The Return of Tiger Woods

As of now, Tiger Woods has not follow up what was a successful 2013 season albeit not winning any majors, with a good 2014 campaign. He is hampered by a bad back and missed both majors this season. Woods decided to come back for the Quicken Loans National, a tournament hosted by Woods himself. Some people are critical of the move thinking Woods is doing for his sponsors. But Tiger believes he can get himself ready for the Open Championship in a couple weeks and needs practice in preparation for the final two majors of the season.

Woods might not be ready to play this week but looking at the upcoming schedule for the PGA season, this is his best option. It happens to be his own tournament which is a major factor in all of this plus Congressional is a major-like golf course giving him a good challenge. The Greenbrier Classic next weekend has a significant payout, but the course doesn't present as much of a challenge as what the players should be dealing with this weekend. Additionally, Woods' sponsors would have been irate had Tiger spurned this tournament for Greenbrier therefore it is a no-brainer for Woods to use this tournament as a tune-up. Although I wouldn't be shocked if he played Greenbrier next week.

Tiger isn't one of those guys whom always plays in back-to-back weeks, but if he feels good or feels like he needs more preparation against competition, he will be in The Greenbrier Classic as well.  Then he gets two weeks off before heading overseas for The Open Championship, a tournament he hasn't won since 2006 at Royal Liverpool Club, where The Open is taking place this season. Further, Woods finished third in 2012 and finished sixth in this major tournament. It could argued this is one of Woods better major tournaments in the last five years. It is obvious he wants to try to capture the magic again even though he's battled a back injury all year, and it could be a thorn in his side.

Woods claims he will be changing his approach to the game. ESPN's Farrell Evans described him as 'relaxed' and 'laid-back' talking about how he wants to change how he plays citing Michael Jordan as the player he looked towards in terms of changing it up. Now we heard this before from Phil Mickelson this year at the U.S.Open, and Phil went away from it on Thursday afternoon so until we actually see some change from Woods,  it is not a given Woods will actually change things. Another thing to watch is if Woods struggles with new stuff, he might revert back to his old ways which is exactly what Mickelson did at Pinehurst. Now for the horrible play on words... It is hard for a tiger to change his stripes.

My expectations for Woods is he will play all four rounds and not be threat to the leaderboard. I could see him getting cut this weekend, but a part of me wants to believe he will play well enough to hang around all weekend. If he ends up near the top five, it will cause an avalanche of overreactions. But Woods seem poised to make a run at getting his first major win since 2008.

Charlie. 

SnoTap's U.S. Open Preview: Five Americans to Watch

We are bringing back the golf coverage for U.S. Open week. Bryan Reynolds will be doing an international preview tomorrow and a Tee Time Draft come Wednesday.  This is our usual major coverage program, but we like doing it plus it provides you with full insight on what is set to happen this weekend in North Carolina at the always tough Pinehurst No. 2. 

1. Jason Dufner - At first, I thought there is no way I am taking Duf this week. The thought of him using his driver per usual is enough to make a man shy away. But as I am looking through Americans, I realized no other American has back-to-back top five finishes at the U.S. Open in the last two years. In fact, the Americans have been pretty damn bad in the last couple Opens. My approach with the U.S. Open more so than any other major is looking at guys whom are consistently near the top of the leaderboard because U.S. Open courses are ones you either can handle with great skill and accuracy or it is a nightmare every time out.  Only thing that makes me terrified of this pick is the lack of production with Par 3's, he's been pretty average there and with a Par 70, there is a need to clean up with Par 3's.

2. Matt Kuchar - I honestly think we will put Kuch's name in here until he wins one of these damn things. Or the time we don't is the the time he wins the major. Easily, the best golfer on tour without a major championship. He is having a great season thus far with nine top 10 finishes already this season, and could be well on his way to a FedEx Cup title if he adds some wins along the way. Interesting enough, Kuchar took the week off unlike he did before Augusta, something he also did in 2013. Kuchar isn't the best U.S. Open competitor, but he is the type of guy whose consistent enough across the board to win this tournament.

3. Phil Mickelson - Every year, we wonder if this will be the one where Mickelson captures U.S. Open glory. Despite having multiple majors, it has been the U.S. Open evading him for his entire career. Mickelson is playing decent golf, but we haven't seen Phil really on a run this year. He hasn't made a top 10 this season plus missed cuts in three significant tournaments. But he needs to be on this list every year because you never know when Mickelson will have one of those rounds where everything is falling for him. I would love to see him near the top of the leaderboard come Sunday because NBC's hand is forced to talk about the impending insider trading scandal surrounding one of the world's best golfers.

4. Zach Johnson -  With how bad the rough could potentially play, you need a player with driving accuracy. Johnson ranks in the top five. He might not be one of the longest hitters in the game, but he is steady enough to make a U.S. Open run. My only fear with suggesting Johnson could win the U.S. Open is his track record at the tournament has been pretty damn bad. No top 10's, no top 25's and only made five out of the 10 cuts while playing this tournament. The one interesting thing about Johnson is how well he handles Par 3's. He is a top ten golfer in Par 3 categories which will play huge this week. If Johnson had a better U.S. Open track record, he would be my pick, still belongs in the discussion because Pinehurst fits his game.

5. Bubba Watson - He is the media's favorite going into the tournament. He would be the first Masters winner to notch a U.S. Open title as well since Tiger Woods did it in 2002. Watson would be only the sixth golfer to do it, and many people would probably anoint him the best in the world. Bubba is playing good golf, maybe better than anyone, with avoiding bogeys and avoiding having to do much work around the greens. My worries stem from not having many Par 5's to make up for any struggles he could have on the Par 3's.  But who knows, maybe this is his year. Last time he made a top ten was a top five finish at the 2007 U.S. Open at Oakmont. Bubba can do it, but I don't think all the hype is really deserved this week.

Charlie.