Jared Max: Is There Still A Tiger Alive Beneath Eldrick's Skin?
By Jared Max
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Had I been told six years ago that Tiger Woods would be a 40-to-1 long shot to win the 2015 Masters, I would have wondered which body part(s) Tiger had lost.
How could so much change in so little time? Before 2009 at Augusta, Woods had won 14 major tournaments — fitted for his Superman-like flight with a green jacket in May of 1997 after he scored a Masters record 18-under, 12-shot victory.
When I look at Woods' stat line from this PGA season — tied for 17th, missed cut, withdrew -- he reminds me of a once-champion horse who had such promise that its owner cannot resist entering it in future races, believing the magic is still inside.
Woods has not lost any body part, literally. But the most critical element to success has been missing since hours after his 2009 Thanksgiving dinner: laser focus, cleanly transmitted from Tiger's brain to his golf swing. Tiger has supplied the world with enough anecdotal evidence that golf is more mental than physical. Just asked Woods' swing coach of six years, Hank Haney.
In a commentary this week for The Sporting News, Haney described Tiger's problem as a "combination of neurological 'fault' mixed with a secondary anxiety element." What do we call this concoction that Haney claims has sacked Woods?
"It's the yips," he said.
Yes, even Tiger Woods gets the yips.
"The top scientists I've consulted say the message between your brain and your muscles gets scrambled," wrote Haney. "And the muscles start running the wrong program, like when the needle on a turntable goes over a scratch on a record. Over time, that scratch gets deeper and deeper — and the volume goes up when pressure is introduced."
I agree with Haney. There is no need to listen to expert analysis about why Tiger's swing is off. There is no golf expert as good as Tiger Woods. He is the only person who could find his way out of the cell he built. I believe that Tiger's problem, described by Haney as a mix of mental issues, was born from a combination of his father's death and his own infidelities.
Question: If a leopard cannot change its spots, can a tiger who crashes into a fire hydrant retain his pinpoint control and killer instincts?
Addressing the Masters' media today, Woods declared, "People would never understand how much work I put into it to come back and do this again. It was sun up to sun down. Whenever I had time -- free time, the kids were asleep -- I'd still be doing it. ... It was a lot of work."
Judging by my dime-store psychology degree and Haney's Sporting News commentary, I am unswayed by Tiger's comments. More than anything, Tiger needs to get out of his own way. He needs to flush the grunge that has been rusting between his cranial rods and cones. Technique is not Tiger Woods' problem. Unscrambling a scrambled egg is Tiger's pickle.
Fourteen months ago, Woods was the world's top-ranked golfer. Two months ago, he ranked 62nd — his lowest standing since his 1996 PGA Tour debut. This week, he is 111th. So why is Tiger being considered a player at this week's Masters? I think it is because of what George Carlin once screamed: "Some people are really f----- stupid!"
I read a TV graphic two days ago that showed the odds to win the Masters. Tiger was 40 to 1. On Tuesday, while checking odds online to draw comparisons between Woods and those golfers ranked higher than him -- but respected less by oddsmakers -- I was drawn to audible exclamation.
"Wow!" I said aloud. "The suckers are really going for it."
The first site I checked stated Woods' odds are 33 to 1. The next site showed 28 to 1.
28 to 1??!!
When I decided to write about this topic, I thought about Harness Racing Hall of Fame driver John Campbell. He was so good that people bet on him, opposed to the horse pulling his sulky. On Friday and Saturday nights when weekend warriors were the main contributors to the betting pool at the Meadowlands, even if a Campbell-driven horse deserved 40 to 1 odds, by post time he would get bet down to 8 to 1. Usually, these Campbell rides finished out of the money. I expect the same for Tiger this weekend in Augusta, Georgia.
In Las Vegas, bettors used to be able to wager on "the rest of the field" versus Tiger. Now that this once-feared savage is a wounded mortal — respected for his name and legacy but not as competition — the best betting value at the 2015 Masters may be to bet against Eldrick Woods.
If there is a relationship between the odds created by emotional, nostalgic gamblers and those who believe in logic, I want a piece of the action.
Until Clark Kent becomes Superman again, Tiger Woods is Eldrick Woods.
Jared Max is a multi-award winning sportscaster. He hosted a No. 1 rated New York City sports talk show, "Maxed Out" — in addition to previously serving as longtime Sports Director at WCBS 880, where he currently anchors weekend sports. Follow and communicate with Jared on Twitter @jared_max.
