professor Agree, Prof. I just finished reading the unauthorized biography that is out now. His childhood and upbringing seems to explain a lot. No excuse but the public seems to enjoy it when a celeb hits the rocks. He seems to have developed a better attitude toward others, his family and golf.
If Tiger....
It's all about ratings and money. Look what Tiger has done to viewership this season. Like Tiger or not he is good for business. Unless he gets hurt or totally steps on his dick in the next few weeks I wouldn't be surprised he gets a Captain's pick. And you can't tell me the industry isn't putting some heat on Furyk behind the scenes.
Rickochet I presume if he wants to play Ryder Cup then he’s in. Same with Phil for that matter. No way two of best ever don’t get picked while they are still relevant unless they really jacked-over Furyk in the past.
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I see Tiger as a really good player like a lot of other really good players, so I think he can win again, and maybe a major. But so what? Tiger has always been about 19 majors, nothing less. If he can't win 5, or at least 4 it's meaningless. Sure, it's a nice comeback story, but he'll still leave golf with a big old "What if?".
Because Tiger never really opens up in interviews it's hard to say what he wants out of this comeback. Personally I think he's really trying to see if he can get it back and win 5 more majors. It may sound ludicrous to us, but I see that as what's driving him. I just can't see Tiger putting in all this work to be #9 in the world and win a tournament or two, even if one's a major. It doesn't fit his personality, imo.
The only other thing I could see is it's all about the money. He knows he needs to play and play pretty well to keep his brand going. And if youy're going to say "He already has more money than he'll ever need" you just don't understand rich people.
In the world of golf,like him or hate him,Tiger is STILL" the straw that stirs the drink"!
Look at the responses here.
If you want a thread that has some interest/action....just put 'Tiger' in the title.
It's a formula that NEVER fails!
As to some of the "if's",yeah I think he wins again,maybe even a major or two.
He just needs to re-learn how to win and get out of his own way.
He's got all the tools/skills,but his mindset needs a reboot...and go dig up that killer instinct you used to have.
I think he's swinging well enough to win again. Putting is always something that every player needs to win; he's not putting like he was, but probably still good enough to win. I think he needs to find that confidence that allowed him to avoid all those bogeys he should have made but didn't. You could look at Tiger's tee shots in a round and think " he must have shot at least a couple over", but he somehow shot a couple under.
He also needs to come into Sunday with at least a several shot lead. Tiger has never been a come-from-behind player. He'd play 2 great rounds and grind out a score and have the lead on Sunday and then would increase the lead or find a way to hold everyone off.
I think he can still win tournaments and majors, but it's hard to say if he actually will. I doubt he is playing just to get Top 10's and make money. I'm sure he would love to get a win so he could sneer at the journalists that said he couldn't. I'm sure he'd also love to hoist a trophy with his kids there.
garyt1957 I do believe that winning 5 more majors is still his biggest desire, but I think he's really trying to get his life back on track and take the opportunity to repent and win back some respect. Perhaps it is just hopeful thinking on my part, but I believe his comeback is as much about trying to put his past behind him and get purpose for the life that is still ahead of him. I think he's trying to get his income rolling again and ease up the pressure on his kids and family that also suffer by association to his past. I don't think he'll be bitter if he doesn't win another major as long as he can establish a reputation as someone who overcame his failings with responsibility and perseverance.
KCee Putting is always something that every player needs to win; he's not putting like he was
PA-PLAYA It was his putting.
He had to change his putting stance due to the back surgeries, he's said. Anyone that has changed their putting technique, in any way, knows how this plays out, short term. And he has also said he cannot practice as long as he should or needs, so perhaps this will be long term for him. He will never putt like he used to. It's been seen already.
The amazing thing is how he has leapfrogged the guys that had been playing well, in the world standings.
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garyt1957 And if youy're going to say "He already has more money than he'll ever need" you just don't understand rich people.
Well, his est. NET worth is 'only' $760M. Given the fact(rumor) he had to give Elin $500M, not so long ago, means he's not going to run dry. Good investments, I'd say.
Elin's NET worth is only $200M! 
Spuzz The lawyers probably took a 60% share and their spouses are enjoying the shopping spree.
Par4QC Damn women!
Might as well take this completely off track. Just saw this joke on another forum.
My son wanted to know what it's like to be married. I told him to leave me alone and when he did, I asked him why he was ignoring me.
