Tiger's Resurgence Promises Compelling Masters

Masters weekend promises a few things for golf fans. Jim Nantz will lower the volume after last week's Final Four, Tom Rinaldi will tell beautiful stories and the actual golf at Augusta will be even more beautiful with the game's best playing on the world's most famous course. A decade ago, another promise could be made: Tiger Woods would put on a show just as he had been doing since 1997 when he won his first green jacket.

Times changed though. Tiger's downfall is well-documented with the lowest of lows coming so fast that it seemed we hardly had time to say goodbye. He was still around, and he was still Tiger, but he wasn't that Tiger. He didn't invoke that fear in opponents that was his signature.

Despite his struggles both on and off the course, Augusta has always brought the best out of Woods. After his infamous infidelity scandal in November 2009, he has won just eight tournaments with three coming in 2012 and five in 2013. There were times he fell off the grid completely it seemed, but Augusta almost always gave us the old Tiger. Woods has tied for fourth three times at The Masters since 2009 and shot six rounds under 70.

While Tiger scuffled through the past few years, golf didn't wilt. On this very blog, we looked into how golf has done in Tiger's absence, which was just fine thanks to Jordan Spieth, Bubba Watson, Rory McIlroy and others. But there's nobody like Tiger.

Tiger is playing his best golf in a long time and, according to him, feels the best he has felt in six or seven years. A few weeks ago, Woods finished second in the Valspar Championship and nearly shut down Twitter in the process. Consider the fact that he had fans turning away from March Madness to watch him make a late charge in the Arnold Palmer Invitational of all things. That's the Tiger Effect.

Thursday he will tee off a little before 11 a.m. in what is the most exciting buildup to the Masters we've had in awhile. Along with Tiger, McIlroy and Phil Mickelson have also turned back the clock in recent weeks. The game's new wave of stars in Spieth, Jason Day and Rickie Fowler will be there, and there will also be somebody like 2016 champion Danny Willett who nobody expects to challenge for the jacket, but does so against all odds.

For years there seemed to be a collective groan from fans and media as we watched Tiger struggle on the course, change his swing or sit out altogether. Now, love him or hate him, don't deny you're excited to see that red shirt on Sunday walking up to the 18th green most likely in contention for his fifth green jacket.

Tiger is back, folks, and it promises to be a good show.

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Rounds 1 and 2 Tee Times (ET)

8:30AM/11:15AM: Austin Cook, Ted Potter Jr., Wesley Bryan

8:41AM/11:26AM: Ian Woosnam, Ryan Moore, Jhonattan Vegas

8:52AM/11:37AM: Mike Weir, Brendan Steele, Matt Parziale (a)

9:03AM/11:48AM: Jose Maria Olazabal, Kevin Chappell, Dylan Frittelli

9:14AM/11:59AM: Bryson DeChambeau, Bernd Wiesberger, Matthew Fitzpatrick

9:25AM/12:10PM: Mark O’Meara, Brian Harman, Harry Ellis (a)

9:36AM/12:32PM: Vijay Singh, Satoshi Kodaira, Daniel Berger

9:47AM/12:43PM: Kiradech Aphibarnrat, Pat Perez, Francesco Molinari

9:58AM/12:54PM: Danny Willett, Kyle Stanley, Jason Dufner

10:09AM/1:05PM: Hideki Matsuyama, Patton Kizzire, Paul Casey

10:31AM/1:16PM: Zach Johnson, Martin Kaymer, Branden Grace

10:42AM/1:27PM: Tiger Woods, Marc Leishman, Tommy Fleetwood

10:53AM/1:38PM: Sergio Garcia, Justin Thomas, Doc Redman (a)

11:04AM/1:49PM: Bubba Watson, Henrik Stenson, Jason Day

11:15AM/2:00PM: Patrick Reed, Carley Hoffman, Adam Hadwin

11:26AM/8:30AM: Billy Horschel, Chez Reavie, Cameron Smith

11:37AM/8:41AM: Sandy Lyle, Si Woo Kim, Doug Ghim (a)

11:48AM/8:52AM: Trevor Immelman, Ian Poulter, Patrick Cantlay

11:59AM/9:03AM: Angel Cabrera, Ross Fisher, Jimmy Walker

12:10PM/9:14AM: Fred Couples, Hao Tong Li, Joaquin Niemann (a)

