Tiger Woods will make his seventh start of the season tomorrow when he tees it up at Memorial -- Jack Nicklaus' annual event in Dublin, Ohio. In his six previous tournaments this year, Woods has a win and four top-10 finishes to go along with his second-round loss at the WGC-Accenture Match Play. For anybody else those are remarkable numbers, and the media would use it as proof that we had found someone -- anyone -- to challenge Tiger. Instead we get the typical sky-is-falling fare that prevails anytime Woods struggles.
But here's the thing: Tiger's game might not be where he wants it, but he's still managing to salvage rounds, stay in contention, and through it all, put up some pretty impressive numbers. I know, it doesn't seem possible. It is.
Woods has only played in 10 stroke-play events the past two years, but in 2008, he never finished worse than fifth -- winning twice, including his mind-blowing one-legged performance at Torrey Pines last summer. In terms of average finish on the leaderboard it was the best season of his career, followed by 2000, 2006 and ... 2009.
Tiger's worst season, at least in terms of average finish? 1998. And that makes sense. Shortly after winning the Masters the year before as a 21-year-old, Woods decided he needed to rebuild his swing. He won just once in 19 events (BellSouth Classic) in '98, and the media, predictably, warned that maybe we had all overestimated Woods' abilities. And then, midway through the 1999 season, Tiger went on a tear, winning seven of his final 10 events.
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LeBron James #23 of the Cleveland Cavaliers watches as Mo Williams #2 takes a shoe to the face by Kobe Bryant #24 of the Los Angeles Lakers after a steal in the closing seconds of the first half at The Quicken Loans Arena on February 8, 2009 in Cleveland, Ohio. (David Liam Kyle, NBAE/Getty Images)
David Liam Kyle, NBAE/Getty Images
Brazil's Diogo (L) vies for the ball with Paraguay's Hernan Perez during their U-20 South American Championship football match in Puerto La Cruz, Venezuela on February 8, 2009.(Juan Barreto, AFP/Getty Images )
Juan Barreto, AFP/Getty Images
A Dalmatian looks at its handler as a judge goes to touch the dog during the first day of the 2009 Westminster Dog Show in New York February 9, 2009.(Lucas Jackson, Reuters)
Lucas Jackson, Reuters
Denver Nuggets forward Chris Anderson touches his head during a time out in the first half of their NBA basketball game with the New Jersey Nets in East Rutherford, New Jersey February 7, 2009. (Ray Stubblebine, Reuters)
Ray Stubblebine, Reuters
Margarita Marbler, of Austria, skis to a bronze medal finish the ladies moguls freestyle FIS World Cupskiing qualification at Cypress mountain in West Vancouver, British Columbia, Saturday, Feb. 7, 2009. (Jonathan Hayward, The Canadian Press/AP)
Jonathan Hayward, The Canadian Press/AP
West Virginia guard Darryl Bryant (25) is fouled by Providence guard Jeff Xavier (1) during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game in Morgantown, W.Va. Saturday, Feb. 7, 2009. West Virginia won 86-59. (Don Wright, AP)
Don Wright, AP
Missouri's DeMarre Carroll, top, celebrates the Tigers' 62-60 win over Kansas in Columbia, Missouri, Monday, February 9, 2009. (Rich Sugg, Kansas City Star/MCT)
Rich Sugg, Kansas City Star/MCT
David Clarkson #23 of the New Jersey Devils fights Erik Reitz #4 of the New York Rangers during their game on February 9, 2009 at The Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey (Al Bello, Getty Images)
Al Bello, Getty Images
Driver Patrick Sheltra (60) begins to spin coming out of the fourth turn during the ARCA 200 auto race in Daytona Beach, Fla. Saturday, Feb. 7, 2009.
Darryl Graham, AP
Spain's Nuria Llagostera Vives serves the ball, in this multiple exposure, to Iveta Benesova of the Czech Republic during their Fed Cup tennis match in Brno February 7, 2009.
Petr Josek, Reuters
As for this season, there's a huge distinction between average finish and wins (for me, the 2000 season remains Woods' greatest sustained performance). But with his limited schedule the last calendar year, average finish seems like as good a proxy for victories as anything. Again, this isn't to say that Woods is happy with how he's played in 2009 -- he's not.
I'm looking forward to competing again at the Memorial Tournament. I've been working hard on my game since The Players Championship ... In six starts this year, I've won once and had five Top 10 finishes, which isn't too bad considering how long I was away from the game after my knee surgery. It's just frustrating when you're in position to win and don't get it done. I just need more repetitions.More than anything, Woods' 2009 season has been a testament to his mental capacity to overcome his physical flaws. Maybe we aren't talking more about this because we all saw what he did at last year's U.S. Open and are unimpressed by comparison.
I get that. Just something to keep in mind, though: In Tiger's 14-year career that spans 214 stroke-play tournaments, he's averaged a top-10 finish (9.9). More impressive: 95 percent of the time, he's finished no worse than 12th on the leaderboard. And this year that number is 5.6. So let's all try to calm down, at least until Woods finishes out of the top 10.
Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Well put....