Tiger Woods won three times on tour last year, but he failed to win a major and was largely overshadowed by the emergence of Rory McIlroy. McIlroy has assumed the world’s number one ranking and is currently the closest thing to the old Tiger Woods since Tiger himself was dominating the golf world from 2000 through 2008. But while Woods managed to bring his game back to respectability last year, everyone was waiting to see how much more progress he could make with a healthy offseason to work on things.
Despite missing the cut in Dubai (where Rory McIlroy also played only two rounds), Woods returned to the States and Torrey Pines in excellent form. After assuming control of the tournament in the second round, he never gave up the lead, eventually cruising to a four-shot victory. Nick Watney summed up what many observers were thinking with, "I don't think anybody would have beaten him this week. He’s definitely on his game. When he gets like that, you've got to play your best to compete, and unfortunately, I didn't today. But I'd love to have a shot at him sometime."
That sort of praise is something that we haven’t heard for quite some time. If Woods has indeed regained the majority of his old form, 2013 could turn out to be one of the greatest seasons in the history of golf. Assuming Rory McIlroy is able to build on his 2012 exploits, the stage might be set for some epic battles this season, especially in the majors. Woods has shown flashes in the recent past, however, so it will take a few more strong performances before it is safe to assume that Tiger will be playing consistently like himself again.
Despite missing the cut in Dubai (where Rory McIlroy also played only two rounds), Woods returned to the States and Torrey Pines in excellent form. After assuming control of the tournament in the second round, he never gave up the lead, eventually cruising to a four-shot victory. Nick Watney summed up what many observers were thinking with, "I don't think anybody would have beaten him this week. He’s definitely on his game. When he gets like that, you've got to play your best to compete, and unfortunately, I didn't today. But I'd love to have a shot at him sometime."
That sort of praise is something that we haven’t heard for quite some time. If Woods has indeed regained the majority of his old form, 2013 could turn out to be one of the greatest seasons in the history of golf. Assuming Rory McIlroy is able to build on his 2012 exploits, the stage might be set for some epic battles this season, especially in the majors. Woods has shown flashes in the recent past, however, so it will take a few more strong performances before it is safe to assume that Tiger will be playing consistently like himself again.