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Is Tiger Woods Ready To Reign Again?

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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

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Former Champion Seeks Title Defence At Para Table Tennis Tourney

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Former African champion Faith Ugwueke has expressed her ambitions for the seventh edition of the Valuejet Lagos Para Table Tennis Open which is holding at the Molade Okoya Thomas Sports Hall of the Teslim Balogun Stadium in Surulere.

The 2006 Commonwealth Games silver medallist spoke to Tidesports source her desire to defend her para singles title in the women’s category and to also secure a qualification berth for both the regional West Africa para table tennis event in Abeokuta in September and the continental championship billed to hold in Cairo, Egypt in November.

The multiple Paralympian said, “My expectation is to come out great at this wonderful tournament and to qualify for the forthcoming tournament that is coming up in Nigeria and Egypt in September and November. Last tournament, I won the singles. I won three golds at the last ValueJet tournament. And I want to believe and hope that I will maintain my position by coming in first position.”

Ugwueke had featured in the para event at the 56th Molade Okoya-Thomas National Table Tennis Championships, held at the Teslim Balogun Stadium in January, where she suffered a stunning defeat to eventual finalist and tournament runner-up Taiye Oyinloye, who in turn was beaten 3-1 (11-3, 7-11, 11-6, 11-9) by Commonwealth Games medallist, Kate Oputa, to become the women’s class 1-5 champion.

The ValueJet Lagos Para table tennis Open, which is in its seventh edition, is an event sanctioned by the governing body ITTF Africa and put together by the Nigeria Table Tennis Federation in partnership with Lagos State Sports Commission.

The event will come to a close on July 11, with the competition serving as qualifiers for the country’s players for the regional tournament in Abeokuta.

A total of 98 athletes—57 men and 41 women—from Nigeria, Benin Republic, and Togo are competing in the singles events.

Notable performances have come from Alabi, Agunbiade, Ogunkunle, and Commonwealth Games medallists Kate Oputa and Faith Obazuaye, who have showcased their class against emerging talents across various classifications.

Their presence has intensified the battle for podium finishes, with top seeds asserting dominance in their respective singles events.

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Nigerian Athletes Serving Doping Bans

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The Athletics Integrity Unit continues to take a hard stance against doping violations across the globe, and Nigeria has not been spared. Below are ten Nigerian athletics serving doping ban Imaobong Nse Uko (July 2026)

The AIU announced in the June 2025 sanctions list on July 1 that 21-year-old quarter-miler Uko was found guilty of an anti-doping rule violation committed on June 5 2024. Her infraction falls under whereabouts failures, having missed three tests within a 12-month period.

The AIU confirmed that her period of ineligibility will run until 23 July 2026 and all results recorded from the date of the infraction have been officially disqualified.

Uko rose to fame after clinching three gold medals at the 2021 World U-20 Championships in Nairobi, winning the women’s 400 metres, 4x400m relay, and the mixed 4x400m relay.

Stephen Eloji (June 2028)

Sprinter and hurdler Stephen Eloji tested positive for dehydrochloromethyl-testosterone in an out-of-competition test in Nigeria on May 2, 2024 and has been handed a four-year ban by the AIU.

The 25-year-old was active in the American collegiate circuit, recording strong performances in the 110m hurdles and relay events as recently as April 2024, including at the Pepsi Florida Relays and Music City Challenge.

Ada Princess Bright (September 2027)

Ada Princess Bright is serving a four-year ineligibility period after testing positive for Metenolone during the National Athletics Trials held on July 6 2023 in Benin City.

She had an active season prior to her suspension, competing in national meets in Lagos, Uyo, and Benin, and earning a relay gold at the African U20 Championships in Ndola, Zambia.

Grace Nwokocha (August 2025)

Nwokocha is serving a three-year ban after testing positive for SARMS substances including Ostarine and Ligandrol during the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham.

The fallout was significant, as Nigeria was stripped of its women’s 4x100m relay gold medal at the Games. Prior to her suspension, she had qualified for the Tokyo Olympics, posted a personal best of 11.00s in the 100m, and reached the semi-finals in the 100m and 200m at the 2022 World Athletics Championships. She is ineligible to compete until 2 August 2025.