12:32PM/9:25AM: Larry Mize, Russell Henley, Shubhankar Sharma

12:43PM/9:36AM: Bernhard Langer, Tony Finau, Yuta Ikeda

12:54PM/9:47AM: Charl Schwartzel, Webb Simpson, Yuxin Lin (a)

1:05PM/9:58AM: Kevin Kisner, Thomas Pieters, Xander Schauffele

1:16PM/10:09AM: Gary Woodland, Yusaku Miyazato, Tyrrell Hatton

1:27PM/10:31AM: Phil Mickelson, Rickie Fowler, Matt Kuchar

1:38PM/10:42AM: Adam Scott, Rory McIlroy, Jon Rahm

1:49PM/10:53AM: Jordan Spieth, Alex Noren, Louis Oosthuizen

2:00PM/11:04AM: Justin Rose, Dustin Johnson, Rafael Cabrera-Bello

The Greatest Stretch in Sports

A sadness crept over me Tuesday morning as I realized college basketball was out of my life until November. The game had been so good to we the fans, producing unscripted drama throughout the NCAA Tournament that culminated with Kris Jenkins' title-winning 3-pointer to defeat North Carolina Monday night. For three weeks it was hoops heaven, but suddenly it was gone for seven months.

Fear not though, baseball and the Masters have come to the rescue. MLB Opening Day was conveniently placed in between the NCAA Final Four and National Championship, while the Masters began Thursday. The sadness of college basketball being over quickly faded as baseball and golf started up. In addition, the NBA and NHL playoffs are looming and that begs the question: is this the greatest time of year for a sports fan?

Within a month there is the NCAA Tournament, beginning of the NBA and NHL playoffs, The Masters and MLB Opening Day. Depending on your taste in sports, MLS also starts up and the European soccer leagues are coming down to the wire. The NFL Draft will take place April 30 and for those college football fans, spring football has begun.

Whether it's the best time of the year or not, there's no denying that your remote gets a workout around this time of the year.

Here are some other potential candidates for best time of the year...

October - November
The weather becomes a little unfriendly, but the games are wonderful in the fall. NFL and NCAA football are in full swing, which occupies America for the entire weekend. The MLB playoffs take us through October and the World Series caps the postseason in the beginning of November. In addition, the NHL, NBA and NCAA basketball seasons all get underway sometime during the two month stretch. For soccer fans, MLS season is winding down and European soccer leagues are just starting up.

May - August
The summer months are kind to sports fans as several sports give us championships. The NBA and NHL playoffs are played during May and June, while the MLB season is in full swing and the weather is perfect for attending a game. Golf gives us three majors within a six-week stretch and tennis also has three majors in the span. The Triple Crown horse races are run at the beginning of the summer and, depending on the year, the Olympics or the World Cup are played.

December - February
December and February sometimes get lost in the shuffle, but there's plenty to watch in the thick of winter. NCAA football bowl season takes us through Christmas time before the NFL playoffs take over, which leads to the Super Bowl in early February. NCAA basketball conference play gives us enticing matchups every week and the NBA season is in full swing. NHL and European soccer are also in the middle of the season and the Winter Olympics come once every four years. The winter months also feature some of the best stand alone days in sports. Besides Super Bowl Sunday, Christmas Day is fantastic for NBA games, the Premier League takes over Boxing Day with a full slate of games and New Year's Day is must-see TV with college football bowl games and the NHL Winter Classic.

Which time of year is the best? Did we miss anything? Let us know by commenting below with your opinions and be sure to vote on our Twitter poll @WorldofWadley.

Golf Doing Fine in Tiger's Absence

Shortly after Thanksgiving night of 2009, when Tiger Woods crashed his car in a single-car accident and set off a tabloid paper's dream scenario, many wondered if the game of golf could recover. Tiger's personal life was in shambles and his golf game quickly followed suit. There were some high moments for Woods, but by and large his game has spiraled downward to the point where he's a bit of an afterthought. 

10 years ago, maybe even up to two years ago, the idea of Tiger Woods being absent from the Masters and it not being that big of a deal was ludicrous. He was golf's biggest star and breaking Jack Nicklaus' majors record was inevitable. But that was then and this is now. Tiger is done and new faces have stepped to the forefront of the golf world.

