The 2007 Masters: Tiger Woods is finally the right pick

The Brazilian Portuguese word for “boring” is chato ("Shaht-o") and it’s used quite liberally, for everything from a rebuke of an unruly child to an opinion of a dull film.

And it’s the reason why nobody really wanted to pick Tiger Woods to win this Masters. At the Waggle Room, Mulligan Stu ran a poll of bloggers that saw only six of 19 pick Tiger to win. Five of 11 golf writers picked Woods. That’s 11 of 30 overall, if you’re counting.

WorldGolf.com and TravelGolf.com bloggers seemingly went out of their way not to pick Tiger. Hell, I picked Sergio Garcia. Even the annoying-right-all-the-time Shanks danced away from an outright selection of Tiger.

This is by no means an anti-Tiger movement. It would be impressive to see Woods slip the green jacket on again, actually, giving us all quality Thesaurus time trying to come with adjectives for “damn.” Greatness is never dull.

In the end, it’s about boredom of picking Tiger. As Brandon Tucker wrote:

I hate picking Tiger to win tournaments for the same reason I didn’t pick the Florida Gators to win the NCAA tournament. What fun is it picking the overwhelming favorite?

So, essentially, many of us picked Charles Barkley and Patrick Ewing while Michael Jordan was in the field. Because, sure, it would be nice to see a first-timer take home the prestigious Augusta major.

But as we head to Sunday. Look who’s near the top of the leaderboard, just a shot off the lead? Tiger Woods. And who folds when he’s near the top of the leaderboard in the final round? Everyone else.

It should be an amazing finish to one of the strangest, most brutal tournaments Augusta has ever seen. But face it. Tiger Woods is going to win the 2007 Masters. It’s the pick you have to make now.

Chato.

–WKW