SAN DIEGO -- Welcome, ladies and gentlemen, to the 2011 Tiger Woods Show. Kick back. Settle in. For one reason or another, this should be interesting.Just more than a year after the most damaging and costly car-hits-fire-hydrant collision in motor vehicle history, Woods arrived Wednesday at Torrey Pines, site of this week's PGA stop -- the Farmers Insurance Open -- ready to begin the task of distancing himself from a lost season.
Not only did the game's most famous player go winless in 2010, the first shutout in his 15-season career, he also lost a carefully crafted image, a marriage, and, according to many, the aura of invincibility that he wore like armor.
After a record 281 consecutive weeks as the world's No. 1 ranked player, he now trails England's Lee Westwood and Germany's Martin Kaymer. In an effort to revive his sagging game, Woods undertook the fourth retooling of his swing, teaming with teaching pro Sean Foley in August and working feverishly during the off-season.
Now, it's time to start competing all over again. But will it all come back, or has the magic been lost?
"Well, I think in order to play this game at a high level, it helps to have a clear mind," Woods said Wednesday. "I've played at the high levels before in the past without a clear mind, but it helps to be consistent. It helps having your life in balance.
"Certainly my life is much more balanced than it was in the past. That is exciting for me. I think it's exciting for my kids, and we're really looking forward to it."
Likewise for pretty much everyone in golf and beyond. Many of them, however, seem to be watching with similar, morbid curiosity they might have viewed the white Bronco chase of O.J. Simpson.
"His golf peers are not afraid of him anymore, and there seems to be a new crop of players coming up and the Tiger era is already finished," five-time British Open champion Peter Thomson told Australian Golf Digest during the off-season. "I think his luster is gone ... he won't be the dominating figure, and he won't win."
Plenty of other critics agree.
The fun part is that just as many believe otherwise, and see Tiger pacing the cage.
"Because he's Tiger," said Rocco Mediate, the guy Woods defeated in a 19-hole playoff in the 2008 U.S. Open at Torrey Pines, playing basically on one leg. "He's tired of seeing what he's seeing. He'll fix it. He's not going away. I still think he's the best player. I don't care what the rankings say."
"All I have to do is keep working and stick to the game plan, just like I have in the past. I think my record kind of speaks to that."
-- Tiger Woods Most assuredly, Woods has heard the whispers and grim predictions. Although there is a better chance of Nancy Pelosi being photographed in Hugh Hefner's grotto than Woods admitting it, he knows there are many who doubt and question future success.
He'll never win the four additional majors to equal Jack Nicklaus' record 18. He might not even win one more. The mystique is gone. He's No. 3 and falling.
"That's fine," Woods said. "I've heard it before. I've gone through stretches where I haven't won. I've had it happen in my career before, and I've been through this before. It's fine. All I have to do is keep working and stick to the game plan, just like I have in the past. I think my record kind of speaks to that."
Meanwhile, it would be hard for anybody to pick a better place to begin a long journey with a positive first step. At Torrey Pines, Woods has been darn-near unbeatable. In 12 appearances on the golf course -- 11 Farmers and one U.S. Open -- Woods has seven victories.
"Over the years, I've had a little bit of success here," he said.
Woods arrived Wednesday, striding onto the property with the confidence of a proven commodity. He appeared relaxed, rested and mentally sharp, all in sharp contrast to last year.
He reported a good winter break, something he has not enjoyed in recent years -- dealing with two years of off-season rehab before last year's personal issues.
"What was nice about this off-season is I was able to work on my putting and my stroke and go back to my old keys and old feels," Woods said. "Just putting in the work. It takes thousands of balls, and I was able to do that.
"Last year I really didn't do much of that, and consequently I had probably one of the worst putting years I've had."
You never know how good things are until they are gone. Then comes the hard part. Getting it back.
"Well, the determination hasn't changed," he said. "It's just that I need to be focused and put into a proper perspective. I went down a path I should never have gone, and now the determination is keeping my life in balance. That's where it's at.
"If my life's in balance throughout the course of my career, I've had good years. More importantly, what's most important to me is my kids. I need to be in balance for them, and that's what it's all about."
That, Woods said, would mean despite everything, nothing changed.
"No, the goal's still the same," he said. "Try to beat all their butts."
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