Tiger's as much of a lock for The Masters as was Memphis

I admire and root for Tiger Woods as much as anybody, despite the fact he brushed off my photo request at the Golf Writer’s Annual Dinner the year after he won his first Masters. But despite his recent otherworldly play, he’s as much of a lock for this year’s green jacket as was Memphis for the NCAA hoops championship the other night, despite a nine point lead with little more than two minutes to play.

Sports are all about “what have you done for me lately?” And though he’s been dominating the golf world since mid-summer of last year, here’s one fact that isn’t being bandied about too readily. Tiger is just one-for-five in the last five Masters - a 20 percent success ratio. After back-to-back-jackets in ‘01 and ‘02, he DIDN’T win in ‘03 or ‘04, won in ‘05, and DIDN’T win in ‘06 or ‘07. It’s not that he isn’t the best, and arguably better now than ever before. But the fact is that on any given week, any number of world-class players can step to the forefront in the waning moments and take the title unexpectedly. Just ask John Calipari and his Memphis Tigers.