Tiger Woods will win 15th major but was never in it at Augusta, says Hank Haney

Tiger Woods has been down so long, his ex-coach Hank Haney opined, that his T17 finish at last week’s Masters looks like up to him.

Haney, who questioned the sagacity of Tiger Woods returning to competition at Augusta, Tuesday proclaimed his game somewhat improved, boosted him to win a 15th major, but discounted his former student’s claim that he was ever in contention for a fifth green jacket.

Woods, playing in his first competition since February, got off to a so-so start, with a 1-over 73 on Thursday. In a yips-free tournament, he put together two sub-70 rounds in a row (68, 69) before finishing with another 73, a 5-over, and in a tie for 17th -- 13 shots back of first-time major champion Jordan Spieth.

After struggling on Sunday to find the fairways and playing the back nine after painfully jamming an iron into a tree root and “popping” a bone back in place, Woods said he was “proud” to “come here to a major championship and contend.”

Such a proclamation proved to Haney how bad things had gotten for his ex-pupil.

“The fact that he was so seemingly excited about how he did gives us some insight as to how far maybe he was down. He talked about being proud of himself to make the cut. C’mon. He’s still Tiger Woods,” Haney told the New York Post during a promotional appearance for one of his sponsors.

“The other thing is when he talked about being in contention,” said Haney, who coached Woods when winning was the only goal. “I’m not sure when he was in contention. He was nine shots down after the first round and ended up losing by 13.”

Woods had a relatively successful start to his return from a self-imposed hiatus that began after the former world No. 1 looked awful in carding a career-worst 82 and missing the cut at Phoenix, and withdrawing after 11 holes at Torrey Pines. Haney and many others said Woods suffered from chipping yips that could eventually threaten his career.

Prior to Woods’ making Augusta the first stop on his latest comeback tour, Haney suggested that continued shaggy play with his wedges could devastate Tiger’s confidence.

“Let’s be serious. Tiger has the yips,” Haney wrote in the April issue of Golf Digest. “If he goes to Augusta and chips the way he has, he’s only going to produce more mental scar tissue. It’s just not worth the risk.”

Haney also wrote there would be no simple solution for Woods’ problems around the greens, but on Tuesday he said he knew Tiger would work everything out.

“He still struggled with the drive,” said Haney, whose 2010 split with Woods was far from amicable. “I thought he’d figure out the short game.

“People said he had the yips,” remarked Haney, who was one of those people. “All I’m saying is when something looks like a duck and it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck, it’s probably a duck. But I never thought it was a life sentence. He figured something out. He’s using different wedges. He’s using a different technique. He’s totally changed both and the short game was pretty good. Probably not quite as good as everybody said it was, but it was pretty good.”

Haney, who has consistently said Woods had at least one more major title in his future, believes if the 101st-ranked golfer in the world can get his errant tee shots under control he will do just that.

“He’ll win more tournaments and I think he’ll win another major,” Haney said. “That’s my assessment of it.”

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