The Golf Blog: Can Tiger Woods turn back the clock?
I'm going to do what I always do. If I enter an event, I'm going to try and win the thing." – @TigerWoods, ladies and gentlemen. pic.twitter.com/468h7ptGjq
— Golf Channel (@GolfChannel) November 29, 2016
The Golf Blog says: In 1980, at 40 years of age, Jack Nicklaus made a comeback and won 2 majors (the US Open and PGA Championship) that year. Afterwards, Jack would win only 1 more major–his crowning 18th major at the now historic Masters in 1986.
Tiger Woods is now 40 years of age. He’s been stuck on 14 majors since 2008, and has been hobbled with a slew of injuries (including two back surgeries putting him out of commission for 15 months). Few prognosticators give him a chance of winning a tournament, much less another major.
Yet don’t count Tiger out yet. First of all, he does appear to be healthy–and that is key. His body may not hold up for that much longer, but if Tiger can squeeze out another 5 years of competitive play, he would give himself plenty of opportunities to add more victories to his count. His athleticism, diet, and workout regimen should help him extend his career, provided he gets the proper treatments following each round. He would be wise to follow Tom Brady’s routine!
Second, Tiger now–after Nike freed him from his contract–has the freedom to mix and match clubs and ball (playing TaylorMade woods, Nike irons, Scotty Cameron putter, and Bridgestone ball) that could give him an advantage–or, at the very least, give him the clubs that suit him best. If he goes with a new endorsement, the mix and match approach would probably end. But, for now, he has complete freedom to choose the clubs and ball he likes best.
Third, people’s expectations for Tiger to win are the lowest they’ve ever been. So that should give him a little bit of leeway to post a few clunkers on his comeback.
Finally, Tiger has a lot of pride. It’s hard to imagine his work ethic won’t put him in a good position to win.
Whether it’s enough for him to compete (or win) at the majors again is too hard to tell. But it would be great for golf if he did.
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