(Sporting Alert) — Tiger Woods is back in form and all eyes will be on the American this week when he takes part in the 2013 Masters Tournament at the Augusta National Golf Club.
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Following his off the path distractions, which affected his game, Woods returns to the World No. 1 position recently and he will start favourite to win a fifth Green Jacket this week.
Woods acknowledged that he has struggled in the past to produced his best game, but is now confident everything is finally in the balance again.
“I wasn’t physically capable of doing it. I wasn’t healthy enough. I couldn’t practice,” he said.
“Life is all about having a balance and trying to find equilibrium,” Woods said. “I feel very balanced.
The four-time Masters champion Woods, who has come very close in the past, has not won the Masters crown in eight years and he is looking to make up for the disappointing and frustrating 40th place finish last year, his worst ever at Augusta National and he is a little surprised about going so long without winning the crown.
“Obviously not real happy with the fact that I haven’t won more,” Woods said, who has finished as close as second and third in the span.
“I’ve been in the mix. Just haven’t gotten it done.”
And some of his competitors are just as shocked as well.
Lee Westwood, Justin Rose, Bubba Watson, Steve Stricker and Rory McIlroy are all in the field and ready to challenge Woods. Dustin Johnson is also seen as a very strong option by many experts, who are also backing Phil Mickelson to have a very good tournament as well.
Woods, the 2005 champion, will tee it up at 10:45 a.m. ET and one of his advisers is backing him to end his Augusta drought this year.
“I’d be surprised if he doesn’t win,” the advisers, who apparently wanted to remain anonymous was quoted as saying on www.masters.com.
“More than the physical and swing-wise, he’s just not working on anything. He’s not worried about his swing, he’s worried about the score.
“He’s calm. The last couple of years here, he was grinding with Sean [Foley] on the driving range. Well, today, Sean watched him hit balls for 30 minutes and didn’t say anything.
“Tiger said, ‘Sean, set me up one time, make me square.’ One tip. That’s the difference between this year and last. It’s kind of like studying for a test he already knows the answers for. It’s good to see.”
