Young guns can fill void left by absent Woods

When Tiger Woods announced a couple of weeks ago that he would not be participating in this year’s Masters, Augusta lost its most bankable star player.

His absence would seriously impact the attendance through the gates as well as TV viewership.

However, just like the unfortunate injury Peter O’Mahony suffered early on in Munster’s Heineken Cup match last weekend, the show must go on, which bodes well for the Irish as they have prospered well over the years in the Majors that Tiger has not competed in.

Tiger’s absence is a significant blow to his own personal quest for more Major championships and the continuous nature of his physical ailments now begs the question — is Tiger’s quest for peak gym physical fitness compromising his golfing potential?

In my opinion it already has, and proper management of Tiger’s body is going to be essential if he is to have any opportunity of being around long enough to challenge Jack Nicklaus’s Major haul.

Indeed, if Tiger is serious about challenging Nicklaus’s record — and he is — then I believe that you can safely expect him to make some significant swing modifications in the future, moving away from a power game to one of finesse.

This would put less stress and strain on his body, perhaps sacrificing distance — allowing him to hit a higher percentage of fairways and greens. This would help him maximise his mental and short game strengths.

Tiger’s absence this week should also guarantee a clean event. This year there will be no farcical rulings like the one he received last year over his drop shot on the 15th — a ruling I believe did great damage to the integrity of the game of golf.

Last year there was a collective abandonment of the golf’s integrity, not just by Tiger and Augusta National but also by every world ruling body& — amateur or professional — all in attendance that week. Quite simply, what Tiger got away with, no other professional would have.

So, as we go forward into this week, a new chapter will begin for someone else. Phil Mickelson and Adam Scott will be looking to add to their Masters tally but so too will a hungry young brigade of talented players like Jason Day, Dustin Johnson, Jordan Speith, and Patrick Reed. So far on the PGA Tour this year every event has been won by either an American or an Australian, but this is the year’s first Major, a time when the superstars come to the dining table.

I expect to see our own Rory McIlroy shine. I have been extremely impressed by the way he has embraced the setbacks of 2013, the way he has learned from his mistakes, re-evaluated his goals and come back as a major force. His game has always been a mixture of superlatives but given the hurt he experienced last year, I fully expect to see him back in the winner’s circle, if not this week then very soon.

McIlroy’s game is made for Augusta. He possesses more flair and more ‘game’ than anyone else in the field and the course set-up suits his eye. The question now is if he has the mental fortitude to survive on such a demanding course, staying focused on delivering a controlled game-plan that takes advantage of the reachable par 5s while minimising errors. To succeed this week, he will need to demonstrate all his short game skills while limiting errors to nothing more than bogeys.

His destiny now lies in his own hands but his star is rising and expect great things this week from him.