Tiger Woods was most definitely not the pre-tournament favorite when he teed off with playing partners Shane Lowry and Andy Ogletree at Augusta National last night, Manila time. The honor went to United States Open champion Bryson DeChambeau, whose impressive length off the tee figures to tame the course. As the defending Masters titleholder, however, all eyes stayed on him. Never mind that sports books had a dozen or so names ahead of him, and that his 35-to-one odds reflected his poor form in recent memory.
The phrase “all eyes” is, to be sure, relative considering that the Masters will be held on a November weekend for the first time in history. With the novel coronavirus pandemic wreaking havoc on the schedule, golf’s premier event has been compelled to compete with football, invariably deemed much more appealing to broadcast viewers. And with no spectators allowed on the course, players will be crafting shots in silence. Whereas outstanding efforts used to be accentuated even more by rousing cheers, they will now be greeted sans any responses save for those from flightmates.
Woods has been hyped by the resplendent reactions throughout his storied career, but the peace and quiet may yet serve him in good stead given his utter lack of competitiveness since he stunned all and sundry by claiming his 15th major trophy at Augusta National last year. He has been okay at best, but nowhere near good enough and often enough to make the first page of leaderboards. If anything, his Masters prognosis is optimistic; a significant change in priorities, an absence of reps, and the ravages of time are offset only by his familiarity with the layout.
Don’t tell that to Woods, though. He’s still bent on winning. And he still believes he can emerge triumphant in golf’s holiest of grails. Last year, the right mix of talent, perseverance, and luck propelled him to success. This time around, he’ll need more — much, much more — than his fair share simply to keep pace. All the same, he’ll be walking the terrain with pride. He is, after all, the reigning Masters champion—until he isn’t.
Anthony L. Cuaycong has been writing Courtside since BusinessWorld introduced a Sports section in 1994. He is a consultant on strategic planning, operations and Human Resources management, corporate communications, and business development.
