Tiger Hitting Balls Again - How will he do in 2015?

[sgt1372]

I voted 1 win of some kind.  Would be nice to see him win another Major but that seems pretty difficult these days -- not only because of he age/health but also because of the greater competition.

As easily as it seemed for him to win 5 tournaments in 2013, if he's "healthy" (which is the key), I wouldn't be surprised to see him win at least 1 next year and, the way he cherrypicks his tournaments, it could easily be 3 or more.

FWIW, I'm beginning to think that the more realistic record for him to break would be the total # of PGA wins.  All he needs for that is 4 to go to 83 and beat Sam Snead at 82.  That I think he can easily do that in the time he has left as a pro (before he joins the Champions Tour) but, as far as winning the most "Majors" (including US Amateur events, I think he'll have a VERY difficult time winning 4 more Majors to get to 21 to beat Nicklaus at 20; even harder if you exclude the US Amateurs which would require Tiger to win 5 more majors, which is highly doubtful.

I'm sure failing to beat Nicklaus' Majors record would be a "major" disappointment to Tiger but I don't think that "failure" would diminish his career accomplishments in any way.  It would only make Nicklaus' success all that more remarkable.

[iacas]

I voted 2-4 with 1+. I think he nabs three wins and one of them is a major.

He's still in his thirties. I love how someone who has shown to be 2x the player Mickelson is (not actually 2x just win totals, etc.) is being looked upon by many as having worse years than Phil has been projected to have in his early 40s.

[colin007]

Yeah, me too.

Could be anything from a complete disaster, to multiple wins and a major.

Sorry @colin007, I'm pulling for the former! Won't be surprised by the latter though....

a pox on you and your family.  bah!

i voted 1 win.  im trying to be realistic and stifle my raging Tigerboner.  very difficult for me to not say that he is going to win every single event he enters....

[Silent]

I voted for 2+ wins, no major. Such a natural talent (+ very hard work ofcourse) will keep winning, but not as much as compared to when he would be fully fit.

[Fourputt]

I voted for one win of some kind. Could be a major. There are a lot of uncertainties. Will his body hold up? Is he going to make swing changes?

My biggest concern is if his back holds up.  If so anything could happen.

Where's the I have no bloody clue choice?

Yeah... this is basically just a shot in the dark, isn't it?

I'm going with 2 wins if he plays the entire season.... one might just be a major.  It may still take him a few tournaments to get his confidence back, so I don't see a fast start.

[Dave2512]

He seems to struggle with health related momentum these days. All of his focus tends to be majors and any nagging injury that prevents him from playing into form has him forcing it in big tournaments with poor results. If he is healthy IMO still enough left in the tank to be the best golfer on the planet, until his next injury.

[bste]

Considering his ability to win on one leg, I've gone all out too 5+ with 1+ majors. Backs can be fickle, so i'm just holding out hope that he can stay healthy. His return will bring quite a bit of attention, and I'm sure the talking heads will have all kinds of scenarios in place, on which to babble.

[nevets88]

If... if he stays relatively healthy and nothing bizarre happens, 1 major, 1 regular tour win.

[Zeph]

I voted 2-4 with 1+. I think he nabs three wins and one of them is a major.

He's still in his thirties. I love how someone who has shown to be 2x the player Mickelson is (not actually 2x just win totals, etc.) is being looked upon by many as having worse years than Phil has been projected to have in his early 40s.

If I knew he'd be healthy through the entire season, I would've upped the number of wins, possibly thrown in a major. I want to see him win more majors, but the state of his body the last years has made me a constant sceptic.

Golf has always been a game that's hard to put odds on, and injuries are not making it easier.

[Foursum Golf]

I voted 2+ and a major. The first win will be the hardest.

[RH31]

I think he'll come back and injure himself again.

[misty_mountainhop]

If his body holds up and if he can hit a driver that has half a chance of being in the right fairway when he needs to, I think he might win a regular event somewhere. Majors? Not the first year back. Wouldn't be at all surprised if he wins chuff all.

[skydog]

Vegas bookies have already set odds for Woods to win The Masters at 15:1.

Does Vegas let you take the 1:15 odds of him not winning??

I voted 2-4 with 1+. I think he nabs three wins and one of them is a major.

He's still in his thirties. I love how someone who has shown to be 2x the player Mickelson is (not actually 2x just win totals, etc.) is being looked upon by many as having worse years than Phil has been projected to have in his early 40s.

Phil didn't enter his 40s as a bionic shell with nearly every apendage and major body part having been replaced or operated on.  Not too mention he has a longer, more fluid swing that has shown to perform better against father time (a la Snead, Singh, Nicklaus, etc.).

Winning majors and competing at a high level into your 40s is much more the exception than the norm, even for the great players. I love how people seem to take that for granted. People continue to think Tiger is invincible, despite all the evidence otherwise, and when you have back surgery and nerve damage like he has, nothing is guranteed. I honestly believe wishful thinking and nostalgia is blinding most people to reality here.

