Tiger hoping to spark at Firestone
With 14 major wins and 71 PGA Tour victories over his career so far, if Tiger Woods never wins anything again he will still have left behind a staggering record of achievements. Trouble is, right now the prospect of Tiger Woods never winning anything again really doesn't seem so absurd.
Golf's most celebrated contenders converge on Akron, Ohio this week, when the WGC Bridgestone Invitational comes to Firestone Country Club. Woods' record at the event is awe-inspiring, the defending champion having won for the past four years on the bounce, enjoying seven victories in all at a tournament where he also holds the record score. And many pundits scarcely give the 34-year-old a cat in h**l's chance on Thursday.
But if Woods is going through the greatest crisis of his career, it's not like his closest rivals have been able to take too much advantage of his vulnerability. Phil Mickelson is the long-time pretender to Woods' throne, while Lee Westwood's persistence has seen him climb to within a hair's breadth of Mickelson - and yet somehow, 2010 has so far proven a frustrating year for all three of golf's finest players.
True, Mickelson has won a fourth major, securing his third Green Jacket at the Masters. Yet outside of that performance at Augusta, Mickelson has been oddly muted, spurning several chances to take the No. 1 spot in the world rankings; perhaps the continuing challenges of his personal life (both his mother and wife were diagnosed with breast cancer last year) have, quite understandably, shifted the Californian's focus.
Westwood has played with admiral consistency in recent months, winning his first PGA Tour event in more than a decade and finishing as runner-up in two of the year's three majors to date. Yet while those second-place finishes at Augusta and St Andrews bear testament to the Englishman's ability, they also fuel those critics who dismiss him for his failure to convert outstanding performances into outright wins when it counts.
So Tiger Woods, a man whose record on the golf course this season is as shaky as his comprehension of his marriage vows, is still the world No. 1 - despite his failure to taste victory in seven starts. Can Tiger finally, belatedly secure that first, desperately-sought victory of 2010 at Firestone this week?
The good news is that at Woods' last few showings, his driving has been more accurate - an important factor on Firestone's narrow fairways. But Woods' putting was poor at both the US Open and more recently the Open at St Andrews; if the player hasn't solved that particular problem, all the fine approach play in the world is unlikely to result in a fifth straight victory on the trot in this competition.
As much as Woods yearns for a win, if only to take something positive from what has to have been a bitterly grim year for the golfer, there is more at stake. If either the aforementioned Mickelson and Westwood can perform strongly enough, both are capable of dethroning Woods from his No. 1 spot this Sunday.
Mickelson needs a top-four finish with Woods finishing outside the top 37 players, while Westwood is looking for a win or second place, with the current No. 1 finishing 10th or worse (and Mickelson not winning, natch).
Of course, judging by what happened earlier this season when Mickelson was written about as being on the verge of knocking Woods from his lofty perch, the canny golf student will already know what to expect from this week's tournament. Middling showings from the three men of whom the most is expected of, while an outsider - most probably a South African, or European outsider - reaps the victory.
This week at Akron, everything can change - so why do we have a gloomy feeling that absolutely nothing will?
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