The bookies still seem intent on offering odds on Tiger Woods to win all four Majors in 2011. No other golfer has ever had the bookies pricing up 'Specials' for them. While I am a big Tiger fan and think he is the most exciting golfer that has ever stepped foot on any golf course, I find it very unlikely that Tiger is able to take the Grand Slam for the first time in modern golf.
Times have changed and whereas a few years ago it might have been possible, today there is too much stiff competition, even with Woods' personal problems aside. Graeme McDowell and Lee Westwood have clearly capitalised on Woods' lack of form, but even taking his recent struggles into account there's nothing to say they would not have been so successful.
You only need look at how McDowell held off his fellow competitors in the US Open to see he has the determination to win and he's clearly taken his game to another level. This is the same with Kaymer with his win at Whistling Straits, and whilst Westwood still lacks a Major on his CV, he richly deserves his world number one spot.
If Tiger was to recapture his very best form there is really no reason that he can't chase down Jack Nicklaus' record of 18 Majors. However, now that his aura has been punctured and with players like McDowell showing at the Chevron World challenge that he can be clawed back even when leading, it seems he's unlikely to ever dominate the sport again.
So, a message to the bookies. How about a 'European Slam'? Who'd bet against every Major in 2011 going to a European?
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