Sports
Tiger Woods Back To Form?
The needle on the gauge has oscillated all season. One week it aims firmly at the point that says “he’s back” and the next it veers to an area that suggests “he’s not”.
Call it the Tigerometre and golf’s current barometric conditions mean the indicator shows he has emphatically returned to the “back” phase.
This is because Tiger Woods has won again. After his triumph in his own PGA Tour event at Congressional last Sunday he is the only player with three victories to his name in 2012.
His previous two wins came in his final outings before the opening pair of majors this season. He claimed the Bay Hill title ahead of the Masters and the Memorial in his build up to the US Open.
Yet at both majors he flattered to deceive. At Augusta he was so out of sorts many pundits were absurdly calling him to sack coach Sean Foley while at the US Open he squandered the halfway lead over a miserable Olympic Club weekend.
In a change to his usual scheduling, Woods plays again this week at the Greenbrier in his final tune up for the year’s third major, the Open Championship.
So which Mr Woods turned up at Royal Lytham and St Annes? Is it the one that has taken him beyond Jack Nicklaus’s 73 PGA titles or the one that has left him stuck four majors short of Nicklaus’s tally in the tournaments that matter most?
It’s hard to judge. Woods has been stuck on 14 majors since winning the 2008 US Open on one leg. His subsequent fitness and personal problems have been well documented and go a long way to explaining his barren run in the majors.
But it is worth looking at the 2009 season for more evidence of why it has been such a struggle for Woods to land his 15th grand slam title.
That was the year he won tournaments in each of his last appearances before all four majors but failed to sustain such winning form on the biggest stages.
This was pre-scandal and at a time when his aura was at its strongest, after all this was the guy who had won a US Open with a broken leg. It was a superhuman effort, yet a year later there were clear frailties and at the Open at Turnberry he missed the cut.
More significantly, for the first time he failed to win a major after leading going into the final round when YE Yang stood up to Woods at the PGA Championship. It’s a well-used line, but eternally apposite; it was the end of an aura.
Later that year he hit the hydrant and his knee and Achilles have subsequently played up on several occasions.
These days players are much less likely to fear Tiger Woods because they know he is as prone to human frailty as they are. Maybe even more so.
It is probably harder than it has ever been for Woods to win a major. So many players can win them. We have had 15 different winners in the last 15 majors and none of those golfers shared the same burden of expectation as the current world number four.
So is he back? Of course he is. His swing is as good as it has been in years and his putting touch seems to be improving as well.
Is he back to where he was at the height of his powers? Of course not. It would be utterly amazing if he were ever to get close again.
Nevertheless, Woods, currently number four in the world, stands every chance of making it back to number one. He might not even need to win a major to do that – Luke Donald and Lee Westwood are living proof of that possibility.
But he won’t be a top dog with the colossal points lead that he used to command. Those days are gone.
And is Woods going to win a fourth Open title later this month? Maybe, but he should be thought of as only one member of a huge group of potential winners, not the out and out favourite. The same applies at August’s PGA at Kiawah.
The reason for this is that, although he is a 14-time champion, the 2012 version of Tiger seems at his most fallible at the majors.
He plays with a similar weight of pressure to that felt by the likes of Donald and Westwood who are trying to win their first major, and Woods is coping about as well as them.
Even so, it is a big fillip for golf that the former number one is proving dominant once again at rank and file events on the PGA Tour. He brings a unique buzz and we will undoubtedly feel its benefits at Lytham.
But that is as far as it goes. It’s anyone’s guess what reading the Tigerometre will provide by the time we reach Sunday night of Open week.
Carter writes for BBC Sport.
Iain Carter
Only Denmark, ranked 21st globally, sits higher among nations that failed to qualify for the tournament, which is being co-hosted by the United States, Mexico and Canada.
England and Chelsea legend John Terry was among those to voice his disappointment, describing Nigeria as a significant loss to a tournament that features 48 nations for the first time.
“Nigeria will be a big miss. This is a World Cup for participants who haven’t had the opportunity to play in the tournament. I would have loved to see a top team like Nigeria there because they’ve got some great individuals. They’re a great nation,” Terry said during a virtual roundtable session organised by SuperSport.
“I think they are a big miss because Nigeria probably would have gone further in the competition, but unfortunately, one side’s loss is another’s gain,” the former England captain added.