The game of golf is just fine. Sure, replacing Tiger Woods is an impossible task and he will still generate more buzz than anybody when he tees it up, but the game of golf didn't need someone to replace Tiger. The game needed fresh faces and the PGA Tour is competitive with guys like Rickie Fowler, Jordan Spieth, Jason Day and Rory McIlroy.

It's a matter of preference, but the game is more unpredictable now. 12 different players have won a major in the last four years. It's created a question of who is the best? Spieth, Bubba Watson and McIlroy have each won two in the past four years, while Jason Day has a win and a whole cupboard full of top-four finishes in that span.

The game has legitimate stars competing for the top spot. That's different from the years before 2012 when 15 different players won the 16 majors from 2008-11. Padraig Harrington was the only player to win twice in that span and golf was searching for its stars. The parity was a bad thing in the sense that no player could drum up a consistent following and interest.

Times have changed. The lovable Watson has emerged as a consistent threat and McIlroy and Spieth have both had short runs that looked Tiger-esque. With the 2016 Masters underway, the game has an excitement around it that hasn't been seen since Woods went on the decline. The announcement that Woods wouldn't be at Augusta this year was met with the obvious media attention, but it was different than years past. 

No longer is Tiger's absence a "death sentence" for golf and rarely do casual fans refuse to tune in anymore just because Woods isn't playing. That once seemed unfathomable, but it speaks to the quality of play on the Tour now. 

The Masters is moving right along without Tiger and the game of golf is too. It's still yet to be seen if Woods will come back and be competitive, but know this: even if he never does, the game of golf will be just fine. The PGA's slogan, #TheseGuysAreGood, is true and it's worth tuning in.

Does Winning Really Take Care of Everything?

Tiger Woods is back if anyone has failed to notice yet. The number one ranking in the world once again belongs to him and he has already racked up three victories in five events this season. That winning is what we once were accustomed to seeing from Woods, the indisputable top golfer in the world since the time he teed it up on Tour. The infamous 2009 sex scandal ruined Woods' career, but it seems like everything has turned around.

The wins are starting to pile up like the old days and Tiger recently announced that he is dating U.S. Olympic skier Lindsay Vonn. Forgive me, and I'm sure several others, if the sex scandal has been pushed to the back of the mind. Tiger has pushed those memories out of our minds by returning to his former self. We're guilty of that often. The best players and coaches can make us forget their mistakes with one simple thing: winning. That's exactly what Woods has done this year and as the Masters gets underway tomorrow he seems like the clear favorite.

Winning takes care of everything. Everyone knows it, but for Woods to broadcast it, well that takes some arrogance that only the best possess. Following his win in Orlando a few weeks ago, Woods and Nike released an ad with a photo of him and the caption "Winning Takes Care of Everything." What a bold statement to make. There are so many people that may agree with Woods, but what about those that don't? What about Elin Nordegren? Do you think that she believes that winning takes care of everything after her ex-husband slept with so many women behind her back that you would need more than 10 fingers to name them off? Tiger's kids probably don't think that this winning has taken care of everything either. The reality is that their father wasn't doing the best job he could for them. Does winning automatically make him the father he should be for them? Steve Williams and Tiger probably won't rekindle their friendship just because Tiger is winning again either. So let's be honest: winning may make us forget some things, but it sure won't fix the relationships that once were at the forefront of Woods' life.

There is an arrogance that comes with being the best -- and arrogance that only men like Woods, Ali and Jordan have had. This ad released by Nike is a perfect display of that arrogance from Woods and it shows that he truly has returned to his form. Yes, he is winning and has a girlfriend that seems like a great girl, and right along with those things comes that arrogance that the best possess.

Hate it or love it, here he comes. He's back and he's looking for another green jacket. Respect the player that is Tiger Woods because he is the greatest that our generation will see. We've tried to make others the "next Tiger Woods" but that's not going to happen. This is it. And so there has to be appreciation of Woods' golf game, but that doesn't mean there has to be an appreciation of anything else he does. One of those things would be the Nike ad. It's so off base and wrong that its laughable. Does Woods really believe that? It's sad if he does.

So as The Masters begins on Thursday there will be Woods with his three victories, new girlfriend and old swagger back in his step. There will be Nike basking in his greatness and counting up the dollars. There will be the fans that have since rediscovered their adoration for him. And surely we won't get through the weekend without a mention of that 2009 scandal. Yet, who really cares if that scandal does get brought up?

Because winning takes care of everything right?