He will probably get to 19 Majors, if he stays healthy. The majors will be 14 on the "regular" tour and 5 on the Senior Tour. Some marketing weenie will come up with a term, like the Tiger Slam, for the accomplishment. If he could back off the driver swing just a tad he would probably score better. I finally realized that I am 72 not 52 anymore. Made a conscious decision to "keep it in play" instead of "how far can I hit the ball". Has resulted in waaay more fairways hit, more greens in regulation, less time in the woods and high rough and lower scores. If Tiger had followed that course of action, by my count his score at the Open would have 7 shots lower than what he ended with.
raggmann54 Backing off to stay in play is a nice theory, what guys who have never had power will never understand is he IS laying off. He is off it to the point where he can still give it a rip and keep everything in sync. Any more backing off and it’s going to get really fudged up and too much probably results in those hips not getting out of the way in time.
The thing is the DRIVER isn’t really where he made the biggest mistakes, he screwed up trying to be too cute and too conservative. If he had played to win, instead of not to lose, I think he would have won. That said, that flop shot was the end of him playing to win, then he went on the defensive and pissed it away. Had that shot worked or had he just played the simple shot and gotten to just go putt the damn ball, he may well have won too.
I believe what Tiger needs is a GREAT caddy in his corner again, one that can say to him “ just get it on the green, make your par and let’s go to the next hole with the lead.” One that can say “don’t change it up now, hit that driver off the left edge and we can make a birdie here.” Instead, I have to believe he has a “yes” man right now. He’s doing all the navigating, the yardage’s, the thoughts, he has to hit 200 shots and think through all of them, it’s not the best strategy. He needs somebody to take the mental load off a bit and let him focus on execution. When/if he gets that, I think he’s going to be great again, if he doesn’t, I don’t know if he can ever get “it” back
Like I said in my opening post, lots of if's. Despite the positive side of the scenario I presented, there's also the other side of the coin. He's remained winless over the past half decade, and certainly - there are valid reasons for that. Yet the longer he goes without winning, the more difficult it only gets, the more wear and tear he puts on his back.
All that aside, he's gotta win something over the next year. Given the nature of the surgeries he's needed to even be able to walk upright again, let alone rehab his back to be able to play again - he probably knows his career is living on borrowed time. That's yet another dynamic of pressure that is very real.
I remember watching McGwire's chase to beat Roger Maris' record of 61 homers in the latter part of of the '98 season. The closer he got to the end of the regular season - the greater the pressure became on each at-bat, in each and every game left.
Tiger now faces a similar type of pressure as it relates to his comeback, albeit more health-related than anything else. Assuming he does get another 3-4 seasons out of his back, that's somewhere between 60-80 golf tournaments, 12-16 majors left (assuming he plans to play 20 tournaments/season).
Not a lot of time.
That's a lot of walking, a lot of uneven lies being played, a lot of golf swings, a lot of bending over to putt. And that's not including the practice sessions and practice rounds being played during those seasons as well.
Just some perspective.
I never thought Tiger would ever consider the Champions Tour beyond his PGA Tour days, because I didn't think his drive and motivation would be the same competing against guys older than him. And although the majors on the Champions Tour do add to the overall competitive resume, (and not trying to take anything away from guys like Langer and Hale Irwin, mind you, who both achieved much more in their senior playing days as it relates to overall wins and majors) I think we all agree that they're not ranked half as significant as the tournaments won, the majors won, on the young guys tour.
But now there's another reason I don't think we'll see him competing beyond 50. Given his history of back problems, I don't think I'm going out on much of a limb here in assuming that he'd rather be able to manage his pain and have some quality of life in retirement versus risking that in exchange for competing for purses half the value, or majors that basically have half the value of those he won on the regular tour.
I could be wrong, but I just don't see him looking beyond a playing career at 46-47 years of age, if he can somehow make it that long.
Just my opinion, of course.
PS - some great posts above that also add to the discussion. This was never meant to be a thread to slam Tiger or point out his past indiscretions. Just an honest question about where he is now mentally and physically and if there's anything he could do in the next several months to take you off the fence regarding him winning another major.
I'm pretty sure Woods will be one of the captain's picks for the Ryder Cup, providing he wants to play. Even if he doesn't gain much in the standings between now and then -- he's close enough. Mickelson will get chosen as well.
He'll play the Masters and the Open as long as he's physically capable. As far as the Champions Tour -- he'll play the majors and a few other tournaments a year, like Nicklaus did, to satisfy sponsors and keep his face out there. And if he has a rookie year like a lot of guys do, winning several times, maybe he'll make more effort. In many ways, I see Woods as following Nicklaus' path -- if he doesn't think he can win, he won't be out there much. While I see Mickelson as emulating Palmer -- playing as much as he can because he really likes to and still thinks he can catch lightning in a bottle.