Woods' schedule has a purpose
ORLANDO, Fla. -- Among regular PGA Tour events, Bay Hill is the only stop Tiger Woods has never missed.
His PGA Tour schedule has become as predictable as azaleas blooming at Augusta National in April. It doesn't require a Ph.D. in statistics or even a crystal ball to figure out where he will play. And considering how his last eight months have gone, there is not much guesswork involved in how he will play.
Woods has 7 official victories since July, and the one time someone else hoisted the trophy, Woods was runner-up.
A couple of years ago, Ernie Els tried to motivate himself by stating publicly a three-year plan to replace Woods at No. 1 in the world. Asked about that after the Big Easy won the Honda Classic a few weeks ago, he smiled and said, "I didn't realize that Tiger was going to win 10 times since I said that."
He could have picked where Woods might win.
Woods will be going for his fifth title at the Arnold Palmer Invitational. He opened his 2008 season by winning the Buick Invitational for the sixth time. He also has 6 victories in the Bridgestone Invitational, 6 more at the World Golf Championships event that now goes by the name CA Championship.
He has four green jackets from the Masters, four Wanamaker Trophies from the PGA Championship.
Woods, perhaps more than any other golfer, is a creature of habit.
He has won 63 times in his PGA Tour career, yet he has trophies from only 24 tournaments. Vijay Singh has a far more diverse record, winning 31 times at 23 different tour events.
What inspires Woods is the competition and the course.
"For a while now, I've said my game has improved since 2000, and it's not just about the Ws," Woods said on his Web site. "It's something I've been saying internally, and until recently, no one picked up on it. … I'm playing in fewer events on the toughest courses against the best fields. That's why I feel my game has progressed, and why I feel so good about all the hard work I have put in."
Woods won nine times in 2000 while playing 20 events. He won seven times last year in only 16 tour starts.
Then again, familiarity certainly helps.
Consider another statistic that illustrates how his schedule works in his favor. Woods has won 52 times at the 17 tournaments tentatively on his 2008 schedule (that doesn't include 2 victories at Doral, which has been merged into a WGC).
One thing about Woods as he gets older -- he doesn't add events, only subtracts.
The first to go was the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am, which he won in 2000 and stopped playing after 2002. It will be interesting to see if Woods returns before the 2010 U.S. Open. Then came the Mercedes-Benz Championship, the EDS Byron Nelson Championship and Disney, none of which he has played since 2005, all of which have combined to add 5 victories to his account.
The most recent subtraction was his hometown event, the Northern Trust Open at Riviera, which Woods played nine times without winning. There is no indication he will return.