Eric Chelle’s side finished second in Group C of the CAF World Cup qualifiers behind South Africa, who secured automatic qualification. Nigeria kept their hopes alive with a playoff semi-final victory over Gabon before falling to the Democratic Republic of Congo on penalties in the decisive playoff final — their second successive absence from the World Cup after also missing the 2022 tournament in Qatar.
The Nigeria Football Federation later challenged DR Congo’s qualification, alleging the use of ineligible players during the campaign, but the appeal was dismissed.
Despite missing the World Cup, the Super Eagles remain Africa’s 3rd highest-ranked team behind Morocco, who sit seventh in the world, and Senegal. Algeria and Egypt complete the continent’s top five.
Defending champions Argentina enter the tournament as the world’s top-ranked side, ahead of Spain, France, England and Portugal. Brazil are sixth, followed by Morocco, the Netherlands, Belgium and Germany.
The next FIFA World Ranking will be released on July 20, a day after the World Cup final.
Chima Akachukwu and Miracle Akhigbe are among the 16 notable stars picked by the Nigeria Cricket Federation (NCF) for the forthcoming Namibia Tour, where the YellowGreens will compete in a T20 and 50-Over Tri-Series, featuring hosts Namibia and Hong Kong China.
Both players make their way back into the YellowGreens fold after periods away from the side and will be eager to contribute their experience and quality as Nigeria pursues success in Namibia.
The NCF said yesterday that the squad, which departs Nigeria today, forms part of the national team’s continued preparations for future international assignments as the YellowGreens seek to build on recent performances and strengthen their standing on the global stage.
Leading the squad is Captain Sulaimon Runsewe, who will spearhead Nigeria’s campaign against two formidable opponents in what promises to be a highly competitive series.
The selected squad combines experienced internationals with emerging talents, providing the technical crew an opportunity to assess player development and team combinations in both the T20 and 50-over formats.
The team will be led on tour by Coaches Leke Oyede and Tamuno John, who will oversee preparations and match operations during the opening phase of the series.
Joining the squad later in Namibia will be the newly appointed Head Coach and High Performance Manager, Stephen Magongo, whose arrival marks another significant step in the Federation’s commitment to strengthening the national team structure and enhancing player development pathways.
Supporting the coaching staff are Team Analyst Jamal Okechukwu, Strength and Conditioning Coach Seye Olympio, and Team Physiotherapist Timothy Adesomowo, forming a well-rounded technical crew focused on maximising player performance and welfare throughout the tour.
The NCF views the Namibia Tri-Series as an important platform for the continued growth of the national team, offering valuable international exposure and competitive match experience against quality opposition. The series will provide the players and technical crew with another opportunity to evaluate progress, fine-tune strategies, and build momentum ahead of future international competitions.
The YellowGreens will face Namibia and Hong Kong China in both T20 and 50-over contests, with the matches expected to test the team’s adaptability, discipline, and resilience in challenging conditions.
Blessing Otu on Monday overcame hard-fighting Kelvin Bebe- Emmanuella in two sets of 6-1, 6-3 to qualify for the second round of the women’s singles of the ongoing 47th Central Bank of Nigeria Senior Tennis Championship, held at the Tennis Courts of the package “B” of the Moshood Abiola National Stadium, Abuja.
Speaking after the round of 32 game, Otu, who will be 19 years old in September, said she capitalised on her opponent’s weaknesses to gain victory, having studied her game very well.
“Bebe is a very good and tough player. But I studied her game and did the job well.
“Although she tried to come back in the second set, I punctured all her tricks to win the match and move on. I wish I could continue like this in the rest of my games,” she said.
Another member of the Otu family, John Out, was also victorious as he defeated Mohammed Abdusalam 2-1 (6-2, 6-7, 6-1) in the men’s singles category to advance into the round of 32.
But the third Otu in the game, Thomas, was not that lucky as he lost by 6-0, 7-5 in two straight sets to Danjuma Isaac.
In other matches, Michael Emmanuel defeated Ibrahim Aminu to advance, while Drimiya Mevi outclassed Seyi Ogunsakin by beating him 2-1 (6-7, 6-3, 6-1). Action continues tomorrow when other top players, including the men’s singles top seed, Abua Cannice, join the chase for honours.