Is the US Open for a Tiger Woods Victory?
Friday, June 14th, 2013
Tiger Woods got off to a shaky start on the first day of the US Open, appearing to struggle with pain in his left wrist, ending the day six shots behind 18 hole leader Luke Donald. But can the 37-year-old, 14 times major championship winner (and 5-1 favourite according to Ladbrokes and William Hill) turn things around to win? He’s certainly up against stiff competition, having been grouped with 24-year-old Northern Irishman Rory McIlroy and this year’s Masters champion, the Australian Adam Scott. McIlroy is the bookies second favourite, at 16-1, while Scott ties for third place with American Matt Kuchar at 20-1.
Following his win at last month’s Players Championship, Tiger Woods was asked who would win between the 37-year-old Woods now, or the 18-year-old Tiger that took his first of three U.S. Amateur titles at T.P.C. Sawgrass in Florida. Woods batted the question aside, answering confidently: “I would win now.” When asked to guess a score for the hypothetical match-up, he shot back: “I don’t care, as long as I won.”
Although purely speculative, the question did raise a serious point. Is Tiger Woods still the all-conquering player he once was? Having tied for 65th place at the Memorial Tournament at Muirfield, Ohio earlier this month, including rounds of 74 and 79, Woods will no doubt be feeling like he has something to prove at Merion.
Coming off the back of victory in the Memorial Tournament and his World Gold Championship win, Matt Kuchar is at the top of his game and Adam Scott’s Master’s Victory has taken him to world number 3, but if anyone is going to upset Tiger’s hopes of victory, it is surely McIlroy.
In spite of having had a poor start to the year, including withdrawing from the Honda Classic on the ninth hole of the second round because of a sore tooth, and tying for 25th place in the Masters, McIlroy is still ranked world number two thanks to his strong showing last year. Victory in the 2012 Honda Classic saw the Northern Irishman briefly ranked world number one, before losing the position to Luke Donald following the Transitions Championship. However, McIlroy went on to win the 2012 PGA Championship and the DP World Tour Championship in Dubai and was named PGA Player of the Year, PGA Tour Player of the Year and European Tour Golfer of the Year among other plaudits. If McIlroy can find some of the same form that served him so well last year, he just might be able to snatch victory from Tiger’s jaws.
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