Tiger Woods enters Thursday’s Masters tournament as the favorite to win with 5-2 odds despite having not won a major since 2008.
But the real number Las Vegas oddsmakers should be focusing on this week is the over-under on how many strokes Tiger will win his fifth green jacket by.
For the first time since he ran his Escalade into a fire hydrant on a chilly November night, Tiger is… well, Tiger.
In already winning three tournaments this season, Woods has regained his No. 1 ranking and his confidence, and his presence on the course draws all eyes to him when he lines up a putt. Tiger, quite simply, has returned to old form.
His putting stroke is pure, his drives are finding the short grass and his Sunday red shirt is intimidating as ever.
That’s a scary thought for the rest of the world’s best golfers who had just gotten used to regarding Woods as just another one of their peers.
Oops.
Those close to Tiger have said he is at ease, in control and zoned in on winning right now — just like old times.
But what took him 3 ½ years to get back to the dominant Tiger we knew before the scandal?
Simple: he went back to his roots.
It’s as if Apollo Creed paid him a visit.
He is finally comfortable with where he is and has accepted — scratch that—embraced his identity.
Need more proof after the “winning takes care of everything” Nike ad?
For Tiger, winning is everything.
Gone are the days of Tiger trying to rehab his shattered image after the scandal.
Don’t ever expect to see again the Tiger who promises not to yell obscenities in disgust after poor shots on live air only to relapse on every other tee box. And check whatever ideas you may have of him answering for his boorish, often childish behavior — it’s not going to happen.
You don’t like it? That’s your problem.
One thing has changed, however.
In the eight years since Woods last won the Masters, new players have become part of the PGA tour elite, including Rory McIlroy, Dustin Johnson, Ricky Fowler and Louis Oosthuizen. This in addition to the usual foes: Phil Mickelson, Lee Westwood, Bubba Watson and Luke Donald, whom Tiger will be paired with Thursday among others.
Don’t expect them to crumble and clear a wide path for Woods each time a Tiger first pump draws a boisterous applause from the largely pro-Tiger Augusta crowd.
If Tiger is to win his fifth green jacket — or even more, as Jack Nicklaus predicts — he’ll have to go through a more talented group than his first wave of dominance.
Then again, we are talking about Tiger.
