Sports
Is Tiger Woods Ready To Reign Again?
Back at world number one for the first time since October 2010 and hot favourite to win his fifth Green Jacket at the Masters this week. The 37-year-old has certainly been in impressive form, winning three times in four strokeplay events this year, and six times in his last 20 starts on the PGA Tour.
So is this the start of a new period of dominance for a player who was the game’s eminent force for more than a decade? And can the Masters kick-start the American’s quest to break Jack Nicklaus’s record of 18 majors? After all, he has been stuck on 14 major titles since 2008, derailed by scandal, injury and struggles with a new swing.
How has his game changed since those halcyon days of a decade ago, and can he become even better than he was back then?
Woods has been working with Canadian Sean Foley since 2010 following the departure of long-term coach Hank Haney, with whom he won six majors.
At times Woods has struggled with Foley’s concept, most notably at the Masters last year, when he appeared to fight the swing and struggled home in a tie for 40th, his worst finish as a pro at Augusta. Now he appears comfortable with what he is doing and the results show it.
“Foley has got his arms working a lot more up and down whereas Haney had the swing working around him more, like Ben Hogan,” says Tour coach Jonathan Yarwood.
“The techniques are quite juxtaposed. Foley is trying to use the body through impact to reduce hand action and achieve more consistency. It’s working well with his irons but with the driver it is still a work in progress.”
Driving, accuracy, rather than length, has always been Woods’ nemesis. It’s easy to get bogged down in statistics, but since he won his first major in 1997, he has only featured in the top 100 in driving accuracy stats five times (1997, 1999, 2000, 2009, 2012). Even then, 53rd last year was his highest position. After his latest Bay Hill win he was ranked 142nd.
With his irons he has made substantial progress since 2010, according to the statistics for greens in regulation (hitting every green to allow two putts for par). But he is yet to reach the heights of the Haney or Butch Harmon (Woods’s coach from 1993-2004) eras, when he regularly topped the rankings in this category.
“The golf swing is like a painting that never gets finished,” said Yarwood. “They are always refining, tweaking, adding little brush strokes. Woods is the Picasso of golf, and a little brushstroke here and there can make an enormous difference.
“Tiger’s got a little too technical at times but he’s started to come out of that and is starting to flow.”
Woods agrees. “I’m very pleased that some of the shots that I struggled with last year are now strengths,” he said. “My good ones are really good. It’s just making sure the bad ones aren’t that bad. I can still continue to improve and clean up my short game. I don’t want to become as good as I once was. I want to become better.”
“This year his creativity with shot-making has returned in a way that I haven’t seen since 2009,” said international golf journalist and seasoned Woods watcher, Robert Lusetich.
“But he’s better than he was then because under Haney, Tiger feared the big miss to the left, so he became more and more defensive with the driver, sort of bunting shots out to the right. He hits it now much straighter and much longer.
“What he had with Haney was distance control and that’s now where he’s getting to with Foley. Once he has distances dialled in, he’s hard to beat, especially because his putting is off-the-charts.”
In his glory days, Woods was one of the hottest putters ever to play the game. Time and again he would drain key putts, not only for birdies but to save crucial pars. The sight of a Woods fist-pump as another bomb disappeared from view became legendary. In the last few years, the focus on his long game has impacted on his putting and short game. But a 45-minute putting lesson from his Ryder Cup and Presidents Cup team-mate Steve Stricker at Doral seems to have been the turning point.
Stricker played down the significance of their session but admitted Woods left in high spirits and went on to win the tournament, following it up with victory at Bay Hill on his next outing. Woods now tops the overall putting statistics, compared to 28th at the end of last year.
“There were just some set-up issues,” said Stricker. “He got into some poor positions. I’ve watched him over the years I know his stroke and just tried to get him back into the positions that he is usually in.”
Lusetich said: “The thing that separated Tiger for many years, and allowed him to win tournaments with his “B” game was the fact he canned so many 20 footers. If he leads the field in putting, it’s game over.”
