Tiger goes for record-tying eighth win at Arnold Palmer
A year ago at the Arnold Palmer Invitational at Bay Hill Club & Lodge in Orlando, Fla., Tiger Woods broke through for his first PGA TOUR victory since Sept. 13, 2009, when he captured the BMW Championship. It proved a springboard for a three-win season.
This week, Tiger returns to Bay Hill with a chance to reclaim No. 1 in the Official World Golf Ranking. Should he prevail for the eighth time, thus joining Sam Snead as the only player to win the same PGA TOUR event eight times, Woods will overtake Rory McIlroy as the top player in the game.
It’s been quite a ride. Tiger occupied the No. 1 spot for 281 weeks — a span of five years — before losing it on Oct. 31, 2010. In November 2011, he fell to 58th in the rankings.
But Woods rebounded from a divorce, major knee surgery and a swing overhaul to rebuild his game and confidence. He has already won twice this year on the PGA TOUR and has 76 career victories, six shy of Snead’s all-time mark of 82.
“It’s been a long process,” Woods said Wednesday. “I was hurt for a long time. I had to make swing changes that were drastically different than what I was doing before. It has taken some time.”
Tournament host Arnold Palmer is impressed.
“I think right now, looking at him and watching him play, as I have recently, he looks probably as strong and as good from a golf perspective as I’ve ever seen him,” Palmer said. “I think his swing and his posture and his attitude is far better than it’s been in some time.”
With 14 major titles, the 37-year-old Woods needs four more to catch all-time leader Jack Nicklaus.
“I give him a chance for the record,” Palmer said. “He’ll have to really work hard to keep himself up and keep his mental attitude if he’s going to do it.”
As for Snead’s record, Palmer thinks it’s inevitable Tiger will surpass it.
“I think he can, and I think he probably will,” he said.
Woods has nothing but admiration and respect for Snead and Nicklaus, and seldom addresses their records. He simply believes that if he stays healthy and continues to work hard, good things will happen.
That has been the case the last 12 months, with Tiger winning five times. He has improved in all phases, especially his short game.
Two weeks ago, Woods won the WGC-Cadillac Championship and used a career-low 100 putts for the tournament. He ranks sixth on the PGA TOUR in strokes gained putting and leads the circuit in scoring average at 68.480.
“I feel like I’m headed in the right direction,” Woods said. “I’m very pleased where I’ve come from. Like I said, 50-plus to where I’m at is no small task.”
Tiger begins first-round play Thursday on the 10th tee at 8:05 a.m. ET with Ernie Els and Justin Rose.
