• Out of Bounds

Time for the real Tiger to front up

Tiger Woods had fond memories of Pebble Beach, having won the US Open in 2000 © Getty Images

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The US Open swings back to Pebble Beach and strange as it may seem, it is getting towards now or never time for Tiger Woods.

Woods is clinging on to his No. 1 spot by the tips of his fingers having made what would be politely described as a low key, while the less courteous would say has been downright awful, return to the game.

A tied-fourth finish at the Masters suggested normal service would be resumed pretty quickly, but since then he has gone off the radar - or to be precise his ball has gone off the radar - so far wide of the fairway has he been hitting.

A missed cut following a 79 at the Quail Hollow was backed up by a withdrawal when out of contention, on account of a neck injury, at the Players Championship. He returned to action with a top-20 finish at the Memorial Tournament, but still did not look in control of his game.

Woods has had a fortnight to work on ironing out the faults, but it will have been a solo effort given he dispensed with the services of his coach last month. A man who has 14 major titles to his credit should be able to iron out the deficiencies in his game, but it is worrying that the deficiencies have become so severe. A player who plotted his way round St Andrews so supremely when winning the Open in 2005 now appears to have no idea where he is hitting the ball.

As Out of Bounds stated, there were minor signs of recovery at Memorial and if he is to move back into gear it has to be at Pebble Beach.

Woods has been totally dominant at Pebble Beach and the memory of his 15-shot rout in 2000 will be in the forefront of the thoughts of his rivals for the title on Thursday. If Woods can keep the ball on the cut stuff and keep himself in contention over the course of the first two days, the shadow of Tiger may well loom over the field into the weekend.

Tiger Woods found himself in the rough during practice this week. A sign of things to come? © Getty Images

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Conversely, should he spray the ball over all parts of California and lose contention it could signal the terminal decline of arguably the greatest player ever to wield a club. If he can't put it all together on a course that he knows and loves, those players who have been trailing in his wake may shed the fear factor.

Tiger's dominance has been built on his ability with the golf club, but the aura of a man built up by the media as this demigod on a golf course has played its part when things have got tight on the final day. Some players claim they do not watch the scoreboard, but even those who don't will be affected when the galleries are roaring Tiger's name when he drains a birdie down the stretch.

But should he fail to put himself in contention this week on a course that has been so suited to his game, that air of invincibility will disappear forever and he may well find it hard to dominate like he has in the past. In no way is Out of Bounds suggesting Woods would be washed up, but he may find it tough to pass Jack Nicklaus' record of 18 major wins.

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