Who needs a big year more in 2018 Tiger Woods or Rory McIlroy and who will have one? Tiger is now in his forties and has already won fourteen majors, so his record is second only to the great Jack Nicklaus and if he had retired a few years ago due to one of his many injuries he would be assured of legendary status, especially for the way that he dominated his opponents. However, he couldn’t have been called the greatest because he still hadn’t beaten Nicklaus’s record. Unfortunately, every one of his unsuccessful comebacks has been so hyped up that when it has ended in failure his reputation has been diminished. What does Tiger have to prove to anyone apart from himself and why does he want to come back again? Well he may believe he can win more majors and catch Jack’s record or he may just want to test himself against today’s young greats. Whatever the reasons his latest comeback looked more promising than previous efforts, but whether he will be good enough to win a major next year is open to question.
On the other hand, Rory’s career seems to have stalled. From looking like a future great four years ago and certain to add to his four major victories he has consistently failed to deliver and fulfil his early promise. You may say that he’s still young and has plenty of time on his side, but he is now 28 and considerably older than the current crop of major winning superstars. Not only that but his putting stroke looks so ‘iffy’ that his chances of winning a major again when challenged by Jordan Speith, Rickie Fowler, Kopka, Dustin Johnson and the rest look remote. If Rory is to move up a gear again then it is to be hoped that he has fully recovered from his recent injury and he can regain his majestic ball striking and sink a few putts.
At the very least the prospect of both Tiger and Rory coming back to full health and being in contention again will ensure great television viewing figures and provide plenty of interest for the forthcoming season.
What is your view?
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