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Golfing great Fred Couples is backing Tiger Woods to rediscover his form in 2011 and help re-ignite the ailing US PGA Tour.
As Tiger’s misdeeds off the course became public knowledge, he firstly took five months off and then when he returned, his game had unravelled to the point where he lost his No.1 ranking in 2010 and failed to win a tournament for the first time.
His form also had a marked impact on the PGA Tour, which plummeted in the television rankings and struggled for sponsorships and attention as the Tiger Factor wilted.
As he has done a number of times in his career, Woods is now working on swing changes and Couples is sure the superstar will find his way back to the top – provided his off-field dramas subside.
“When Tiger gets going again our (US PGA) Tour will get going at a better rate,” Couples said ahead of his appearance at this week’s Australian Open in Sydney.
“We were blessed to have him come on about 12 years ago and dominate and sponsorships, everything went up.
“He was here (in Australia) two weeks ago and I’m sure there was a buzz, but maybe not as much as before because he hasn’t won two majors and seven other tournaments this year.
“He’s still the same golfer, just not playing like he did last year for a lot of reasons.
“One would be his golf game, but another would be a lot of emotions going on, a lot of tough times, and I personally think next year if everything is going okay in his life he’ll turn his game around and start playing better.”
Before Woods took over as the pre-eminent player in world golf in the late 1990s, Greg Norman carried that mantle.
Couples, who is coming off a hugely successful debut season on the senior Champions Tour, believes Norman could have a similarly enormous impact on the over-50 scene.
“Our Champions Tour would be much better, and it’s not a slight at all, if Greg Norman played,” Couples volunteered.
“But physically it’s too much.
“For him to work and work and want to play good golf and have his body not hold up, I can relate to that.
“The Champions Tour would be much better if Greg physically could play and wanted to.
“That’s the same as Tiger, Tiger has the same pull on the regular Tour.”