Predict Tiger's 2018 Season

[onthehunt526]

I went 2 and 0 for now...

My take is this, if he can get his short game more consistent I think he has a couple wins in him. He may sneak a major in there... If he looks good his first few full field events, look out...

I was talking with a good friend of mine about this exact subject. I told him when Tiger dominated in his prime, he would just kill you with hitting GIR... He wouldn't make every putt he looked at, but he's still the best par putter still playing competitively. If he gets one or two those weeks going where he leads the field in GIR, and putts reasonably well you cannot beat him...PERIOD...

Think about it for a second. If Tiger hits 75% of the greens in regulation (54/72), scrambles 66% of the time (12/18) and averages 29 putts per round. That's between 14 and 16 under right there. And that's not even considering 2 putting par-5s for birdie or dropping in an occasional eagle... 

As we all know, the competition has gotten much better, however these kids still can't beat Tiger's true "A" game.

[Eric C]

I wish I had some insight into how much practice time he's putting in, and where he's focusing his energy.  Is he all in, fully committed, and putting in the same or more effort as the younger guys are? Or is he playing this season because that's what he thinks he's supposed to do, and is in some way half-assing it?

I worry less about his physical health and more about his mental focus. In his prime he had the best mental game going - his focus was a palpable, living and breathing thing and that was as, or more, valuable than his pure skill with a golf club.  This noticeably left him with his shit-show "episode" in 2009, and the subsequent physical breakdowns since impeded its return. So at the end of the day, my belief in his solid return to winning consistently centers around his ability to reattain that same belief in himself. Like Rocky Balboa, can he get the "Eye of the Tiger" back?

The eternal Tiger lover and optimist that I am, I'm going with 4 wins, 2 of them majors (Masters and US Open)

[saevel25]

I voted 2 wins and 1 major. I am being somewhat optimistic. Mostly because I want to see the spectacle of him being good again.

[rehmwa]

I went 0 and 0, thinking he'll come really close several times.

But, frankly, if he's healthy, I wouldn't be surprised if he takes a couple events, and ANY event including a major is not out of the question.

I also predict he'll have too much attention, a couple contrived controversies, and a big pile of hyper negative and hyper positive commentary.  I also predict that we'll get a boost in viewership, especially from the middle aged pile of fans.  And we'll hear a handful of f-bombs in the broadcast background.

[Veteran Golf Fan]

The boost in viewership will be from all ages of fans wanting to see the GOAT in action.  Can't wait until Riviera where the LA crowds will set attendance records.

[Veteran Golf Fan]

Eric, you posted that you wondered how much practice time he was putting in, amount of focus or inferring that he would just be a ceremonial player or committed to being one of the best again.  The Hero proved he was focused again and he beat the #1 & #3 in the world along with half the field after not playing competitive golf for 301 days.  I would like to see those top 8 in the world take that much time off and see how they do first time out.  To your question, no doubt he is focused and he is busy planning his schedule for 2018.  Wouldn't be surprised to see him at least 15 times and if he stays healthy, he will win.

Onthehunt, you are right about the GIR.  In his prime, he was famous for getting the ball pin high and giving himself good looks at birdies.  He was a truly great iron player.  When he did miss greens, he was a magician at getting it up and down.  If he recovers that touch, he will give the kids all they want.

[Yukari]

I am very optimistic and went with 3-4 wins with one major.  But what do I know.  I thought his career was over when he withdrew from Dubai tournament.

[Veteran Golf Fan]

27 minutes ago, Yukari said:

I am very optimistic and went with 3-4 wins with one major.  But what do I know.  I thought his career was over when he withdrew from Dubai tournament.

Onthehunt, you are right about the GIR.  In his prime, he was famous for getting the ball pin high and giving himself good looks at birdies.  He was a truly great iron player.  When he did miss greens, he was a magician at getting it up and down.  If he recovers that touch, he will give the kids all they want.

