Woods can win again, analysts say
Tiger Woods hasn’t won on the PGA Tour in more than 40 months.
NBC Sports and Golf Channel analyst Mark Rolfing said Wednesday that the winless drought could end in the next 12 months.
“Can he win? I think it’ll be difficult, but I would say yes,” Rolfing said. “All the stars are going to have to align, and I think it’s going to have to be the kind of a golf course where he really isn’t trying to overpower it.”
Rolfing, along with Johnny Miller and fellow analyst David Duval, spoke in a conference call previewing the upcoming year in golf.
Because of recurring back problems, Woods hasn’t played on the Tour since the 2015 Wyndham Championship.
Woods announced he’ll make his 2017 debut at the Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines in San Diego on Jan. 26-29. He also will play in the Genesis Open and Honda Classic in February.
He made his return to competitive golf in December in the Hero World Challenge in the Bahamas. While Woods finished 15th in the field of 18, he and winner Hideki Matsuyama did lead the field in birdies, each making 24.
“The things I liked most were the 24 birdies,” Rolfing said. “I liked the way he looked physically, a little bit leaner, a little bit thinner up on top, and I liked his feel. The moment I remember is when he hit the iron shot on the par-3 5th hole, and I knew it was on line, and he just said, ‘Go another yard, be another yard farther.’ When he’s got that kind of feel ... that says a lot to me.”
Duval also liked what he saw from Woods, especially the birdies.
But the driver will be a question for Woods, Duval said. “He was not ever the straightest but certainly seemed to always hit them that way when he needed to, and it’s a little bit different golf swing. ... If he could work on that a little bit, I wouldn’t be shocked at all to see him win in 2017.”