Monday Backspin: Donald, Tiger headed in opposite directions

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How things have changed in five years.

In 2006, Tiger Woods and Luke Donald were paired together for the final round of the PGA Championship at Medinah, where they shared the 54-hole lead. Woods shot 68 to win in a landslide and collect his 12th career major championship, while Donald, who had won The Honda Classic earlier that year and climbed into the top 10 in the world, shot 74 and finished in a distant tie for third.

Donald's victory that year would be his last in the U.S. for nearly half a decade. Woods, on the other hand, would go on to win his next five tournaments, giving him eight in a row between the end of 2006 and the beginning of 2007. During the winning streak, Woods was a ridiculous 140-under par (17 1/2 under per tournament) and at one point registered 11 straight rounds in the 60s.

Fast forward to Sunday night in the Arizona desert. Woods, whose last victory came two years ago, was nowhere to be found, having been bounced out of the first round of the World Golf Championships-Accenture Match Play Championship, while Donald was hoisting the trophy high in the sky and passing Woods in the Official World Golf Ranking in the process.

"It's been a long time since I've won in the U.S.," said Donald, who admitted he was also bothered by the notion that he'd somehow become comfortable with simply cashing some good paychecks over the last few years. "My goal every year is to win tournaments. It's a long time since I've tried to play for money, you know. I solely focus on trying to win tournaments.

"I felt like I hadn't won my fair share for as good a player as I felt I was and could be. It was disappointing, yeah. It was frustrating to me."

If there ever was a guy who plays to win it is Woods. Now he's the one who's frustrated, searching for answers and thinking about his swing, which, ironically, is something Donald used to do in an effort to keep up with players who were blowing it 30 and 40 yards past him.

Since that Sunday outside Chicago when Woods and Donald were paired together and decidedly, at least for an afternoon, headed in opposite directions, Woods has won just two more majors, the last of which came in 2008. When Woods' next one will come no one knows, especially Woods.

Right now, Donald is the one who looks like he has a lot better chance at winning one.

Stock up

Martin Kaymer: He didn't win Sunday, but Kaymer is well deserving of being the No. 1 ranked player in the world and it's really not even as close as the points indicate. The German has five worldwide wins over the last 12 months and seems to be growing by leaps and bounds in terms of his game. Graeme McDowell: I was legitimately surprised when McDowell lost to Yang in the round of 16, but that's the unpredictability of match play so I shouldn't have been. Still, McDowell has the guts of a cat burglar and his confidence is through the roof -- as it should be. Rickie Fowler: He lost to Matt Kuchar in Round 3 last week but along the way took out Phil Mickelson, which scores major points as far as I'm concerned. Fowler isn't easily intimidated, and it showed. The Florida swing should bode well for Fowler, who recently moved to Jupiter, Fla.

Stock down

Tiger Woods: John Cook's (or anyone else's) comments notwithstanding, it sure didn't look like much clicked with Woods last week in Arizona. Doing it at home on the range and doing it under the gun are two different things -- Woods is the first to admit to that -- and it's pretty clear he's a long way from winning majors or winning anywhere. The question now becomes will presumably two tournaments prior to the Masters give him the reps he desperately needs? It's looking less and less likely based on what we've seen so far. Sean O'Hair: Talk about a rough start. O'Hair, who was beaten handily by Hunter Mahan in the first round last week, has just one sub-70 round this season (third round at Pebble Beach) with only one finish inside the top 70 in stroke-play events (a tie for 31st, also at Pebble Beach). O'Hair, who became a father for a fourth time earlier this month, isn't hitting fairways or greens and isn't making many putts -- he ranks outside the top 170 in the latter two -- and as a result hasn't been contending. Jim Furyk: The reigning FedExCup champion has likewise had a miserable start to his season. Furyk was out in the first round last week, losing 2-up to Ryan Palmer, and has just one sub-70 round in his last 10 stroke-play rounds (he didn't break 70 in Arizona, either). In four stroke-play starts, Furyk has two missed cuts, a tie for 35th and a tie for ninth, which came at the limited field Hyundai Tournament of Champions. It's a good thing the FedExCup race is a season-long one.

