Can Tiger Woods actually hope to compete this Thursday, much less win? After an impressive rehab, the fully healthy Woods says he feels fully capable of playing his best golf game unhampered by injury, but we're talking about a golfer who, while he is a living legend, is dealing with severe rust and his advancing age. So, after back surgery, can Woods expect to repeat the success of his '06 win at Hoylake this weekend for the Royal Liverpool British Open Tournament?
It's a tale of two Tigers, really. There's the Tiger we all see, whose game we can observe, and whose score we can measure. Then there is the Tiger that Tiger sees within himself. The Zen-like golf pro has always had his own measuring stick. With more money than God, and an already legendary career resume, it's fair to say that the only person Tiger is competing with is himself.
That said, how does he feel about the competition? He literally said he feels like he can do anything. Behold, the bold spirit of a man who couldn't walk a few months ago (via CBS Sports):
"'I'm not favoring anything,' Woods said. 'The little baby steps worked. We were very diligent about what I was doing. Going into it we pushed it pretty hard to get my abs and glutes strong so when I did come back I was able to rebound fast. I can do whatever I want. I'm at that point now. We didn't think we'd get to that point until this tournament or the week after.'"
Of course, all the positive energy in the world may not be enough for Woods to actually win his first major off the heels of his microdiscectomy, which took place in March of this year.
There isn't much faith that Tiger will win this tournament, although people are anxious to see if he at least performs well (via New York Daily News):
"We haven't seen Tiger really, really play well in a while now, so . . . back injury, not playing well, hasn't played any competitive golf in over three months now, pushing four months, it's hard to expect anything out of anybody,"
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