Get ready to enjoy Masters at work

Ten years ago, almost to the week, Earl Woods gave his assessment on how his son had just won his third US Masters.

Befitting a man who once claimed his Tiger would do more than any other man in history to change the course of humanity, Woods Snr neatly declared, “The more he wins, the easier it becomes for him. They (the rest of the field) are the trees. He is the forest fire. They don’t have anything to stop him.”

Tiger hasn’t won a lot, these past 30 months or so, other than notoriety, but at least on Sunday he got back winning. There won’t be anything easy about winning the Masters, the rest of the field won’t just pave a path for him, but after Bay Hill, you can be sure the rest of the field will know about him at some stage as his game at Augusta invariably catches a blaze. It’s something actually that he maybe hasn’t got enough credit for, just how competitive he’s continued to be at Augusta this past couple of years. Phil Mickelson might have been the winner and story of 2010 but Woods was one of his strongest challengers in his first post-fire hydrant tournament. Think of just what an achievement that was: to finish fourth with the eyes of the entire world, not just watching, but judging you, and you not having picked up a club in competition since your missus swung one at you.