After Arnold Palmer, one question remains for Tiger Woods’ Masters odds

To win The Masters, Tiger Woods will have to avoid the errant drives that were his downfall at the Arnold Palmer Invitational.

Well folks, Tiger Woods and his hype are back. After another round under par on Sunday, he finished tied for fifth at 10 under, but that round could have been so much better. Walking onto tee 16 box, he stood one back of Rory McIlroy and had a very easy par 5 in front of him. He tried to hit a fade that just would not fade, and just like that, the wind flew out of Tiger’s sails.

Even though Tiger did not win the Arnold Palmer Invitational, he still gave another top five performance in preparation for that stroll down Magnolia Lane. Tiger Woods will definitely compete at the 2018 Masters and Vegas has him with the best odds to win. Tiger Woods is going to be there on Sunday in his trademark Sunday red shirt, and the odds are, he will be near, or at the top of the leaderboard.

One of the things that Tiger has going for him right now is the fact that his short game is as good as it has been in a very long time. Before that driver went wayward on 16, Tiger Woods was 46 of 46 on putts inside nine feet. That was one of the things that made him great in his prime. He was near automatic when it came to putts inside ten feet. One of the things that you definitely will need at The Masters is a short game that is on point. When Tiger Woods was winning his Masters, he had the best short game in all of golf. His short game is something that he does not need to refine before he takes that walk across Amen Corner.

One thing he will have to work on is the big stick. It was the reason for his downfall on Sunday at Bay Hill, and at the Masters, he cannot afford to an errant drive while making a charge on Sunday. His driver has been better this year, but he is going to need to be piping that driver down the fairways if he wants to compete with the likes of Dustin Johnson, Rory McIlroy and Justin Thomas — because if they are known for one thing, it is the ability to not only hit their drivers a country mile, but also the ability to control it. Tiger Woods can hit it out their with the best of them, and if his driver is one of the best clubs in his bags, you might as well just inscribe his name in that trophy.

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The Masters is just over two weeks away, and Tiger Woods is back at his favorite event. The last two years, golf has just been missing something. The crowds were smaller, and the ratings were lower. With Tiger Woods back and playing well, the game if golf is as good as it has ever been. Can the old guys in Tiger and Phil compete with those young guns who have supposedly taken over the game? We’ll find out on April 8.