Tiger Takes the Memorial Tournament!
In March, Tiger Woods ended a more than two-year victory drought when he won Arnold Palmer’s tournament. As a caveman, I know a little somethin’ about droughts (havin’ experienced my fair share of ’em back in the day). On Sunday, Woods proved that maybe this ol’ cat ain’t done quite yet when he finished five-under-par 67 – two strokes better than Rory Sabbatini – to win his 73rd PGA Tour victory at the Memorial Tournament. This victory puts him tied with Jack Nicklaus’ record, behind only Sam Snead’s staggering record of 82 Tour wins. Now Tiger is said to have a 6-1 chance at winnin’ the U.S. Open.
At this point, it’s startin’ to feel to this caveman that we’ve heard it all before. After Tiger won the Arnold Palmer tournament, everyone said he’d be on the short list to win at Augusta… where he tied for 40th. Even Woods ain’t goin’ on about how he’s back on top. When the media asked whether or not he considered this his official comeback, Woods replied, “I’ll let you guys figure that out.”
That being said, Woods did shoot one of the most incredible shots of his – or anyone’s really – career. This miracle shot had even Nicklaus gushin’ from the booth, encouragement that surely helped Woods rally from two strokes down to win by two. It was the kinda shot that makes you hope, perhaps even against all hope, that Woods might be back. Maybe those injuries and personal problems and overall drama that comes with the Tiger Woods name could be put to rest and we’ll have our champ back.
Woods had played three tough finishing holes in two over par those first three days. In the final round, Woods got down to two under after he holed a chip shot from thick rough for a birdie 2 at No. 16. Nicklaus told him the shot was “the best I’ve seen here.” With water on the left side of the green, he was walkin’ a thin line as far as margin of error goes. This here caveman’s been around a bit longer than Mr. Nicklaus, and even I’ve gotta admit it was the best shot I’ve seen since the Mesozoic Era.
“It was a tough shot, there’s no doubt about it,” Woods said. “If I leave it short, it’s going to roll down left, and if I hit it long, it’s in the water.”
After seein’ a bit of the ol’ Tiger Woods magic, it’s no wonder why people are gettin’ excited. His previous win at the Memorial Tournament was way back in 2009 when he came up from trailing by four strokes to beat Jim Furyk.
Even though he ain’t claimin’ a comeback, Woods did say that he’s “excited” for his next start in the United States Open at Olympic Club in San Francisco. While he may have caught Nicklaus on Sunday, he’s still chasin’ after his record 18 major titles. Only time’ll tell whether Tiger comes out on top!
But what do ya think, Rockheads? Is this the beginnin’ of a new chapter of Tiger Woods’ career? Is he about to get back in the game for real? Has our champ returned or is this the final flare before he completely burns out? Leave yer thoughts and speculations in the comment section!