Are you ready …. For Tiger?

Mike Dudurich

Posted 2009-03-09

Golf’s main man competes in his first stroke-play event since the U.S. Open in June this week in the World Golf Championships-CA Championship Doral County Club in Miami. Tiger Woods won three straight events at Doral’s Blue Monster from 2005-2007 (the Ford Championshhip in 2005 and 2006 and the WGC-CA Championship in 2007). So, do you think Tiger’s a lock to win this week just because he’s been so successful at Doral? Or are you like me and haven’t seen enough of him post-surgery to bestow automatic win on him each time he comes out? What was most surprising about Woods’ return two weeks ago in the Match Play Championship was the mental mistakes he made and not the physical ones. Eight months after outlasting Rocco Mediate in an epic U.S. Open duel that required an extra 18-hole round and a sudden-death playoff hole on a blown-out knee and a pair of stress fractures in his leg, Woods came back to play in the Arizona desert and his ball-striking was pretty darn good. Maybe not Tiger-esque as we’ve come to know it, but certainly good enough.

It sure didn’t seem the grey matter was functioning properly when he pulled driver on the short (343-yard) par four 15th in a second-round match against Tim Clark and blasted the shot right at of, but Woods the green and out of bounds, putting the nail in his coffin.

Players much shorter off the tee than Woods had reached that green with long irons or hybrids, but he never hesitated. That was a most un-Tiger-like moment, the kind of mental misplay that the greatest player in the game today rarely makes.

He obviously hasn’t made many of those on the way to inning 14 majors and he’ll very soon win the five more necessary to overtake Jack Nicklaus and his total of 18. Chances are Eldrick won’t make all that many as he continues to close in on the Golden Bear.

Woods hasn’t finished out of the top 10 in his six appearances at Doral. He reported no soreness or swelling after his two matches in the Match Play. The CA Championship will be the first full test -- physical and mental -- Woods will face on his comeback trail. This week he’ll be playing four rounds for the first time since the Open.

As usual, interest will be high as Woods takes his next step toward being at the top of his game next month in Augusta, Ga. at the Masters.

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About Mike...
As a sports writer for over 35 years, Mike Dudurich has seen a lot of great things, covered spectacular events, but his passion is, and has been golf. He recently ended a 29-year career at the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review and will now be a frequent contributor on GolfGearReview.com. Mike hosts a weekly golf radio show on 1250 ESPN in Pittsburgh from the beginning of April through the end of August. The show airs Saturdays from 8-9 a.m. and can be heard online at http://stations.espn.go.com/stations/espnradio1250/show?showId=insidepghgolf - Listen to Mike Here!.

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