Question of the day: Will Tiger Woods win a tournament this year?
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Four reporters from the Tribune Co. weigh in on the topic. Check back for more responses throughout the day and feel free to leave a comment.
Diane Pucin, Los Angeles Times
That this question is even being posed -- Will Tiger Woods win a tournament this year -- seems to offer the answer.
Maybe the best news Woods could get from his upcoming neck MRI is that he needs to shut golf down for the season.
He offered some angry swings during the Masters. The last two weeks it’s been uncomfortable watching Woods on the golf course and more so afterward.
This Woods, who struggles to make the cut, who shows up on the news crawls tied for 45th, and then comes to speak with a forced smile and a laundry list of perfectly adequate excuses for his golf, seems to be in the wrong place at this point in his life.
If his body needs to heal the rest of the year, perhaps Woods’ psyche will also be happy for the break. Either way, his golf game doesn’t seem up to winning for awhile.
[Updated at 12:56 p.m.:
Bill Kline, The Morning Call
Will another tanker spill millions of gallons of oil off our coast?
Will another star athlete get into trouble?
Is Betty White as hot as her surname?
Why of course Tiger Woods is going to win a tournament this year. Sure, Tiger’s driver has been as wayward as his former lifestyle. But the No. 1-A golfer of all time has the short game, the smarts and now the motivation to rejuvenate his career.
Prediction: Tiger will win the AT&T National outside Philadelphia in July in a tournament that benefits his foundation. By then his neck will be straightened out and his personal life will be sorted out (“Anyone need a single?”). Most importantly, he will want to send a message to AT&T, which purged Tiger from its payroll and removed him as the Philly tournament’s official host. Now that’s a driving force.]
[Updated at 2:25 p.m.:
Jeff Shain, Orlando Sentinel
Until we learn the results of that upcoming MRI, I don’t know that anyone can make much of an educated guess. The indicators don’t look good, though.
Three years ago, Annika Sorenstam was in a neck brace for the better part of two months as she dealt with a ruptured disc in her neck and bulging disc in her back. Though she made a May return, it turned out to be her only winless season since she was an LPGA rookie.
Davis Love III captured 14 tournaments before neck and back problems set in sometime during 2001; he went winless in 2002 and has won just six since.
After regaining full health, golfers still need time to rebuild their swings and give the body time to adjust to the repetitive jarring of thousands of shots. Those who have been through it say you have to pace yourself. That could be problematic for Tiger Woods.]