Tiger plays Augusta in return to history

MANILA, Philippines - Consider the 10 months between his last major and the next one as an intermission in the incomparable career of Tiger Woods, a break in a seamless act of historic and head-turning moments.

The 12-shot victory in the Masters. Winning the US Open by 15 shots at Pebble Beach.

The “Tiger Slam,” when he won all four majors in 294 days. Not missing a cut in seven years. Three US PGA Tour winning streaks of at least five tournaments. The magic acts, from that putt on the island green at Sawgrass to the chip-in at the Masters that hung on the hole.

And then he was gone.

Woods limped away from his epic US Open victory at San Diego and wound up in Utah for reconstructive surgery on his left knee that kept him out of golf for eight months, his longest break from golf in his life.

He returns to the stage at Augusta National, golf’s grandest theater, to start what seems like a second phase in his career.

“I can certainly see that, no doubt,” Woods said. “I’ve been playing golf for a long time, and it was nice actually to take that break. I didn’t want to take that break –trust me. I didn’t want to have to go through all the things I went through. But when it’s all said and done, I’m feeling so much better now than I did for years.”

Better than ever?

He certainly looks the same.

In his last major, Woods made a do-or-die putt from 12 feet on the final hole to force a playoff at the US Open, which he won the next day. In his last tournament, he matched the largest comeback of his tour career – five shots – and won the Arnold Palmer Invitational with a 15-foot birdie putt on the final hole in the dark.

But there are changes that those around him have noticed, which the layoff only accentuated.

“He’s in a good place,” said Mark Steinberg, a close friend and his agent at IMG. “He has balance in his personal life, his business life and balance in his golf life. He has learned not to get ahead of himself. He’s been extremely patient. Twelve years ago, patience wouldn’t be the word I used with Tiger. Now, patience is a virtue with him.”

Woods is 33, a family man. He has lost a father and become a father. He and his wife, Elin, will celebrate their five-year wedding anniversary in October. Their second child, a boy, was born in February.

Mark O’Meara was on the helicopter after the Tavistock Cup last month and recalls a poignant image of the guy whom he befriended when Woods was 20.

“Elin was waiting on him – and this is a side of Tiger Woods that people don’t get to see – he grabs his daughter and they hoof it down the road,” O’Meara said. “Not in a cart. Just him and his family walking together to their house. He’s a good father. Being an only child, I think he’s going to do everything he can to be there as much as possible.

“With everything that transpired in the last year – winning on one leg, taking a major break, his son coming into his life – it’s been a little bit of a whirlwind,” O’Meara said. “It gave him time to reflect where he’s at, what he’s done, and what he’s getting ready to do. I think he’ll be back better than ever.”

Woods won last week in only his third tournament back. It assured his position at No. 1 in the world and made him the favorite again at the Masters, although now with perhaps more challengers since the start of the decade.

Padraig Harrington won the British Open and US PGA Championship while Woods was away. The Irishman, who has shown a remarkable knack for bearing down on the back nine at majors, goes to the Masters with a chance to join Woods and Ben Hogan as the only players to win three straight majors in the 93 years that there have been at least three on the menu.

“It’s nice that I am going for three in a row,” Harrington said. “It means I did something right in the last two majors.”  (AP)