What Does Tiger Woods Memorial Tournament Mean?

     When Tiger Woods stood over his chip in a thick patch of bentgrass behind the 18^th green he drew upon all the times he pulled a miracle around a green in a big golf tournament. Memories are memories and Tiger drew upon the game he has now and pulled off the biggest shot Jack Nicklaus has ever seen in a tight moment. Hit it thin and he chunks it and hit too much the ball will slide by the pin into the water. While the average golfer stares down making the perfect pitch and either chunking it or blading it, we do not do it in the public spotlight with thousands of clicking cell phones and in front of anyone who can tweet having an opinion about it. Making a birdie when you really need to for a lot of money (which Tiger still has) and to build your golfing portfolio on the way to golfing immortality is what Tiger really wants. This putt was part of a closing stretch of holes where he birdied three of four holes to win his fifth Memorial Tournament at Muirfield Village.

But What does it mean for Woods as he tries to keep

his game on edge for The Olympic Club at the  U.S.

Open? Well he has been stuck on 14 major

championships  since 2008 where he won the third of

his U.S. Open titles. A win at Olympic would also give

 Woods the same number of U.S. Open victories as

Willie Anderson, Bobby Jones, Ben Hogan and Jack

Nicklaus with four. While most golfers peak in their

early thirties like most athletes, Woods had to battle

both injury and personal problems that knocked the

mojo out of his game. In my mind, Woods needs four

to tie Jack for career major titles. From Arnold Palmer

 to Sam Snead, their big runs were over at the age

Woods is right now (36).  Only Nicklaus and Hogan had

any magic left at the same age and while I think Woods

will win a major again, age, injuries and a changing

golf world that is not intimidated by him will all leave

him short.

Woods has a much better chance to be the career PGA

Tour leader in wins as there are many more Tour

events than there are majors.

The only problem with

 him getting the 10 wins

needed to reach 83 career

PGA Tour victories and would put him ahead of Sam

 Snead for the all-time record is not only time but a desire to do it. Has anyone ever heard him talk about

 it? I’m sure there has but it is not something the golf

world has really focused on let alone Woods.  Once

again, in my mind Woods might come close, but he'll

wind up just shy of Snead's mark.

While Jack Nicklaus had 14 wins after age 36, Nicklaus

did not have the same kind of injury problems Woods

has faced. Nicklaus was a healthy 36. Woods' knee

feels healthy now but unless he plays more tour

events  he may come close but finish second their as

well.

Tiger’s immediate goal is to win the U.S. Open at

Olympic Club and for that he has his hands full.