 

Yukari, yes it was a big mistake to go to Dubai when his back was that bad.  After withdrawal, he realized he had to do something about it and went ahead with the fusion surgery.  Actually, it was a mistake to start with when former doctors were treating him conservatively.  He should have had the fusion surgery much earlier and he would have returned earlier and giving the kids grief.

 

 

[NJpatbee]

I think Tiger has a good chance to win a tournament but no majors this season.  He can hit the ball with the youngsters but his short game needs to get a bit more consistent.  If he plays often enough he should rise to the top 20 world ranking.  If he stays health through 2018 and plays at least 15 tournaments I believe he will be one of the favorites for the 2019 Masters. 

[Broke100Once]

I also made a zero/zero vote.  Hard to predict he's actually back until he can prove he can stay healthy over multiple weeks of play.

Tiger doesn't need to actually win to make a huge impact on golf in 2018, however.  If can be healthy and just be a regular presence, that's a big win for the PGA Tour.  If he actually does contend in a big event or a major, that's by itself a gigantic story --- seeing Tiger just battling it out with Spieth, JT, DJ, or the new era would itself make his comeback a success.

[No Mulligans]

If he makes a Sunday run and wins a major that will rate as the number one sport event of my year.  How exciting would that be.

I voted 0/0.

[iacas]

1 hour ago, Broke100Once said:

I also made a zero/zero vote.  Hard to predict he's actually back until he can prove he can stay healthy over multiple weeks of play.

I get this, to some extent, but I feel like people saying this don't really seem to truly understand the surgery he had and the problems he's had the past few years.

The surgery bought him about five years of pain-free golf in that area that had affected him the past 3+ years.

Sure, something else could go wrong, but that injury is pretty much "cured" for now, in virtually all cases.

[nevets88]

I already made my prediction, but I'll add that if he stays healthy continuously for the year, none of this plays two tournaments, tweaks his back comes back 2 months later on and off WD DFL slam the trunk business, I'd think he could make a decent run at the PGA.

[Buckeyebowman]

Dang! You always come up with the best topics!

I voted 0-0, but I think he can be competitive in quite a few tournaments. After all, we really don't know how much he can actually play this year, but it seems he's being a bit smarter about it this time.

The Hero was a limited field, no cut tourney. Things are different when you're 1 out of 156! Still, I can see multiple top 10's. Maybe a win if he decides to play the John Deere Classic or events like that, which doesn't seem likely.

No doubt in my mind that he will key on the majors.He still wants Nicklaus' record!

[Veteran Golf Fan]

Hey fellas, this is the great Tiger Woods we are talking about, not Ernie Els.  He just beat the reigning POY and world #1 at Hero and many of you don't think he will win even one tournament in 2018.  As they often say in the NFL, "Common Man".

[WUTiger]

On 12/20/2017 at 12:54 PM, mvmac said:

If he stays healthy (which I think he will), if he play a somewhat regular schedule, I'll say he wins one event and zero majors.

I voted 0 and 0 for this year. If he plays 20 events, he'll be better off physically than if he plays 30.

He'll make about half the cuts, and have a couple of top 10 finishes. If he stays healthy through this season, I look for him to have a major rebound in 2018-19, and win a tournament.

[Marty2019]

On 12/20/2017 at 1:54 PM, mvmac said:

If he stays healthy (which I think he will), if he play a somewhat regular schedule, I'll say he wins one event and zero majors.

That's my guess also. 

[No Mulligans]

51 minutes ago, Veteran Golf Fan said:

Hey fellas, this is the great Tiger Woods we are talking about, not Ernie Els.  He just beat the reigning POY and world #1 at Hero and many of you don't think he will win even one tournament in 2018.  As they often say in the NFL, "Common Man".

He ended up in the middle of the pack.  He doesn't have to just beat Dustin Johnson (who had a poor tournament), he has to beat everyone in the field including those with a hot hand.  He was 10 strokes behind.