ORLANDO, Fla. — Even without a full-blown tournament victory in 28 months, Tiger Woods never was going to disappear from the short list of favorites to win the Masters.
Only one man has won more green jackets, and Jack Nicklaus only hits a ceremonial tee shot these days. Even when Woods was in the throes of personal strife and a swing change, he managed to tie for fourth in each of the past two years.
Sunday’s five-shot romp at the Arnold Palmer Invitational, though, couldn’t help but resonate well beyond the confines of the Bay Hill neighborhood. Like maybe all the way to the azaleas of Augusta National.
“When he’s playing like this,” NBC analyst Johnny Miller opined, “nobody can beat him.”
Sports books in Las Vegas and overseas were quick to adjust their Masters betting lines, moving Woods to 4-1 and ahead of Rory McIlroy. NBC enjoyed an instant boost, with a 4.8 overnight rating that was the best at Bay Hill since Woods’ 2009 victory.
“He’s obviously a force to be reckoned with [even] when he’s not playing his best golf,” said Ian Poulter, who finished third Sunday. “And obviously he’s playing a lot of good golf right now.”
Earlier this month, Woods was runner-up at the Honda Classic after a final-day 62 that nearly chased down McIlroy. He also had a chance to win in Abu Dhabi but lost a duel with England’s Robert Rock.
A Sunday withdrawal from the WGC-Cadillac Championship at Doral with an Achilles flare-up put his health in question, but he looked no worse for wear after eight consecutive days of golf once doctors gave him the greenlight again.
“I’d been making steps in the right direction,” said Woods, who began his trek with a practice round at Augusta and added two days at the Tavistock Cup before arriving at Bay Hill. “It had just not shown up for all four days yet.”
Woods recalled a recent conversation with caddie Joe LaCava in which his bagman was getting a little antsy for a breakthrough.
“He was like, ‘Man, you’ve been a yard off all year. A yard here and a yard here; a yard here and a yard there. A 65 should be the highest number you could possibly shoot,’ ” Woods said.
“I just said, ‘Be patient, it’s coming.’ ”
Arrival came on the familiar turf of Bay Hill, where Woods already had claimed six victories. On Friday, he gave himself a birdie putt at every hole while shooting 65. For the week, he led the field in hitting greens in regulation (57 of 72) andranked fourth in putting.
“It shows he’s been hard at work the last year or so to get himself back to winning ways,” Poulter said. “He’s obviously not as good as he’d like to be, but that’s Tiger. Tiger is always going to say that.”
And the time couldn’t be better to resume that quest to eclipse Nicklaus’ record of 18 major titles.
Woods has been stuck on 14 since the 2008 U.S. Open, when he soldiered through a shredded knee to outduel Rocco Mediate in a 19-hole Monday playoff.
“Every golfer has two careers,” NBC’s Miller suggested. “You have the first burst and then sometimes you have a lull and then you have a second career. Some guys have a pretty darn good second career.
“It wouldn’t totally surprise me if he were to win 35-40 times from now. He could do it. The way he is playing right now, he is going to kick butt.”
Sports, Pages 22 on 03/28/2012