Woods was knocked down but not out in 2010

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Woods went winless for the first time in his career in 2010.

Everyone thought 2010 was going to be the Year of the Tiger.

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Golf writers were preparing for the possibility that Tiger Woods could sweep all four majors and pull into a tie with Jack Nicklaus at the top of golf's Mount Everest with 18 career major championships.

Nicklaus knew it was a possibility, especially the way the majors lined up at Tiger-friendly venues such as Augusta National, Pebble Beach, St. Andrews and Whistling Straits -- the first three places having provided Woods with half of his 14 majors, usually in spectacular fashion.

Woods had won four of his first nine Masters as a pro; had blasted the field by a record 15 shots the last time the U.S. Open was held at Pebble Beach and had won the last two Opens at the home of golf by a combined 13 strokes.

At the least, it was assumed Woods would win one or two of this year's majors and move inexorably closer to Nicklaus.

Heck, even the Chinese Zodiac sided with this prediction when it called 2010 the Year of the Tiger.

But that's why they keep score in golf, because it's rare when the person everyone expects to win does just that. Especially with the off-the-course issues Woods had to deal with this year.

The closest he came to winning major No. 15 was a pair of T4s at the Masters and the U.S. Open -- performances that were amazing considering the state of his game and his mind.

So what happens with Woods' chase in 2011 now that the venues shift to Congressional Country Club (U.S. Open), Royal St. George's Golf Club (British Open) and Atlanta Athletic Club (PGA Championship)? Nicklaus was correct when he simply said "It's going to become more difficult" for Woods to catch him after he failed to get a "W" on his favorite venues this year.

The British Open doesn't return to St. Andrews until 2015, and Pebble Beach doesn't host another U.S. Open until 2019 -- when Woods will be 43. And let's not forget he also hasn't won at Augusta National in the five years since the course was re-designed and lengthened to 7,445 yards in 2006, though he has finished second twice.

So his version of golf's layups are gone for a while; if he's to edge closer to Nicklaus this year, Woods is going to have to work on his mid-range jump shot, so to speak.

Woods obviously can win his fifth green jacket -- he won his first by a record 12 shots in 1997 and Nicklaus famously predicted that Woods would win as many Masters as he and Arnold Palmer combined (10). Still, Woods has yet to win on the re-designed, lengthened layout, so it's just as obvious some of his advantages have been lessened.

But if he can finish fourth last year with the lack of practice and all that he was dealing with, it's just a matter of time before he joins Nicklaus as the only players to have won at least five Masters. Odds of Woods winning the Masters: 3-1.

There is more uncertainty about how Woods will perform in the other three majors because he doesn't have many starts on all three venues. At Congressional, he was T19 at the 1997 U.S. Open, 10 shots behind winner Ernie Els. But he won at a less-difficult Congressional at the 2009 AT&T National and was T6 there in 2007, skipping the 2008 event because of knee surgery. Odds of Woods winning the U.S. Open: 5-1.

The only time he played at Royal St. George's, Woods finished T4, just two shots behind unlikely winner Ben Curtis. But Royal St. George's proved to be a quirky layout where a ball seemed just as likely to bound down the fairway or bounce into deep rough, depending upon what side of the hill it struck. This will be by far the most wide-open of the majors this year. Odds of Woods winning the British Open: 12-1.

Woods never contended at the Atlanta Athletic Club when the PGA was held there in 2001. He opened with a 73 and finished 14 shots behind winner David Toms, who made a clutch putt on the 72nd hole to beat Phil Mickelson by a shot. Mickelson and Mark Calcavecchia were the only two "bombers" to finish in the top 10 in that PGA, so again Woods' length isn't going to mean as much. Odds of Woods winning the PGA Championship: 15-1.

But as Woods showed last year, a lot can change about his life in a very quick time. Who knows where he and instructor Sean Foley will be with the swing change by April? Or with his personal life?

One thing is certain: Only once in his career has Woods gone two consecutive seasons without winning a major. The last time it happened, in 2003 and 2004, Woods responded by winning the Masters, was second at the U.S. Open, won the British Open and was fourth at the PGA.

He may get knocked down, but he doesn't stay down for long. Even though he failed to win this year for the first time in his career, Woods said something earlier this month that should bring a smile to his fans.

"I'm just really excited about this off-season," he said. "I haven't been that way in a while."

He pointed out one other thing at this year's British Open: While half of his majors were won at this year's sites, that means the other half have been won elsewhere.