THE BACK NINE: 9 THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW

1. Luke Donald winning Sunday might have come as somewhat of a surprise, but he hasn't exactly been a slouch, even if he hadn't won on the PGA TOUR in five years, at least in this event. Five times he'd reached the round of 16, and his Ryder Cup record obviously speaks for itself. Donald may not be the longest hitter, but his short game makes up for it, especially in match play, which can be a great equalizer.

2. How good was Donald last week? Consider this: He played the fewest holes of any player ever to reach the finals with just 73 (Tiger Woods held the previous mark at 77) and he never once trailed in any of his six matches. Donald also became the fourth non-American to win the WGC-Accenture Match Play in the last five years. Not exactly the kind of thing you want to read if you're a fan of the U.S. Presidents Cup or Ryder Cup teams.

3. Will Tiger Woods ever approach the player he was from 1999 to 2009? It's a fair question at this point and a relevant one if he's ever going to catch Jack Nicklaus and his record of 14 major championships. Consider this: In that span of 11 years, Woods won a ridiculous 64 times in 182 starts on the PGA TOUR. That's an unparalleled winning percentage of just over 35 percent. That of course includes an injury-shortened season in 2008, but even if Woods didn't get hurt and didn't win again that year the percentage would still be roughly 33 percent. By comparison, Nicklaus won 48 times in 214 starts from 1965-75. That's a winning percentage just under 23. The point is that when Nicklaus was at his best, he wasn't close to winning nearly as often as Woods did. And for Woods to continue that sort of dominance over even the next five years is just unrealistic.

4. That's not to say Woods can't return to some form of his old self. After all, he's done it before in his career having made two significant swing changes. The question is when will that be, and what form of his former self will he be? No matter what, though, the window to catch Nicklaus is a lot smaller than it used to be. Nicklaus won just six of his 18 major championships after the age of 35, which Woods is now, and one of those came at age 46 at the 1986 Masters.

5. Here's one very big reason why I think Martin Kaymer is as good as he is and will only get better: Fanny Sunesson. She brings an awful lot of experience to the table having caddied for Nick Faldo from 1990-99, which is when he was at his best. Kaymer has and will continue to learn a lot from his unofficial coach and her more than 20 years inside the ropes.

6. For the first time in nearly a decade, Europeans own the top four spots in the Official World Golf Ranking with Kaymer, Lee Westwood, Donald and Graeme McDowell. The last time that happened was March 15, 1992, when Ian Woosnam, Faldo, Jose Maria Olazabal and Seve Ballesteros ruled the roost. Given how the current group is playing, I don't see that changing much any time soon, either.

7. From the who-knew-he-was-so-hip department, Jim Furyk apparently attended a Salt 'N Peppa concert Friday night in Jacksonville. I'm not sure which surprises me more, the fact that he did, or that Salt 'N Peppa is still around.

8. Just personal preference here, but I wish there was one more match play event a year on the schedule. It can lead to some pretty compelling golf and it's a format that a lot of fans play.

9. And speaking of different formats, one of the neatest events on the planet took place last week when the U.S. Professional Hickory Championship was held outside Tampa. How cool would it be to see today's players using some of these sticks? (Click here for a slideshow)

Forward Spin

Goodbye West Coast, hello Florida Swing. The TOUR heads east, beginning with this week's Honda Classic, which has settled nicely into its home at PGA National. A renovation a couple of years ago also helped strengthen the course and as a result the field, too. Want proof? Lee Westwood, Graeme McDowell and Rory McIlroy are all in the field this week in Palm Beach Gardens. So is newly minted winner Luke Donald, along with Rickie Fowler and Anthony Kim. Last year, Camilo Villegas won, but he's gone backwards this year with a DQ, missed cut, WD and zero finishes in the top 30 in five starts.

Next Kodak Challenge hole

TOURNAMENT: The Honda Classic HOLE: The par-4, 434-yard 16th at PGA National Champion course ABOUT THE HOLE: This dogleg right is the toughest par 4 of all of PGA National's 90 holes. Off the tee, everything slopes toward the water on the right, but a bunker was added to catch balls that roll too far right. Those who bail out left are faced with a 220-yard second shot over water, into the wind. Kodak Challenge standings