Tiger's return

Tiger Woods is back this week as he sees action in the Masters and the true test of his ability as a golfer is about to come.

Yes, he has a string of Majors and a long list of tournament victories aside from millions of dollars in prize money and endorsement deals, but the game is not only physical, it is also hugely mental.

How many times have you fallen into the water when the fairway or the green looks so big that you can’t miss it? How many times have you hit a tree that you have been trying so hard to avoid?

Tiger does not have the same ills in his game that we duffers suffer, but the pressure of shooting the low scores will always be there and much more this time that he has been out of circulation so long after news of his infidelity broke out.

While Tiger has always appeared remorseful and has been a different man in the few times that he has talked to the media, playing in a tournament with galleries that can go 20 people deep or even more would really test his ability to blank things out while playing.

Maybe he can pull it, which I hope he would do, but then golf is a game that would always punish you for wrong thoughts before a shot.

Our former golf columnist, John McCullough, once wrote that when you have a hazard in front of your target, think of the target and not the hazard.

In the case of Tiger, he might not be fazed by the hazards that Augusta National, home of the Masters, would lay before him, but the thought that many of his fans think differently about him now.

Well, so far, the reception has been great and the Tiger fans hope that it would continue.

Many have said that if Tiger wins the green jacket, the symbol of the Masters championship, it will turn things around for him and his family.

I’m not so sure about turning things around just like that, but it will definitely be a morale booster for Tiger and his fans.

The coverage of the Masters will start at dawn on Friday until dawn on Monday here in the Philippines.

I know a few people who would be lacking sleep during this period most especially if Tiger will make it to the final pairing on the last round.

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There was no time to blink for the registration of participants in the 12th View Invitational and slots went so fast that many were caught by surprise.

Entry fee is P7,000 per team of two players and the giveaways would be an Alta Vista golf bag for each member of the team.

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MILESTONES: Happy birthday greetings to Ruben Barraca, Jr., who turns a year older today.

Tomorrow’s greetings go to my cousins Bong Abiera Benemerito and John Pages, who is also a fellow sports columnist and sporting dad; my good old friend Edward Cañete; and top golfer Marko Sarmiento.

More power to all of you!