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Tiger Woods tees off during a past tournament. FILE
By CHARLES GACHERU
Can you imagine the ‘mashemeji derby’ without
Gor Mahia and/or AFC Leopards? Or the Manchester derby without
Manchester United and/or Manchester City?
If you cannot, then why should we be expected to
imagine a Masters Tournament without Tiger Woods. Cancel the event!
Postpone it at the very least.
Woods first played at Augusta in 1997, his winning
score was 18-under par and he won with a 12-shot margin, setting new
records along the way.
He was victorious again in 2001 and successfully
defended in 2002. Woods claimed his last Green Jacket in 2005. Since
then, his efforts to claim another Green Jacket have been unsuccessful.
He was T3 in 2006, T2 in 2007 and 2008, T6 in 2009, T4 in 2010 and 2011,
T40 in 2012 and T4 in 2013.
Some of Woods’ most memorable victories in his
career have been at Augusta; his 1997 victory was out of this world, his
2001 victory completed his Major grand slam and in 2005 he beat Chris
Di Marco in a sudden death play-off.
In regulation play, Woods pulled a seemingly
impossible chip-in at the par-3 16th. That shot has become one of
greatest shots in Masters history. In the ensuing play-off, Woods hit
what he described as “two of the best shots all week” to win his fourth
Green Jacket.
He has won 14 Majors in his professional career,
he is a clear favourite to win any tournament he enrols to play in. To
stage the Masters without him would be just criminal.
Addressing the media on Monday, Woods said that he was not sure he would be well enough to play at the 2014 Masters.
“For Augusta it’s actually a little too soon to be honest with you,” Woods said.
“That’s kind of the frustrating thing. I’ve had a
couple weeks off, working on trying to get ready for Augusta. As of
right now, it’s still a little too soon and as I said it’s really
frustrating.”
With no Woods at Augusta, the first Golf Major of
the year, professional golf and the PGA Tour would be dealt a big blow —
TV ratings will plummet, viewership will be at an all time low and
frankly President Barack Obama should resign!
Confidence
Woods has not won a Major tournament since the
2008 US Open and he has not won the Masters since 2005. Woods needs to
win a 15th Major, and missing out on the 2014 Masters is serious blow to
golf.
In the absence of Woods, defending champion Adam
Scott will be a firm favourite. Having said that, Scott’s melt-down at
the Arnold Palmer Invitational at Bay Hill may have dented his
confidence.
Scott led by seven strokes after R2, a lead that
looked unassailable. But at the end of 72 holes, Scott was third and he
looked nothing like the 2013 Masters Champion.
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