TIGER!!!

The most dominant athlete in the history of the sport of golf is prepared to make his return to the pro tour. After a heroic showing in last year's US Open in which he defeated fan favorite Rocco Mediate in an epic 18 hole playoff...all while on a torn ACL and a double stress fractured tibia, Tiger had surgery to repair his tattered leg and missed the rest of the season. But now he's back, scheduled to make his return for the Accenture Match Play Championship.

One of the things analysts were discussing after the surgery was who is gonna be the guy that will step up in Tiger's place and be the new force in professional golf. The answer is no one. Rocco was unable to ride his wave of momentum after taking the best golfer ever down to the wire. Sergio has still yet to win a major tournament. Vijay has seemingly fallen off the face of the earth. And Phil...is still being Phil: the not so lovable loser. With no up-and-comer (save Padraig Harrington I suppose) there is no reason to believe that Tiger will not be able to win this year.

"The Tiger Effect" is a very real thing in the world of professional golf. The bottom line is, the guys on the tour are afraid to play against him. No one wants to be matched up with Tiger on Sunday, with a major title on the line; especially if he has the lead. I would venture to say that we haven't seen a competitor quite like Tiger since Michael Jordan. It matters very little to him what his opponents do, all he cares about is how well he is playing. And as we all know, when Tiger plays well, there is no one in the world that can beat him.

Asked about his expectations for the year: "Nothing changes from every tournament I enter--it's to win. That's my intent, to go in there and win. Nothing has ever changed." Those words have got to worry the rest of the field. All this being said, I think Tiger will win one major championship this year. I think he will win one of the latter two majors--either the British Open or the PGA Championship. But I will not be shocked if he wins more than one. And I certainly won't be surprised if he wins the Match Play Championship this weekend.

Bryce B