Tiger Woods ripped as 'a joke' by Masters peers - report
Honest feedback or bitter jealousy?
When it comes to Tiger Woods, people either love him or hate him; there’s not much in-between.
With that as the backdrop, the question is whether Woods is ready to cap his comeback with a fifth Masters championship this weekend at Augusta National.
According to several gambling sites, Tiger will enter the tournament as no worse than the co-favorite, along with Jordan Spieth.
But his former coach says that’s just not realistic.
Hank Haney hosts a show on SiriusXM PGA Tour radio and has no trouble dissing his former student.
“I have not found one touring pro that thinks [Woods] is going to win Augusta,” Haney said. “Matter of fact, they think it’s a joke that he’s the favorite.”
Many touring pros believe Tiger Woods will win a tournament and a major again but @HankHaney can't find any that think he will win the Masters this year. pic.twitter.com/uIJImC4wu1
— Masters Radio on SiriusXM (@SiriusXMPGATOUR) March 30, 2018
Which would make one ask why that is. Tiger has won four green jackets, so this is obviously one of his favorite courses.
“Why?” Haney said. “Because you can’t hit irons at Augusta.”
As Woods has taken one dramatic step toward improvement after another, he still seemingly has one bugaboo: his driver.
According to the official PGA stats, he currently ranks No. 201 in driving accuracy.
Ironically — and incredibly, for that matter — his swing speed has actually increased since he had his back fusion surgery last year. Now it’s just a matter of keeping the ball on the fairway.
Probably the best sign for Tiger fans is the return of his short game dominance. In his previous comebacks, he seemingly lost his touch around the greens.
In case you forgot what that looks like, especially at Augusta …
Tiger Woods at the Masters.
Chills. https://t.co/7eP08rs0cu
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) April 2, 2018
Later on the show Haney softened his comments.
“I can’t find a touring pro — I know a lot of them and I talk to a lot of them — I can’t find a touring pro that doesn’t think Tiger will win tournaments again. … I can’t find a touring pro that doesn’t think Tiger can win a major again.”
Will that be this week? We’ll find out starting Thursday.
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