putts per Round:  29.2, 86th

These stats listed just verify what everyone who has watched Tiger this year knows:  He's not very good right now.  You can't scramble your way to a green jacket and if Tiger can't find the fairway, he doesn't stand a chance.  Combine that with his inability to consistently make the 10-15 foot putts, it doesn't bode well for Woods this weekend. 

However, as we all know, Tiger has the ability to win this tournament.  His talent is undeniable, but it used to be coupled wiith a dogged determination that we haven't seen in a long while. 

I think the odds on favorite to win this weekend is Phil Mickelson, even though Woods, Nick Faldo and Jack Nicklaus are the only back-to-back winners ever.  Here my foursome of potential winners not named Phil:  Nick Watney, Matt Kuchar, Luke Donald, Martin Kaymer.  Bubba Watson is another guy I like as a sleeper to bring home the jacket.

Do you think Tiger can win?  If not, who do you like?

5 comments:

  1. Well, I've been telling people all week that Tiger has a chance. I expressed to your colleague Matt that I liked Westwood and apparently he's in the hunt as well. He was a couple of shot's out after today but will be there on Sunday. Wasn't Kuchar that snotty nosed kid that walked around as an amature smilling at everything and making the country want to kick his teeth in. He's from Tech for christ sakes and your a georgia fan. I feel he was a bad pick. Maybe you went with him for some long oppressed sentimental reason.

    As far as Tiger goes, I too was worried about his competitive edge earlier in the week when he twittered how "he hopes his work will pay off" and then he was all grins in his Monday press conference. I caught him again on Wednesday and was much more impressed with what I heard. It was no more of the playful banter that he was feeding out on Monday. He seemed sharp and focused and was ready to go play. Is his swing where he wants it to be, no. Is he still good enough to win with a B game and a hot putter, yes. He will go on to win this week and Westwood will hang around for a second. I said it on Wednesday and will add in Mickelson for a 74 tomorrow. Also, there's still no rough at Augusta so this recent premium on driving accuracy is being way over played. Stop buying the golf channels hype.

    ReplyDelete
  2. True story about the rough, I was noticing how short it was as I watched today. Distance is worth more than accuracy this weekend, no doubt. I'll take Phil with a 68 tomorrow to stay in the hunt and I think Rory is in it for the long haul as well, but I'm not sold on Day.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Yes Tiger can win that is easy but will he is the question. We will get to see what Rory is made of. The pressure will be unbelieveable this weekend, the biggest stage and maybe the best golfer ever on his heels. We will see if Rory is man or boy?

    ReplyDelete
  4. Rory will crumble and shoot 74, Tiger takes the lead today with a 68 or 69, Day shoots 78. He's so far out of his league it isn't funny. Tiger wins tomorrow.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Looks like your boys Westwood and Tiger were in the 74 club today. Rory has a 4 shot lead and Jason Day is still in 2nd. Should be a great Sunday. Tiger needs what to win? I say 65 might get it done, but he won't be able to play with any of the leaders so he can't "intimidate" with his mystique and red polo shirt.

    ReplyDelete