Can Tiger still compete at the top?

Ask anyone to name a professional golfer, regardless of whether they follow the sport and chances are you will hear the name Tiger Woods. The American has made plenty of headlines for the wrong reasons there can be no doubting his ability as a golfer. Woods has won 15 major tournaments, has been the number one player in the world for the most consecutive weeks, has been awarded PGA Player of the Year a record 11 times, and is the youngest player to achieve the career Grand Slam.

However, as injury and age catch up with Woods, can he still compete at the highest level?

Everyone who enjoys watching The PGA Tour and major golf tournaments will always look for the name Tiger Woods on the entry list. There is no doubt Woods is one of the headline acts in any tournament he decides to enter but recent results suggest his competitive edge is nowhere near where it once was.

Go back 20 years and it seemed as though all Woods had to do to win a big tournament was turn up on the first tee. Woods was extremely competitive and it was the feel of competition that often drove the 5 time Masters winner to success. However, Tiger has only played 3 of the 11 most recent PGA Tour-sanctioned events this year and has yet to finish higher than a tie for 37^th. His latest event was The Northern Trust and Woods finished T58, having scored a 71 and 73 in the second and third rounds, respectively.

Even in his prime, Woods would not always play every tournament but there would never be a long period without seeing Tiger in action. When he did turn up, every other golfer in the field knew they had to raise their game if they were going to win the event. Sadly, that is no longer the case and for Woods to even enter a tournament now seems like hard work. In many ways, simply getting to the first tee is a success for Woods and that is not the sign of a man who is ready to compete at the top.

Nonetheless, you only have to look at the recent coverage of the PGA Championship to see how the level of interest in Woods remains. The cameras followed him around the course for much of the tournament despite never really being in contention to win. That does not stop people from backing Tiger in the betting and for those who want to bet on golf in 2020, there are several fantastic options.