American Express Championship

American Express Championship

By Tom Brew
WagerWeb.com Contributing Writer

The golf world swings back to regular old stroke-play events this week, so you can figure Tiger Woods will be back on top again.

Woods and the gang tee off Thursday in the World Golf Championship series American Express Championship at The Grove in Hertfordshire, England. Woods has won the event four times on four different courses and is ready to see if he can keep his winning streak going. Prior to the Ryder Cup and HSBC Match Play, Woods had won five straight medal-play tournaments.

Can six be next? Maybe. But what about seven and eight and beyond? Can anyone win 11 in a row like the great Byron Nelson, who just passed away Tuesday at the age of 94?

No way, says Woods, and he rarely says no to anything.

“The competition is so much deeper now,� said Woods, who has won six in a row before, from 1999-2000. “I mean, back in [Nelson's] day -- I actually talked to him about this -- he said he had to beat four or five guys every week, and when you're hot that's not that hard to do. That's not the case anymore. It's 40 or 50 now, so it's a lot different.�

Woods says he barely notices his winning streak, being so focused on one shot at a time, one round at a time, one tournament at a time.

“I thought about one tournament at a time,� Woods said of the current streak. “When you win one, you can move on to the next one, try and win that one. You win the next, then move on to the next.

“[Nelson's] record is still remarkable that particular year, his 12th event he finished second and then he won the very next one, so it's 12 out of 13, and the worst finish was second. So that's pretty good. And 18 (wins) in a year -- I don't play that many tournaments, so I can't get 18.�

Woods expects a birdie-fest this weekend.

“You're going to have to make a bunch of birdies,� Woods said. “The golf course is ample wide off the tee, but if you miss the fairways, you're going to have a hard time getting to the green. The greens are somewhat undulating, but they're really smooth. So with them being smooth, you figured guys are going to make some putts.

“So that being said, if there's no wind at all, expect the scores to be really low this week.�

Woods has won 11 of his 21 World Golf Championships starts, and he has successfully defended a title 15 times, so you’ve got to consider him a huge favorite here. With the devastating Ryder Cup loss behind him, he’s ready to move forward.

“I'm starting to hit the ball a little bit better now,� said Woods, who was the Americans’ leading point-getter with three. “I didn't play well on Saturday morning. I played really well Saturday afternoon, then played well again on Sunday. So I just had one bad day out of five.

“So that being said, at least I started turning it around, started hitting the ball better and started putting better, which is nice, which gave me a little bit of confidence going into this week.�

Woods will get to play with good friend Darren Clarke on Thursday, so expect him to be in a good comfort zone. The WagerWeb.com odds on Woods are short as usual at 2.5 to 1, but how can you bet against him? We’ve sort of kept that trend through this column the last few months and it's good logic.

Want some long shots, though?

You know I’ve been on this Sergio Garcia bandwagon for a while, and he certainly didn’t disappoint during the Ryder Cup. At 14 to 1, that’s a nice number and worth a gamble.

Another guy playing well who might really have something to prove this week is England’s Ian Poulter at 30 to 1. He surprisingly didn’t qualify for the European Ryder Cup team, and then wasn’t a captain’s pick, although Clarke and Lee Westwood certainly acquitted themselves well. But Poulter has been playing great and this might be a perfect time to shine in a world-wide event.

Keep a good eye on him.

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