Sports Desk

U.S. Masters
Other than both being considered purveyors of scandal in their respective eras, there is little to connect Tiger Woods with the recently deceased J.D. Salinger. But with Tiger taking an indefinite sabbatical from the game, the route chosen by the Catcher In The Rye author may become increasingly tempting to golf’s number one player. With the greatest achievement of his literary career behind him, Salinger felt criticism of his work was overly vindictive and responded by shutting himself off from the world. While Salinger’s reclusiveness took it to an extreme, there is a chance that Tiger might decide a return to golf will leave him open to a level of scrutiny and pressure not worth the hassle. With his fortune made and his reputation as one of the greatest golfers established, does he really need to go out and actually surpass Jack Nicklaus’ record for Major victories? Or more importantly, is eventually beating that record going to give him the satisfaction that outweighs the immense stress he will endure en route to the milestone.

If Tiger is to make a return to golf, the U.S. Masters is the place to do it. The highly conservative attitude that prevails at Augusta National should keep the slurs to a minimum and ideally in his eyes at least set the tone for future events. But if he wants to be a genuine challenger at Augusta, he’ll need some competitive action under his belt, so an appearance before then is extremely likely.

Mentally Tiger has proven himself to be tough and with his talent rarely in doubt, should he return and blow away the cobwebs, he will be a contender immediately. His stunning display of accuracy off the tee to win the 2006 British Open weeks after the death of his beloved father and mentor showed the fortitude that separates the great from the good. The difference is while on that occasion he was the recipient of swathes of goodwill, this time it will be almost universally hostile.

The bookmakers have priced up the event curiously. Those that have listed Tiger put him in at around the 5/2 mark, which is normally the price he is to win a major even when things are going well for him, but he’s not quite at his peerless best. Considering all his difficulties and the intense pressure he’ll face, that doesn’t seem worth the risk. The bookies don’t want to take risks and are playing it safe. Regarding Tiger, the same advice should apply for the punters. Phil Mickelson looks primed to capitalise. The world rankings are an obvious pointer towards the world number two, but aside from that, he has a superb record at Augusta, surpassed only by Woods himself. Only once in the last ten years has he finished outside the top ten and he claimed two green jackets in that time. If Tiger isn’t on the prowl, Lefty will be looking good.

World Championship Snooker
The recent noises coming from Ronnie O’Sullivan suggest he’s more content with snooker lately than he has been for much of the recent past. Sadly, the same nagging doubts remain. This season we’ve seen glimpses of his best, but more often than not, they’ve been followed by blips that have cost him silverware. The Rocket showed some real class both en route to the final and in the final of the Masters, but with the finish line in sight, he stumbled and snatched defeat from the jaws of victory.

The man to benefit on that occasion was Mark Selby and the 8/1 for him to win the World Championship looks big enough to be tempting. His performances at the Crucible haven’t been overly encouraging, but he has shown the right blend of talent and toughness in winning other events to suggest an improved performance is within his grasp. Obviously, there is little evidence to dissuade talk of John Higgins defending his title. The Glaswegian has been there, done that and deserves to be considered amongst the finest players of all time, but his lack of self-promotion might mean to this day he is somewhat underrated. Higgins and Selby look best placed to benefit if the Rocket misfires.