Is It The Old Tiger Woods?

As I was watching the final round of the Memorial yesterday from Dublin Ohio, It became apparent that Rory Sabbatini and Spencer Levin were just like deer in the headlights. They were not going to beat Tiger Woods on this day.

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He birdied the 16th hole, chipping in from the rough with a shot the Tournament Host called one of the greatest shots he had ever seen, Nicklaus pointed out that if Tiger hit that shot short, or long and left, he would probably lose the tournament. Tiger hit his 60 degree wedge in the perfect spot and the ball rolled into the hole. When on his game, he is still one of the greatest pressure golfers I have ever seen.

Tiger birdied three of the last four holes to notch the 73rd victory of his storied career, tying tournament host Jack Nicklaus for total victories on the PGA Tour. He still needs four Majors to equal Jack's lifetime legacy. 

Woods playing partner, Rickie Fowler looked to be ready for the Tiger Woods stage as they teed off Sunday afternoon, but after a birdie on the first hole, he would go bogey, double bogey on two and three, and never recover. He became a spectator to witness history and shot 84, finishing seven over par for the tournament, and 12 over on the day.

54 hole leader Spencer Levin shot 75 on the day leaving him at 5 under par and four strokes back, and Sabbatini shot even par, hoping that would take him to the win, but he would finish at -7, two strokes back of Tiger Woods. Sabbatini missed some close putts on the back nine and just couldn't get one to drop.

After his win at Bay Hill, Tiger fell again on bad times, missing cuts, and having T40's at The Masters and The Players, but he looked as comfortable this weekend as we've seen in quite a few years. He looks to have his swing problems repaired and all he needs now is more tournament play.

Don't kid yourself, Tiger Woods will never be the golfer we watched for fifteen years, but even an older Tiger looks to be very competitive. If he continues to play as he did this weekend, the tour had better be prepared to play on weekends when he decides to show up. He is still as exciting a player as there is on the tour when he plays the way he did Sunday at the Memorial.

Even with the emergence of all the young players we see on the tour on a week to week basis like Rory McIlroy, Rickie Fowler and Hunter Mahan, they still don't demand the audience Tiger Woods does. The TV ratings were a whopping 3.6 for Sundays Tournament, and the lion's share of that audience tuned in because Tiger was in contention. It makes for great Sunday Afternoons when has Tiger Woods has a chance to win.

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