Yinka Ajayi (January 2030)

Ajayi, a 400m specialist and one-time Olympic representative, is currently serving an extended eight-year ban for multiple anti-doping violations.

The first sanction, issued after she tested positive for Metenolone in an out-of-competition test in Iowa, USA, led to a four-year ban starting in December 2021. However, further findings of tampering led to an additional four-year penalty in 2024, extending her suspension until January 25 2030.

Glory Okon (January 2026)

Glory Okon is serving a four-year ban for testing positive for Metenolone following an out-of-competition test conducted on December 2 2021 in Nigeria.

She previously won gold in the 400 metres at the 2019 African U-20 Championships in Abidjan and featured prominently at the 2021 National Sports Festival in Benin City.

Blessing Okagbare (July 2031)

Once the face of Nigerian athletics, Okagbare is now serving a 10-year ban following multiple anti-doping rule violations. She tested positive for human growth hormone and EPO in an out-of-competition test in June 2021.

Her suspension came while competing at the Tokyo Olympics and was announced in February 2022. It was later extended by an additional year in June 2022 due to further breaches.

Divine Oduduru (February 2029)

Oduduru’s  career was derailed by anti-doping violations linked to the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. On October 12 2023, a Disciplinary Tribunal of the AIU imposed a six-year ban on Oduduru after he was found guilty of possessing and attempting to use prohibited substances and methods. The case stemmed from the wider investigation into Eric Lira, the first individual convicted under the US Rodchenkov Anti-Doping Act, who supplied banned substances to athletes, including Okagbare, ahead of the Tokyo Games.

Oduduru’s ban is effective from February 9, 2023 and will run until February 8, 2029.

Henry Azike (Lifetime ban)

Azike is one of two Nigerian athletes currently serving a lifetime ban after testing positive for Metenolone, an anabolic steroid. His case was classified as a second ADRV, automatically triggering a lifetime suspension from the sport.

Azike last competed in 2011, including at the Doha Amir Cup and Nigerian Championships in Calabar.

Vivian Chukwuemeka (Lifetime ban)

Two-time Olympian and African shot put record holder Vivian Chukwuemeka is serving a lifetime ban for a second doping offence after testing positive for Stanozolol at the 2012 National Championships in Calabar.

The 2002 Commonwealth Games champion and multiple-time African gold medallist had previously served a two-year ban following a 2009 positive test. Her personal best of 18.43m remains the African record in women’s shot put.

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Eagles B Players Admit Pressure For CHAN Qualification 

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EAGLES B PLAYERS
Pix: Super Eagles B players at the training session. 

Invited players into the Super Eagles B camp ahead of the rescheduled African Nations Championship tournament are feeling the pressure of selection, three days into their training camp at the Remo Stars Stadium in Ikenne, Ogun State.

The eighth CHAN tournament is taking place in Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda between August 2 to 20.

Ahead of the tournament, head coach Eric Chelle had invited an initial 35 players to camp and they began training on Monday with 21 players.

Five more players arrived on Tuesday to take the number to 26 while 28 players trained on Wednesday morning with the rest expected before the end of the week.

Captain of the team through the qualifiers, Junior Nduka, spoke about the intensity of the sessions and the jostle to make the final squad.

“Everybody is under pressure but definitely the coaches want the best among the 35 players,” Nduka said.

River United and former Flying Eagles forward, Aniekeme Okon, also admitted the pressure.

“It puts pressure on us, 35 players being invited, everybody is going to give out their best with an expectation of being selected. So we keep pushing.”

Ikorodu City defender, Leonard Ngenge also said, “Obviously, it puts everyone under pressure even myself. But I just need to do my best to be on the coaches’ radar.”

Nigeria, the 2018 runners-up, are in group D of the 19-team tournament, alongside Cup holders Senegal, Sudan and Congo.

The Super Eagles B will play their first two matches of the competition, against Senegal and Sudan, at the Amman Stadium on the island of Zanzibar, before taking on Congo at the Benjamin Mkapa Stadium in Dar es Salaam.

Nigeria has never won the tournament, having finished third at the 2014 edition in South Africa before losing the final against hosts Morocco four years later.

 

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