Injuries have played a key role in the Tiger Woods story and shaped the way he swings the club and how much he has been able to practise. He won his last major while suffering from a double stress fracture of the left leg and knee ligament damage, and immediately took eight months off for reconstructive surgery, his fourth operation on the same knee.
Woods also missed the 2011 US Open and Open because of further left knee and Achilles tendon problems suffered when he hit a shot out of the pine straw at Augusta that April. He was still being plagued by the Achilles in early 2012.
“If I get healthy, I know I can play this game at a high level,” said Woods after his win at Bay Hill.
“I know I can be where I’m contending in every event, contending in major championships and being consistent day in and day out. That was the first step in the process. Once I got there, then my game turned.”
Veteran US golfer writer Doug Ferguson of the Associated Press said: “If you look back, his health was big part of it. He couldn’t work as much as he used to. When he finished his second round at Bay Hill he went straight to the range and stayed there for an hour and a half. That’s the sort of thing he couldn’t do from late 2010 onwards.”
Now, though, he is playing injury free and that has played a key part in his rise back to the top of the rankings.
Much has happened to Woods since that fateful night when he crashed his car and the details spilled forth about his extra-curricular activities. But the talk from the Tour is that he is now a much happier individual. Clearly winning helps, but after divorce in the summer of 2010, Woods has a new love interest in US ski star Lindsey Vonn.
When quizzed about the link between a new squeeze and an upsurge in form, Woods grinned and said: “You’re reading way too much into this.” The old Tiger would have stonewalled.
“He just seems in a better place, mentally, to me,” said Stricker. “I don’t really know too much about his personal life, but it just seems like he’s happier, a little more at peace or at ease with himself. He seems to be having fun, to have a lot of confidence in himself and his game.
“I think he learned a lot from a couple of years ago – be more cordial to everybody, respect other people. He is happier with himself, you can see it. Just the way he is treating people is better. It looks like he is working hard at it.”
“There is no question in my mind Tiger took a very big hit to his confidence,” said Lusetich, author of “Unplayable”, an account of Woods’s tumultuous 2009 season which ended in scandal.
“I’m not sure he believed in himself after being exposed and I think he was deeply embarrassed. Other athletes have been through similar things – probably not of the same magnitude – and they’ve rebounded because they’ve answered on the field of play. It’s been a very awkward time for him but he seems to have healed those wounds.
“That’s obviously a huge part of the answer as to why Tiger’s back. The turmoil has been replaced and there is stability. He’s had a couple of years to get used to being a divorced parent of two young children. He and his ex-wife have figured out how to make that work and he obviously has this new relationship.
Hodgetts writes for BBC Sports
Bob Hodgetts
Brian Brobbey scored a dramatic 90th-minute winner as Sunderland came from behind to beat Newcastle United in a thrilling Tyne-Wear derby at St James’ Park.
Newcastle had been on target for their first home victory in this fixture since 2010 when Anthony Gordon gave the hosts a ninth-minute lead.
Sunderland played out from the back but defender Luke O’Nien’s pass was intercepted by Nick Woltemade and he gave it to Gordon, who did the rest to score his 17th goal of the season.
The hosts almost made it 2-0 just before the break, but Sven Botman headed against the post following a cross from left-back Lewis Hall, one of five Newcastle players to be included in Thomas Tuchel’s latest England squad.
Goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale, another called up by Tuchel, did not get great distance on a punch, the ball was played back into the box, Brobbey chested it goalwards and Dan Burn cleared off the line, only for Chemsdine Talbi to fire in the rebound.
Noah Sadiki had a chance to put Sunderland ahead, only for him to shoot at Ramsdale.
Yet it did not prove costly as Brobbey scored the late winner, to the delight of the away fans, when he converted a rebound from close range after Ramsdale saved his first attempt.
The result gives Sunderland their first league double over Newcastle since 2014-15.
Rangers International technical adviser Fidelis Ilechukwu has credited his recent stint with the Super Eagles under head coach Eric Chelle as a major factor behind the club’s resurgence in the Nigeria Premier Football League title race, Tidesports source reports.
