Arnold Palmer lauds fit, ‘dominant’ Tiger Woods and resurgent Michelle Wie

A healthy Tiger Woods and a resurgent Michelle Wie are two prime reasons the game of golf can look forward to a robust, vibrant 2015, according to Arnold Palmer.

Woods has a couple of critical things going for him as he returns to the PGA Tour, presumably later this month: his health and his revamped but familiar golf swing, Palmer notes.

“As I see it, there are actually two pieces of very good news for Tiger as 2015 begins,” said Palmer in a “State of the Game” column on GolfChannel.com Tuesday.

The first key for Woods is his fitness.

“After years of being hindered by injuries, Tiger finally took the extensive break his body needed,” Palmer said. “From what I’m hearing, he’s shown real discipline in easing himself back into competitive form. ”

Woods made his first competitive start since August last month at his Hero World Challenge and pronounced his surgically repaired back fully rehabbed. He also displayed a more fluid, less technical motion than the one he employed under the tutelage of coach Sean Foley and one that reminded onlookers of the Tiger of yore who reigned supreme for so many years.

Palmer also applauded Woods for reverting to what the 14-time major champion called his “new, but old” swing and for doing it mostly on his own. A player of Tiger’s caliber does not require a full-time swing guru, said Palmer, who was pleased with Woods’ characterization of instructor Chris Como as a “consultant” and not a “coach.”

“The second bit of good news for Tiger was his decision to go coach-less for a while and re-think his approach to the golf swing,” said Palmer. “We can argue about major championships and whether Tiger will ever surpass Jack’s 18 majors, but what can’t be argued is this: Tiger Woods is the most dominant, most skilled player we’ve ever seen. A person with that kind of ability may need coaching, but on a limited scale. I love that idea.”

Wie, the winner of the 2014 U.S. Women’s Open, last year fashioned her own comeback -- from the burden of failed assumptions she had shouldered since bursting onto the golf scene as a preteen, said Palmer.

“Aside from Tiger himself, I doubt that the golf world has ever put so heavy an expectation on a young professional,” Palmer opined. “Imagine that as she entered 2014 she was only 24 years old and was already considered by many a bust.”

Her victory in April -- her first since August 2010 -- along with her strong performance at Pinehurst boosted the confidence of the Stanford grad, for whom Palmer predicted “great success ... ahead.”

As for the currently top-ranked player in men’s golf, Palmer joined the chorus of pundits who “fully expect” Rory McIlroy to contend for the Masters in April. The winner of seven major titles himself, Palmer pointed out the obvious -- that a W at Augusta would earn the career grand slam for McIlroy -- but pumped the brakes a bit on fitting the four-time major titleholder for a green jacket.

“I’ve got 60 years on the guy,” Palmer quipped, “and I haven’t completed the slam … yet.”