Return of the X-MEN
Golf breathes a sigh of relief as its big beasts finally come back from injury, but will Rory and Tiger regain their former greatness?
SO MUCH for January being a quiet month for golf. What’s about to happen over the next ten days will grab everyone’s attention as the sport finally, mercifully, welcomes the return of its X-Men. First up in Abu Dhabi on Thursday is Rory McIlroy, now insisting he’s ‘fit and healthy’ after four months out with a rib injury and the revelation he has ‘a slight heartbeat irregularity, a flat or inverted T wave.’
A week later, he will be followed by Tiger Woods in San Diego, competing on the PGA Tour for the first time in 12 months.
Despite the obvious excitement at having them back, both men begin with plenty wondering if their glory years are now behind them. Is the hunger still there in a game where four of the world’s top five are now 25 or younger?
Here, The Mail on Sunday asks the pertinent questions, and assesses whether this will prove the year of the comeback.
What can we expect first up?
Tiger: Forget his finishing position next week, or at the Genesis Open in Los Angeles next month. If he gets to the end of those two events swinging as well as he did in an exhibition event in the Bahamas last month and says he’s ready to play in the Honda Classic and Arnold Palmer Invitational in Florida in March, that will suffice. If Tiger can get four events under his belt before the Masters, then attention can turn to how he is doing.
Rory: A totally different ball game. McIlroy (right) intends to come out all guns blazing. He’s fed up of reading about all the leading Americans who stole his thunder. Now ranked outside the world’s top 10, he’s playing no fewer than eight events before Augusta and will want two wins under his belt before he gets there. At least four of the tournaments are being staged on courses he loves, so it’s certainly on.
Is the desire still there?
Tiger: Are you kidding? Do you think he’d go through all the pain and the rehab just to take on Charles Howell III for 40th place every week? Whether he gets back to the top is another matter, but never question his hunger. The day that goes really is the one where he walks away.
Rory: It’s only natural people should raise the matter concerning a 28-year-old who’s found happiness and contentment off the course and has hundreds of millions in the bank. And the only way he can really provide an answer is by going out and recapturing his best form. My gut feeling is that by the summer, we won’t be hearing such questions any more.
What’s he got going for him?
Tiger: We need more evidence, of course, but it does look as if his fourth back operation in 18 months is the one that is going to allow him to play again, and with a certain degree of freedom. The speed and power in his swing that he needs in order to compete appear to be back.
Rory: Everything, in a word. He’s still young, he’s now healthy, and like all the great sportsmen he’s always at his best when he feels like he has something to prove.
What’s against?
Tiger: Where do you start? He’s 42, and has spent much of the last two years lying flat on his back. Currently ranked outside the world’s top 600, the game has moved on without him.
Rory: When last seen, his wedge play wasn’t worth a damn and his putting was bang average. They’re not the easiest ills to cure.
Can he still win majors?
Tiger: It’s certainly asking an awful lot, ten years after his last victory and four years since he was a contender of any kind, to add to his haul of 14.
Let’s put it this way: if it was anyone else you wouldn’t give them a snowball’s chance in hell. But if he keeps his health, and can put in the necessary hours of practice, I could see him winning the Masters again, just as Jack Nicklaus did when everyone was writing him off at the age of 46.
Rory: No question. No one wins four by the age of 24 and is washed up completely by the age of 28. But this is a huge year for McIlroy. Four years without a major means the pressure is undoubtedly building and the standard is now unquestionably higher than since his last victory. On the other side of the coin, if he ends the mini-drought and completes the career grand slam at the Masters, you could see him reaching double digits before he’s through.
Will he appear in the Ryder Cup?
Tiger: If he’s still fit and healthy come August and showing any sort of form, he will be a captain’s pick.
Rory: Are Manchester City going to win the Premier League? Only yet another injury would prevent Rory competing for Europe in Paris later this year.