Speaking ahead of Rangers’ matchday 31 fixture against El Kanemi Warriors in Enugu, Ilechukwu said the experience gained at international level has significantly influenced his approach, particularly in the areas of intensity, discipline and overall team structure.
“Change is constant in life. After working closely with Eric Chelle, the mentality I got from him is not an easy one. The training sessions are super intense, about 80 per cent of what we do now is heavy training,” he said.
Ilechukwu maintained that the discipline and structure he adopted during his time with the national team have translated directly into improved performances at the club level.
“I think my return has had a positive impact defensively, offensively, everything. The preparation, the pep talks, the quality, it gives confidence. I came back with an advantage,” he said.
Rangers have enjoyed a remarkable run since his return from the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations, losing just once in 11 matches, with six wins, four draws and seven clean sheets propelling them firmly into contention.
They currently sit second on the table with 50 points, just one behind leaders Rivers United, with eight matches remaining in the season.
Despite their strong position, Ilechukwu insisted his side will not be weighed down by pressure as the title race intensifies.
“There is no different message, we don’t want to be under pressure because of the league. We take it one game after the other, after this game we talk about the next one,” he said.
He added that his players possess the necessary qualities to compete at the highest level.
“They understand what it takes to win. They have the attitude, the capacity, the character, and they understand what we want. To me, we are always ready,” he said.
While acknowledging the strength of Rivers United, Ilechukwu maintained that the title race remains open heading into the final stretch of the campaign.
“They are the strongest team, but you never can tell what will happen. We are also strong. In the remaining games, we will fight more and stay at the top of our game but without pressure,” he said.
Having guided Rangers to the NPFL title in the 2023/24 season, Ilechukwu is now aiming to secure his second league crown in three years as the Enugu side continue their pursuit of the title.
Odegbami described CAF’s decision to overturn the Jan. 18 final result as “bizarre, condemnable and unjustifiable.”
As reported by Tidesports source on Saturday, he noted that Senegal were crowned champions and celebrated globally before the verdict was reversed on technical grounds.
“It is unheard of in football history. You cannot take away a trophy won on the pitch two months after,” he said.
Odegbami said the decision had sparked outrage among football fans and stakeholders worldwide.
“This judgment has shaken CAF’s credibility. It is not surprising the world is up in arms,” he added.
The ex-Nigerian Football Legend questioned the motive behind the decision, describing it as risky and unpopular.
“What could have driven such a decision that undermines the spirit of the game?” he asked.
Odegbami said although football regulations may not cover every situation, rare cases require wisdom.
“This AFCON case demands that rules and common sense must align,” he said.
He recalled that Senegal were crowned by CAF and FIFA officials before a global audience.
“Two months later, CAF delivered what I call a ‘poisoned verdict’ through its Appeals Committee,” he said.
Odegbami explained that Morocco’s protest, earlier dismissed, was later upheld on appeal.
“The decision to reverse a final match result is one of the most unpopular ever,” he said..
He said the rules on walkouts are clear but must be applied with context.
According to him, Senegal players walked off after a late penalty was awarded to Morocco, staying away for 17 minutes.
“Ordinarily, that attracts forfeiture, but the referee allowed play to resume, which changed everything,” he said.
Odegbami noted that petitions can alter results but argued that the AFCON final was different.
“If this were a qualifier, nobody would question the CAF’s decision. But this was the final,” he said.
He stressed that the trophy had been awarded and celebrations concluded before the reversal.
“There was no room for post-match litigation in a final of this magnitude,” he said.
Odegbami maintained that the referee’s decision to restart play nullified the forfeiture clause.
“The match resumed, Morocco missed the penalty, Senegal scored and won fairly,” he said.
He insisted that CAF had no justification to overturn the result after recognising a winner.
“Punish any infractions if necessary, but do not tamper with a concluded final,” he said.
Odegbami urged CAF to review its regulations and restore Senegal as champions.
“For now, CAF should retrace its steps and return the trophy to Senegal,” he advised.