tiger’s;chase;resumes 01
tiger woods might have caught Jack nicklaus with his 73rd pga tour title two
weeks ago at nicklaus’ memorial tournament—his second win of 2012, elevating
him to no. 4 in the world—but even woods will concede that regular victories have
never been the barometer by which they should be compared. it’s still all about
majors and catching nicklaus’ record of 18 major titles. therefore, any questions
about woods’ game are a moot point and might remain so for the foreseeable future.
woods can silence a few critics this week by winning his first major since the 2008
u.s. open at torrey pines, but it won’t be enough. “i think even if i do win a major
championship, it will still be, ‘you’re not to 18 yet.’ or, ‘when will you get to 19?’ i’ve
dealt with that my entire career, ever since i was an amateur. and playing all the way
through, it hasn’t changed.” woods, 36, fostered such high expectations with his ob-
sessive pursuit of nicklaus and his second-stinks mentality. so he should understand
that continual questions about his level of play are a logical byproduct of his own
lofty standards. nevertheless, a win this week would go a long way toward answer-
ing the big question: is he really back? even his peers want to know. “i guess lately
we don’t know what to expect from him,” steve stricker said. “when he wins, we’re
all eager to look ahead and think that he’s going to be back to where he was when
he was at the top of his game. that just shows you the ability that he has and what
people see in the type of player he is. when he does win one, we’re all quick to hop
on his bandwagon.” at least until sunday. —Dave Shedloski (@daveshedloski)
andre w redington/getty images
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