Tiger's Is Looking Forward To 2011 Following His Near-Victory

Tiger didn't win at the Chevron World Challenge, but he was back in form, nonetheless. It was great just to see him in contention all four days. In my opinion, he played a better game this weekend than any I've seen in the last year. It's also nice to see that his fans are still cheering him on - and Tiger seems much more upbeat. To quote the writer of the article below, ". . . despite the Sunday collapse in his own tournament that saw him surrender a four-shot lead, we saw Tiger do something he hasn't done in a long time: Smile"
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Tiger's near-victory leaves him upbeat heading into 2011:
BY MARC FIGUEROA - For the North County Times Tuesday, December 7, 2010 5:21 pm

Yes, Tiger Woods blew a big lead down the stretch in the Chevron World Challenge. Yes, it's something he just doesn't do. Yes, with all the turmoil he has endured in the last year, it's easy to surmise that his game is not where it needs to be.

But despite the Sunday collapse in his own tournament that saw him surrender a four-shot lead, we saw Tiger do something he hasn't done in a long time: Smile.

He played well enough to win but got beat by U.S. Open champion Graeme McDowell, who holed a 20-footer for birdie to force a playoff and then did it again to send Woods home winless for the year.

Still, Woods didn't sulk and was actually upbeat after the round.

"It was a great week, even though I didn't win," Woods told reporters after the tournament. "I'm proud of the way I played today, even though I lost."

That speaks volumes about where his head is these days. The old Tiger would have murmured something like, "I came here to win, and anything less is a failure," and then walked off in a huff.

That's essentially what he said when he returned to the Masters after a five-month hiatus --- after finishing a respectable fourth no less.

The new Tiger seems more humbled, more willing to talk (see Twitter), more patient with the swing changes he has been working on for the last three months.

Maybe we're reading this wrong. Maybe it's just the holiday spirit that has Woods so upbeat. Maybe it's the silly season that has taken some of the pressure off. Or maybe, just maybe, Woods has turned a corner.

Despite going winless for the first time in his PGA Tour career -- Woods said afterward he couldn't remember the last time he went an entire year without winning -- and losing a tournament for the first time when leading by at least three shots, he played some of his best golf of the year at Sherwood Country Club. He opened with three rounds in the 60s and had the lead after three rounds for the first time since the 2009 PGA Championship.

He lost his swing in the middle of the final round, but still had enough in him to nail his 8-iron approach shot to within 3 feet on the 72nd hole, which set up an easy birdie and nearly a victory. McDowell and his dream season got in the way, of course, but we got to see Woods play like he did when he was the world's No. 1 player. The swagger, the smile and the club-twirling were all on display in Thousand Oaks.

Was this a sign of things to come? McDowell thinks so.

"There's something a bit special about his golf game," McDowell said, "and I fully expect that mystique to return as the golf clubs start doing the talking again."

Next up for Woods is likely the Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines in late January. Woods hasn't been to the La Jolla track since his memorable one-legged win in the 2008 U.S. Open. Before that, it was four straight Buick Invitational victories.


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