PGA Tour Pros Weigh In On Woods’ Return
March 18th, 2010- By Bryan Cross
Now that the whole world knows when Tiger Woods will make his return to professional golf, the whole world has their own thoughts and opinions on the decision and timing of the top-ranked golfer.
The consensus around the PGA Tour is that players need a warm up to shake off the rust before jumping into what is arguably the toughest setting in all of golf at the Masters. However, Woods believes it is the perfect spot for him to make his return, as he announced last week.
Steve Stricker, the second-ranked player in the world, thought that Woods should have returned prior to the Masters, and was surprised that he is not.
“I would imagine he’s going to be a little rusty,” remarked Stricker, who will be playing twice between now and the Masters.”
“He has not played a round of golf since November. Doesn’t matter who you are. You are going to be competitively under the gun. You’re going to be a little bit rusty”
“How long is it going to take? Who knows? It could take nine holes for him to get back into it. It could take him a couple of holes. It could take him a couple of rounds. He’s a great player, great competitor, and so I expect him to be there at the end.”
In a normal year, Woods would play in two events from this point until Augusta. The Tavistock Cup and the Arnold Palmer Invitational are two venues that he is quite familiar with. He is the two-time defending champion at Bay Hill. Many had speculated that was where he would make his return, but that turned out not to be the case.
“He’s had long stretches off in the past and he’s come back and won the first week out,” said fellow Tour player Kenny Perry. “I don’t see how people do that. I really don’t understand that. I cannot process that in my head. It’s like a billion dollars; that doesn’t compute with me. He’s going to astound us all if he goes out there and wins the thing.”
Augusta National golf course is renowned for the difficult greens, and places a premium on ball placement. Woods has won the event four times, second only to Jack Nicklaus’ six wins.
“I think it’s a tough place to start,” remarked Corey Pavin, who is the Ryder Cup Captain for the U.S squad. “But if anybody can be successful coming back at Augusta after a period of time off, it would be Tiger. Any major is going to be tough. But the precision you need at Augusta I think is the greatest of any major. The touch, the feel you need. It’s a very difficult place to play at any time, without having a layoff.”
Not since Ben Hogan in 1953 has a player made his season debut at the Masters and walked away with the green jacket.
Online Sportsbooks have installed Woods as an early +275 favorite to win the Masters in his comeback.
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