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What would count as success for Woods this week?

Will we see an improvement from Tiger Woods after working more with Sean Foley? © Getty Images

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What would constitute a success for Tiger Woods when he returns to competitive action at the Frys.com Open in California this week?

That's the question everyone is asking, as the man formerly known as the world's best golfer shows just how far he has fallen by teeing it up in what the PGA Tour calls its 'Fall Series' - a collection of events that attract fields of a limited standard after the excitement of the $10m FedEx Cup playoffs has long since passed.

Tiger Woods wouldn't normally be seen dead in such events, but then these aren't normal times for the 14-time major champion. He's out of the world's top 50 for the first time in 16 years (although that really means far less than it sounds like it does) and is homing in on exactly two years without a professional victory.

His last appearance, meanwhile, saw one of the most embarrassing performances of his career - missing the cut at the US PGA Championship after displaying the sort of golf that a surprising number of amateurs would be unhappy with.

With an appearance at the Presidents Cup (a controversial decision in itself) and at the Australian Open upcoming in November, and his own tournament (the Chevron World Challenge) on the schedule nearer to Christmas, Woods has every reason to want to get at least one strong performance under his belt before heading into a short winter break before the 2012 season kicks off in earnest.

So what should he - or we - consider a success from this week at CordeValle?

Woods will say the aim is the same as always - to win. It's a line the 36-year-old trots out at every single pre-tournament press conference he has (although perhaps with not quite the same monotony as his favourite mundane soundbite, "It is what it is"), but he certainly seems to believe in what he is saying.

Rising star of the east

Hideki Matsuyama celebrates his victory © PA Photos

• Japanese youngster Hideki Matsuyama won the Asian Amateur Championship for the second successive year at the weekend, booking his return to both The Masters and Open Championship in 2012.
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  The 19-year-old, ranked No. 4 in the world amateur rankings, led the tournament from the very first hole, eventually closing out victory with a final round 67. While the event, only founded in 2009, hardly shares the prestige of the US or British equivalents, it nevertheless attracts a strong field of future stars. Matsuyama's success should be noteworthy, then, especially as he was wracked with nerves as he knew the value of the prize on offer to the winner.
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  "At last year's Asian Amateur Championship, I was able to enjoy the tournament because it was my first time and I did not have a lot of pressure," said Matsuyama. "But this time, since I knew that I had to win to play Augusta again, it was extra pressure for me and it is something I've never been through before.
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  "I think it was because I wanted so badly to go back to play Augusta again."
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  He finished in a tie for 27th in Georgia this year, the only amateur to make the cut. Apropos of not a lot, 2011 winner Charl Schwartzel finished in a tie for 30th on his debut at the event - in 2010. Matsuyama won't be a favourite next April ... but he might just be worth keeping an eye on.

He might have a bit of a spring in his step, too, after shooting a course record 62 at the relatively new (and reportedly devilishly difficult) Medalist Golf Course in the week prior to his latest appearance.

While any round so low is worth nothing, it's also perhaps worth highlighting that Jesper Parnevik and Greg Norman also reportedly shot rounds of 64 on the same course on the same day. So, considering neither of those two are likely to threaten PGA Tour leaderboards any time soon, maybe it isn't a particularly effective barometer of Woods' progress.

The minimum aim for Woods should be to make the cut, for a number of reasons. With few people regarding the tournament as having a strong field, the American will be vilified in many quarters if he fails to at least make it through all four rounds. There is also the fact that Tiger, along with agent Mark Steinberg, is reportedly desperate for the Frys.com group to come on board as one of his personal sponsors - after so many fled from his camp after the revelations about his private life.

Failing to make the cut, and the resultant drop in interest that would inflict on the weekend of the event, would inevitably hamper any real interest the Frys camp would have in cutting a deal - even if Woods' attendance has reportedly raised ticket sales on last year by 300 per cent.

If Tiger failed to make the cut it would also raise strong questions about what exactly he has achieved with swing coach Sean Foley (who, admittedly, has been hard to reach at times after the birth of his child) in the last few months. Wood claimed to have been finding it difficult to adjust to how much straighter and longer he was hitting it at Atlanta Athletic Club - but two months later he really should be back in control of his game.

With Paul Casey and Ernie Els about the two most notable other names in the field this week - coincidentally, two other players who have hardly set the world alight in 2011 - it's not like there is an obvious form horse for Woods to worry about, either.

Woods expects to win every event he plays in, regardless of field. Considering the calibre of opponent he will face this week (there's no such thing as a poor PGA Tour field ... but some do lack the true thoroughbreds), it's not too unreasonable for others to expect him to be in contention come Sunday afternoon also.

What would constitute success this week for Tiger Woods? Only a victory.

What would constitute success this week for Tiger Woods ... in the eyes of the general public? In or around the top ten. He needs to be in contention at some point come Sunday.

Tiger can't continue to flounder forever. This week, he needs to show something.

Popularity killed the video game cover star

The next edition of EA Sports popular golf video game, Tiger Woods '13, is running a competition for fans to choose which golfer features alongside the eponymous figure on the game's cover.

One cover star will be picked for the American release, and another for the European edition.

It's a system that proved very popular with the latest release of the company's American football franchise, Madden '13 - although in that instance the winner was the relatively unheralded Cleveland Browns running back Peyton Hillis.

Which only goes to give us additional hope that one of the 'unlikely' names on the latest ballot can win through. Ben Crane on the US edition, anyone? Ross Fisher for the European one?!

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