Woods looks for return to winning ways
Father-to-be Tiger Woods this week tries to continue a simply phenomenal run which has seen him win every US Tour event he has played in since July 12 last year.
Byron Nelson’s record 11 successive victories back in 1945 is still a long way off – perhaps too far even to consider it a target at this stage – but if the world number one makes a successful defence of the Buick Invitational in southern California no one will be saying it is impossible.
Woods’s last two tournaments of 2006, the PGA Grand Slam and the Target World Challenge, did not count as official US Tour events, but he won them as well.
His current domination is as great as at any stage in his career and those who think that having a baby this summer will change his focus and drive might be clutching at straws.
The last time Woods did not win on his home circuit was the Western Open more than six months ago. He finished second.
Since an opening 72 there the 31-year-old has played 27 US Tour rounds and on only three occasions has he failed to break 70. His worst score in that stretch was another 72 and he was a combined 121 under par.
And to think that those events included two majors – the Open and US PGA – and two world championships.
The victories at Hoylake and Medinah have set Woods up for another tilt at a clean sweep of the majors. It had never been done until he achieved it at the Masters in 2001, but now Augusta and the US Open at Oakmont are there for him to create yet more history.
“You’ve got to keep plugging along and make sure you peak at the right times,” he said. “The whole idea is to play well leading up to the tournament.”
The Target victory on December 17 was particularly important to him because it followed runners-up finishes in China (amazingly behind little-known Korean Yang Yong-eun) and in Japan, where he lost a play-off to Padraig Harrington.
“It was a real nice positive because the last two 72-hole stroke play events I finished second and I didn’t want to have it a third straight time.
“Even though I got the Grand Slam (on November 22) it was only two days. But to play four rounds against a quality field like this and come out on top it always gives you a shot of confidence going into next year.”
Phil Mickelson and Vijay Singh are the only other two members of the world’s top 10 playing this week. Mickelson was only 45th last week in his first event since the Ryder Cup, but Singh won the season-opening Mercedes Championship in Hawaii.
Jose Maria Olazabal, who lost a play-off to Woods a year ago, is also in the Torrey Pines field, as is Justin Rose following his third place finish on Sunday.
But it is all eyes on Woods – as it will be next week when he defends the Dubai Desert Classic on the European Tour.