[iacas]

Phil didn't enter his 40s as a bionic shell with nearly every apendage and major body part having been replaced or operated on.

Phil didn't enter his 40s with 79 (IIRC) PGA Tour wins and 14 majors. He did enter it with his wife and mother having gotten a breast cancer diagnosis, psoriatic arthritis, and so on.

Not too mention he has a longer, more fluid swing that has shown to perform better against father time (a la Snead, Singh, Nicklaus, etc.).

Bernhard Langer seems to be doing pretty well these days.

Winning majors and competing at a high level into your 40s is much more the exception than the norm

Winning 14 majors and 79 PGA Tour events is the exception, too.

I love how people seem to take that for granted.

I love how people seem to act as if Tiger is your typical golfer.

People continue to think Tiger is invincible, despite all the evidence otherwise, and when you have back surgery and nerve damage like he has, nothing is guranteed. I honestly believe wishful thinking and nostalgia is blinding most people to reality here.

I'm not believing he's invincible. I voted a few years ago that he doesn't get to 19.

But if Phil can win a major last year, the major he was least likely to win, Tiger can have a good year. The last year he was even remotely healthy he was player of the year and won five events. And that was less than two years ago.

And pardon me for rooting for history. What fun is there in hoping and predicting a guy to fall just short of his stated goal? I'd like to see history made while I'm alive, and it's gonna be awhile before Rory approaches that territory. Am I being slightly optimistic? Duh. But blind? No, sir. No more so than you.

[Braivo]

Quote:

And pardon me for rooting for history. What fun is there in hoping and predicting a guy to fall just short of his stated goal? I'd like to see history made while I'm alive, and it's gonna be awhile before Rory approaches that territory. Am I being slightly optimistic? Duh. But blind? No, sir. No more so than you.

This is why I voted for 5+1.  He has once in a generation talent, and I want to witness it realized to it's full potential.  A lot of people let the off the course stuff darken their view of him, but let's be honest, none of us are perfect.   He is just over a year out from beating a great field by 7 strokes at the Bridgestone!  His will only continue to mature from a mental perspective.

[skydog]

Phil didn't enter his 40s with 79 (IIRC) PGA Tour wins and 14 majors.

Winning 14 majors and 79 PGA Tour events is the exception, too.

The past isn't prologue when you're dealing with degenerative back and nerve issues. Joe Theismann was a great quarterback once, that changed when LT hit him. Certain injuries change things permanently and can throw past greatness out the window.

Bernhard Langer seems to be doing pretty well these days.

I wouldn't put Bernhard in the all time greats camp anyways, but you do realize he won his last (PGA tour) major at 35, right?

And pardon me for rooting for history. What fun is there in hoping and predicting a guy to fall just short of his stated goal? I'd like to see history made while I'm alive, and it's gonna be awhile before Rory approaches that territory. Am I being slightly optimistic? Duh. But blind? No, sir. No more so than you.

Predicting yes, but I've never hoped Tiger fails. And by all means, I'm glad people still have faith and interest in Tiger because I worry about the state of golf and the tour without him. Watching Rory now is partially depressing and the reason I don't think Tiger can't win another major. Rory looks like Tiger did 15 years ago and to me it juxtaposes just how far Tiger has fallen and how much the competitive bar has been raised. And for the record, I would love to see Tiger go head to head and beat Rory in a major.

[iacas]

The past isn't prologue when you're dealing with degenerative back and nerve issues. Joe Theismann was a great quarterback once, that changed when LT hit him. Certain injuries change things permanently and can throw past greatness out the window.

Of course it's not. That said, to call it a degenerative back and nerve issue is to partially overstate things, particularly since Tiger might literally need "only" 3-4 years. He might win 19 and whatnot by then and then he could completely fall apart for all I care. Specifically, I'm predicting only THIS year. One year.

Besides, Nicklaus had a bum hip and injuries in his career too.

Simply put: it remains to be seen what effects Tiger's surgeries/injuries have on him throughout his career and, again, THIS year.

I wouldn't put Bernhard in the all time greats camp anyways, but you do realize he won his last (PGA tour) major at 35, right?

You talked about longevity. He's still doing pretty well at "playing golf." That's the context.

Plus, older players like Nicklaus didn't have the advantages (and, yes, possibly the disadvantages) of the fitness and health knowledge we have today.

Predicting yes, but I've never hoped Tiger fails. And by all means, I'm glad people still have faith and interest in Tiger because I worry about the state of golf and the tour without him. Watching Rory now is partially depressing and the reason I don't think Tiger can't win another major. Rory looks like Tiger did 15 years ago and to me it juxtaposes just how far Tiger has fallen and how much the competitive bar has been raised. And for the record, I would love to see Tiger go head to head and beat Rory in a major.

I'm just going to re-iterate my last few paragraphs above. I'm rooting for history to be made, and am as "blind" as you are in predicting what will happen in the future.

[phan52]

I picked 2-4 with a Major. I also think he will play a very limited schedule for the rest of his career, however long that may be. He will break down again at some point.