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One arm in the sleeve!
With Tiger Woods at the world No 1 position after his win at the Arnold Palmer Invitational 2013 at Bay Hill, many questions have arisen. How long would he stay atop? Is he going to win a major ever again? Will he break or even surpass Jack Nicklaus's record? Are Rory Mcilroy, Luke Donald, Westwood and other contenders for the No. 1 crown going to knock his crown off?
What a great No.1 Tiger had been. His lead over various No.2s was so vast that even when he was ranked about 72nd in 2009-10-11, the system allowed him to retain the No. 1 ranking for many months. Such a lead will never be developed again, as there are far too many superb and unafraid (of any kind of cat) players that would stop him. To keep his title for a decent period, rather than the monthly merry-go-around of changing No. 1's, a true No.1will have to gain a good lead and maintain it by remaining in the top 10 in yearly rankings. Tiger Woods has figured all this out. He wins a third of all tournaments he plays (and is, therefore, always the favourite in all tournaments he enters). But he knows he doesn't win two-thirds of the tournaments, as well as all the tournaments he does not enter, the results of which also count towards rankings. Tiger does not care about rankings. These just happen. What he is really concerned about is winning more Majors, starting with the 2013 Masters.
While the battle for the No.1 position is taking place in the stratosphere, another battle (to get into the top 50, which qualifies one for the most exciting Masters ever) is taking place at the Valero Texas Open this weekend. The 161st ranked Martin Laird clearly outplayed Mcilroy with a stunning course record, matching nine under par to streak into the Master's field this coming week. His swing change is likely to lead to a complete change in his fortune; he could even be a contender at the Masters. Meanwhile, Rory, despite hitting only seven fairways, rose to the second position just two shots back. He is peaking at precisely the right time. Now, a battle would be seen in the coming week. This is nail-biting time!
Back to Tiger! Will he or won't he win the Masters? The smart money is definitely on him, with odds of seven/two (some people in Delhi have already taken this bet) and on Rory (at nine/one), that too, against the entire field. The odds on Rory are greater, owing to his recent indifferent form. He isn't taking the week before the Masters off, as many do; he is competing at Valero, hoping the tournament pressure would burn the rust of indifferent form and raise his touch and ball-striking to levels that give him a reasonable shot at the elusive Green Jacket. Already, Rory's sheer talent and determination are beginning to show. Anyone can win, but the sheer pressure of leading on the final nine at the Masters easily causes hands to jam and dreams to evaporate. Poor Greg and inexperienced Rory (at that time) come to mind. The toughest games in the world are those where one has to strike a perfectly still ball. In tennis, cricket, basketball, or virtually any other field sport, you have only a fraction of a second to think, react and commit-there's no time for any imagination to come into play. In golf, as you take your back swing, you have all the time in the world to consider hazards, topography/weather/wind conditions, your own strengths, capabilities, fears and anxieties, how the Green Jacket would sit on your shoulder, as well as what you would order for the Champion's dinner the next year. All thoughts, weightless as they are, dilute concentration and can have the devastating impact of a gale force wind.
Now, Tiger has been through it all-the astounding ascent to the top, the hubris caused by fall from grace, the trudge through the valley of fear and possible self doubt, the rededication to the principles of the chalice and the consequential ascent to the peak again. He knows that overweening arrogance and non-engagement with the media, the public, etc, could cause a fall again. At the pinnacle, he may not find a plateau, as he had for five years, but an unstable needle point from which rolling down is the only possible outcome. So, he is friendly, smiling, signing and almost kissing babies! He has also exposed his current romantic flame. But owing to the passage of a few years and a clean separation, there are no outbursts from the array of commentators. The past is finally past; the future, that of matching Jack Nicklaus's achievement and perhaps even surpassing it, is ahead of him. Remember, Jack won his 18th Major when he was 46. So, Tiger, at 14 Majors, has time to catch up or overtake Jack, and then some.
The world knows all this and is agog with excitement. Even the non-golfing world knows of the return of Tiger Woods. Therefore, this year's Masters would have many more million viewers than ever before and Tiger Woods would be the most famous person in the world for the Masters' week.
This year, viewers can watch the Masters on a three-dimensional format, on which the lay of the land, distances, shapes, contours and movement, which appear flat on normal televisions, would show up in sharp relief, bringing a sense of reality to the viewing.
The writer is the Chairman of Mawana Sugars Ltd and Co-Chairman of Usha International Ltd
