Few people know Tiger Woods better than his old college teammate Notah Begay.
120Sports.com conducted a phone interview Wednesday with Begay, who upgraded Woods' chances of playing in the Masters to a 50-50 proposition. So could Woods really be contemplating his return to, perhaps, golf's biggest stage?
Woods has not played competitively since withdrawing from the Farmers Insurance Open in early February, Golf.com reported. He cited a back injury and vowed shortly thereafter that he was not going to return until he felt confident he could compete at a level he felt could put him in position to vie for tournament victories.
As transcribed by Golf.com, Begay told 120Sports.com that Woods has had to battle both his swing issues and his mental control over his game.
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"I don't know that there was any one thing specifically that you can say a player looks at, but it's simply something that a player feels when they step on the golf course," Begay said. "They feel like they can go out there and basically defend themselves. If a player feels like they can do what they want, then they go out and play."
Begay's comment on the possibility of Woods playing at Augusta represent a big step forward from the last time he estimated Woods' chances of making the Masters his return event. Golf.com reported that Begay said there was a 1 in 10 chance of Tiger's return just three weeks ago.
Begay said he told Woods not to rush any aspect of his comeback.
"My suggestion to him was to take as much time as he needed to just figure out this issue with his short game and also to work on or clean up a couple of things that might be a little loose with his golf swing," Begay said. "I think things are really settling. We've had some good discussions over the last week or so and he feels good about it. I think it was good for him to stay a step back, to reassess a variety of different things and do things on his timeline."
The stubbornness in Woods suggests that it wouldn't be surprising for him to make his return at the Masters. But given the crossroads he voluntarily entered, Woods could jeopardize his golf career if he tries to come back at the Masters and have any of the same issues that have haunted him this year return.
It seems unlikely that the current state of Tiger Woods would put such pressure on himself at a major, rather than enter other events to build up to a major. Then again, only a few know what current state Woods is in.
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