In a press conference in Abu Dhabi on Tuesday, Tiger Woods professed that his health is a non-issue for the first time in years.
Now, more than ever, it is critical that he back these words up on the golf course – both for himself and his fans. He has no excuses left at this point – his divorce is behind him, his body is healed, and he has had time to work on his new swing motion.
Fans and more importantly Woods himself are ready for greatness once again.
He has already taken steps in the right direction, winning his first event in over two years in December at the Chevron World Challenge. Though the field of that particular event was not a full field, it did consist of many the best players in the world according to the Official World Golf Ranking.
Now, he must continue his winning ways to have any real shot at catching Jack Nicklaus and his 18 major championships.The bar for Tiger Woods is much higher than any other athlete on the planet. He has to win now and often.
Woods will begin his 2012 season overseas Thursday at the Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship. Though he is skipping the familiar confines of Torrey Pines in southern California, he is making calculated career decisions and accepting new challenges. The Farmers’ Insurance Open in San Diego has been good to him in years’ past. But he understands the need to play against the best fields possible (a hefty appearance fee never hurt matters).
He will play Pebble Beach in 2012 as well, a venue he has historically avoided. Woods, currently ranked No. 25 in the world, has to make changes in order to move forward and challenge the best competition.
Make no mistake about it. Tiger wants to beat the best. Right now, that is the European Tour. Currently, four of the top five players, including the world No. 1 Luke Donald are from Europe. Only three of the top 10 are from the United States.
Now that many question marks are behind him, sustainability will be the next major hurdle that Woods faces. The quest for redemption for the former world No. 1 begins in Abu Dhabi.
Michael C. Jones is a Yahoo! Featured Contributor in Sports and follows the PGA TOUR and all developments in the world or professional golf.
Follow Michael on Twitter
Sources
TigerWoods.com
Official World Golf Ranking