Keep an eye on Tiger in the rough

Tiger Woods announced this morning he would make his return to the PGA Tour April 8, in Augusta, Ga., for The Masters.

In watching all the hype after the announcement, I couldn't help but chuckle at some of it.

Tiger usually makes his first big appearance a few weeks before The Masters every year, so there really is no shock in this announcement for me, because the speculation is every year as well.

What does surprise me is that some Las Vegas sports books have set 3-1 odds of Tiger winning the tournament.

That seems a little high too me. I would have place the odds at 12-1 or 15-1 given all that has happened in recent months and also because golf is the ultimate game of focus.

Now, I would not be surprised if he does win The Masters, but I'm not buying into some of the thoughts out there that it would be a major success if he simply makes the cut.

Being an ultimate competitor, I would suspect making the cut is about as close to a sure thing in Tiger's mind.

The "experts" are citing the biggest indicators of how he will fare during the tournament are how he drives the ball off the tee and how well he putts.

Once again, those are constant variables every time he heads to the course.

For me, the biggest indicator is how he plays in the rough.

What sets him apart from the rest of the competition is his ability to take a horrible lie in the trees, 200-yards away from the green, and yet knock it stiff within 15 feet of the pin.

When Tiger shanks a drive 10-yards deep in the trees and thick rough -- which he most likely will do on the Front 9 in the first round -- how that next shot goes will show how the tournament will go for him. At least, that is my prediction.

Being a thinking man's game, the shank into the deep rough will be the first little tick in his head, but if he pulls out one of those miraculous shots, it will be all for naught and the rest of the field will most likely be playing for second place.

However, should that second shot go haywire, it could be the start of a domino effect nearly every golfer has had at some point. He'll hear the groans of the crowd, start second-guessing every situation and before you know it, he might just be on the 18th green trying to avoid shooting 80 on the round, which is not a huge stretch at Augusta.

The past four or five months, and all the things in his personal life, have no bearing on when he chooses to play.

However, Tiger has proven to be mentally strong under pressure, yet no golfer is immune to the little tick in their head that subsequently leads to a horrible round.

But like all golfers, what happens in the rough will either be another shining moment or the start of a long day on the course for Tiger.