Tiger's roar was nearly restored Sunday but questions remain
By Craig Dolch, PGATOUR.COM Contributor
Tiger Woods almost borrowed another page Sunday from Jack Nicklaus.
A quarter century after Nicklaus won arguably the greatest Masters after being written off, Woods was in a similar position as his childhood idol.
All week, Woods had been hearing chirps from other players that the four-time Masters champion was no longer the person to beat at Augusta National. Ian Poulter said Woods wouldn't finish in the top five. A month ago, Rory McIlroy said he wasn't sure if Woods would ever be as good as he once was.
Those were the same sentiments Nicklaus heard when he arrived at Augusta National in 1986. He was "finished, done, through," according to a story in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Now, comparing the 46-year-old Nicklaus to a 35-year-old Woods is risky business, especially when tossing in Woods' recent personal issues. But it's fair to say both showed up at Augusta National 25 years apart with their games nowhere close to where they used to be.
Nicklaus hadn't won a major in six years, nor a tournament of any kind in two years. For Woods, it's now been almost three years since his last major and almost 18 months since his last victory.
But while Nicklaus won one for the ages in '86, Woods failed to capture his fifth green jacket on Sunday. But man, he came close.
Woods started the final round seven shots behind McIlroy, but even before he made the turn, Woods was tied for the lead after a scintillating five-under 31 on the front nine. Woods had made four birdies and an eagle, and was throwing fist pumps all over Augusta National.
He finally appeared comfortable with his latest swing change, even if the follow-throughs seemed un-Tiger-like.
"I hit it really good all day," Woods said. "The entire weekend I hit it really good. So that was a nice feeling."
Alas, Woods couldn't keep making putts on the back nine. He missed a short par try at the 12th, failed to birdie the par-5 13th when he had a 7-iron for his second shot and then missed a 6-foot eagle try at the 15th after a 6-iron that had him twirling his club he felt so good after impact.
Take away those three dropped shots, and Tiger doesn't lose to South Africa's Charl Schwartzel by four. He might even have won.
But Woods' career is never about should-haves.
"I should have shot an easy 3- or 4-under on the back nine and I only posted even," Woods said. "Yeah, I could have been, but we could do that every week. So that doesn't really matter."
It also doesn't matter that Woods finished in exactly the same spot (tied for fourth) as he did last year when he made his return to golf after a five-month hiatus. There was no comparison between the Woods that played last week and the one who was returning to competitive golf a year ago.
Woods didn't win his 15th career major Sunday, but he showed he's still relevant.
He improved from No. 7 to No. 5 in the latest Official World Golf Ranking, which is interesting only because he's been headed downward since losing his No. 1 spot last fall.
Maybe history will show this was the week where Woods' slide ended and his comeback story begins in earnest. Because when he started making birdies and that eagle on the front nine, he was as relevant as he's ever been.
"When you heard those roars, you knew who was making them," said Chubby Chandler, who is the agent for Schwartzel as well as McIlroy.
How much those roars led to the collapse by McIlroy (who tumbled from a four-shot lead to 15th place after an 80) is unknown. So is how much Woods will be helped by this momentum builder.
Knowing Woods, he likely will play just three more times (Wells Fargo Championship, THE PLAYERS and Nicklaus' Memorial) before the U.S. Open is held at Congressional. So it will be two months before we learn if Woods can end his three-year winless major drought.
Now it's time to take a deep breath and truly understand what happened at this year's first major: It was simply a continuation of an unpredictable 2011 season when the so-called Young Guns are now firing on all cylinders.
Think about it: The average age of the Masters' top three finishers (Schwartzel, Adam Scott and Jason Day) is a shade over 26. Entering last week, the average age of the Masters winner had been 31. Not since Buckingham Palace have we witnessed such a changing of the guard.
In a large sense, Woods is responsible for his young competition. Most of these youngsters decided to play golf for a living after watching Woods' 12-shot victory at Augusta in 1997. Now there are more, better players for him to compete against every week
Even without Woods winning, this Masters was one of the more entertaining ever. He no longer has to be the main dish for a major to seem delicious.
But nor is he an afterthought or irrelevant.
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