Fansided

5 reasons Tiger Woods’ return will be a success

By Philip Rossman-Reich

Aug 13, 2015; Sheboygan, WI, USA; Tiger Woods walks past the Wanamaker Trophy to the 1st tee during the first round of the 2015 PGA Championship golf tournament at Whistling Straits. Mandatory Credit: Gary C. Klein-Sheboygan Press Media via USA TODAY Sports
Aug 13, 2015; Sheboygan, WI, USA; Tiger Woods walks past the Wanamaker Trophy to the 1st tee during the first round of the 2015 PGA Championship golf tournament at Whistling Straits. Mandatory Credit: Gary C. Klein-Sheboygan Press Media via USA TODAY Sports /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
1 of 5
Next

Tiger Woods is eyeing a return to competitive golf for three tournaments in October. He may not return to his masterful form, but it can still be a success.

The golf landscape has changed since Tiger Woods last teed up in a PGA TOUR event. It has been more than a year since Woods last played and a new generation of golfers have emerged. The world Woods enters will be very different.

Woods is not going to come back and dominate. It is hard to tell what Woods will be when he returns for three tournaments in October. None of those tournaments will be official PGA TOUR events. Eventually he will return to a regular schedule and continue his quest for the all-time majors record.

That task is going to get tougher with age and now the competition. Woods will measure himself solely on major championships won. That is always his measure for success. That may be unrealistic in the end.

What would be realistic is for fans to see Woods more often and get those glimpses. Woods can have a successful comeback to a more full PGA TOUR schedule and compete in majors again. That would certainly make fans happy in the long run.

Woods has come back from injury before. And while none may be quite like this, his return to the PGA TOUR can still be a success for a number of reasons.

5. He has done it before

This is not the first time Tiger Woods has faced and returned from injury in his career. Woods has dealt with knee injuries in the past and back injuries too. He has revamped his swing trying to relieve pressure in those areas.

The latest injury came after a swing change that never quite felt right. That may be a product of his lingering injury issues. It appears this time he has taken his time with his return. These three tournaments in October might very well be a test for Woods to see if he is truly ready to go — or how far he has left before returning to the tour.

Woods has always come back from his injury after an adjustment period and dominated again.

Woods underwent knee surgery in 2008 but returned a year later with six wins in 17 tournament appearances. That included his epic win over Rocco Mediate in the 2008 U.S. Open where he essentially beat him and the field on one leg. Woods went back under the knife and missed time.

He returned to a full schedule in 2012 with three wins in 19 appearances. Some of the invincibility was gone — Y.E. Yang beat him at the PGA Championship in 2009 and Woods has not won a major since.

Woods has not won a major since that initial knee surgery after the U.S. Open, but he has still been extremely successful. He has won 14 tournaments, won the FedEx Cup and made more than $27 million from 2009-2013.

Even that five-year run would be enough for most golfers.

Woods may not get to the compete at every major level he was at in his career. But he certainly can dominate regular PGA events once again and wrack up wins to add to his already impressive resume.

Next: 4. Woods is the rescue master

Home/Golf