Tiger Woods Masters Comeback Ultimately Mixed

Tiger Woods' Masters return looks better than expected. In fact, the Tiger Woods Masters results look pretty good at first glance, with his tie for fourth. Before Thursday, if someone said that he would finish that high up, they would have met with skepticism. That alone speaks to how far Woods has fallen, when a fourth place finish looks surprising and acceptable instead of disappointing. Normally, this finish would make people complain that he's lost his touch, but things are different now. However, this Tiger Woods Masters defeat is becoming more and more common, which frustrates him in every context.

When the week began, Woods defied expectations by getting a 68, which was his best first round ever at Augusta. He had always started slow and finished strong, so starting this well inspired a brand new set of expectations. It appeared he was truly back now - yet the rest of Tiger Woods' Masters return didn't go as well.

In this case, Woods started strong and ended slow, as the weekend exposed his shortcomings. He hit several poor tee shots and had to rally the whole way through, as the trademark Woods rally never materalized. There were only flashes of his old self, such as his eagle at the seventh hole yesterday, which started a brief mini-rally.

By then, hopes for a Tiger Woods Masters championship were all but gone, thanks to a few early bogeys. Mistakes on the tee and on the short game cost him all week, while Phil Mickelson won with mistake free play yesterday.

The final results don't look bad on paper, as Woods finished tied for fourth at -11 with K.J. Choi. But in spite of exceeding early expectations,he still expressed disappointment that he didn't win. No matter what befalls him in his private life, that will never change.

Despite not winning, the Tiger Woods Masters performance had its good and bad marks. On the positive side, he contended despite not being at his best, and despite having so much time off. Once he gets a few more tournaments under his belt, he will be favored to win every major again, like in the old days. He took a big step towards putting the scandal behind him, and winning another major will help even more.

However, the loss stung in multiple ways, especially considering who did win. Not only was there no Tiger Woods Masters victory, Phil Mickelson - the only golfer that can match Woods in buzz and popularity - stole the spotlight instead. For years, Woods has aimed to overtake Jack Nicklaus's six green jackets - but at this rate, Mickelson could actually tie Woods with four before long.

Woods is still favored to get six or seven jackets eventually. Yet since he hasn't won one in five years, time and Mickelson are starting to creep up on him.

This year's Tiger Woods Masters performance was a major milestone, even if it wasn't his best showing. However, thanks to Mickelson's showing and Woods' mistake, his now infamous new Nike ad may have ultimately garnered more buzz than his play, at least during the weekend.

Sources

ESPN- "Tiger's return became one wild week"

Los Angeles Times- "Tiger Woods' game, and on-course behavior, are in less-than-ideal shape"