As Woods flirts with the "unbreakable" record of 11 PGA Tour wins in a row set by Byron Nelson in 1945, the victory at Dubai does not count, nor does his win in December at the Target World Challenge. But the win at the Buick gave him three in a row. Next up will be the WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship. There are two reasons why Tiger will win that one: First, it's next. Secondly, Accenture is one of his sponsors, just like Buick. Winning their events is part of the added value Woods gives to those companies that pay him millions to represent them. Did I mention he has a business deal in Dubai?
Is talk of Tiger winning 11 in a row absurd? Of course. Is it ridiculous to think Woods could win all four majors and become the only person to pull off the professional grand Slam? Absolutely. Except for one thing. Woods is ridiculously, absurdly good. It is a measure of his greatness that the discussion can even take place. Moreover, he is once again scary good. Just ask Els and Stenson.
When I was a kid my cat Arnie (named for Palmer) liked to catch chipmunks, let them get away and then re-catch them. He'd do this for hours -- until it was time to end the game. That's sort of what the final round at Dubai felt like. Cat and mouse. Or cat and chipmunk. Or Tiger and Ernie. Or Tiger and Henrik. And you know what? Woods wasn't even playing his best. That's why he had to chip-in on No. 12.
How cool would it be to have Woods go to the back nine on Sunday at Augusta National trailing by about five strokes and have him close with a couple of eagles and shoot a 30 to win the Masters? It's the only thing he hasn't done yet -- come from behind to win a major. If there was a message sent Sunday at Dubai it was this: There are still some things in Tiger's career he has yet to achieve and this season he plans to cross a few off his list. Man, I'd hate to be someone who hates reading about Tiger this year.
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