Tame Tiger? (redacted)

The start of the 2011 golf season begins at Torrey Pines for Tiger Woods in the Farmers Insurance Open.  Woods had a busy 2010 of obliterating his public persona in a lascivious sex scandal, losing $750 million in a divorce, and getting dropped by nearly every sponsor he had.  He also proved that he was human and endured his first winless season while the lurid details of his lifestyle were aired for public consumption.

Much has happened since Tiger drove into a tree hopped up on Ambien while his wife tried to finish the job help him out of the car with a nine iron.  He slipped to 3rd in the world rankings, started a Twitter account, and learned how to smile at fans.  At the same time he has been overhauling his game.

If there is a perfect course for Tiger to start a new season, it's Torrey Pines.  It has been Woods' favorite course where he has won 7 of his last 12 starts, including five straight.  With all these changes in his life, what should we expect from Tiger this year?

He spent a lot of time fighting injuries the last few years and is now healthy which should help his performance.  He is in a better place spiritually without the baggage of leading a double (and triple and...) life.  He's spending more time on the range and less time trolling Perkins restaurants for eager waitresses.  All of those things look good, and if you believe that Woods' talent is too tremendous to be held dormant, he seems primed to win this week and regain his dominance.

I think Woods still has to go through some growing pains before domination is in the conversation.  He has cleaned up his life, but acting like less of a diva will be a significant change.  He no longer gets the early tee time and he is expected to control his temper, be friendly with his gallery and accessible to the media.  All unfamiliar territory.  For a golfer as regimented as Woods, it will challenge his psyche.

Although he won't be bogged down with lies, his reparation efforts still take energy.  The guy is cracking jokes and holding Q&A sessions via Twitter, something he would have scoffed at less than a year ago.  There is no way that is in his comfort zone yet.  Give him credit for making the effort, but it definitely doesn't come naturally.

Aside from learning how to be a new person, Tiger is learning a new swing.  He has been working with Canadian swing coach Sean Foley since last year going through the third major swing reconstruction of his career.  Even for someone with Woods' talent that is not an overnight process.  Woods also endured one of his worst years putting in 2010 and has spent much of the off season working on that.  That's a lot to correct in a couple of months.

I think Tiger will continue to struggle this season at least when compared to his past success.  A loss at Torrey Pines would be just as damaging as a win would be motivating.  The curtain has been removed behind the Tiger Woods mystique and players no longer fear Woods.  Ever since he lost his Sunday lead to Y.E. Yang in the 2009 PGA Championship the field has been leveled.  The mental edge Woods once held was as dominant as any in sports.  He will probably never be able to fully recover that advantage.

He is a player fueled by success so a win in his first tournament of the season could inspire him, but I don't see him dominating like he once did. There is a new crop of players who grew up wanting to be the next Tiger that will push the elder statesman the rest of his career. 

Even with his personal life exposed there are still questions around Woods.  A sex scandal was the only thing that could deflect his relationship with Dr. Anthony Galea, a Canadian doctor who has been charged with distributing PEDs to professional athletes.  Unbelievable athletes and PEDs seem to be linked in every sport, why would golf be any different?  If Woods starts to get back his swagger I could see the issue reopened by the media.

We all witnessed the most mentally tough athlete of a generation have his confidence shattered last year.  Something tells me it will take awhile to pick up the pieces.  I have to admit that I am profoundly more interested in golf when Tiger is involved and playing well.  He is a star in every sense of the word in a sport that has very few.  For that reason, I hope he plays well and reestablishes himself.  Sundays are about to be lacking for sports interest.