The Honda Classic will feature the world's number two golfer. Rory McIlroy tees off at 7:30 a.m. ET March 1 at the PGA National Resort's Champion Course. A win will put the 22-year-old in position to take over the top spot as world number one Luke Donald isn't playing.
Yet the focus is on a former top golfer in the world as he tries to do two things this weekend. Tiger Woods is participating in the Honda Classic for the first time since he was in high school in 1993. He will look to rejuvenate his career with a win. A good showing by Woods will also play down the controversy a new book is stirring about the disgraced golf pro.
"The Big Miss" is scheduled to come out March 27 and is written by Hank Haney. Haney is Woods's former swing coach (stress the word former). For six years, Haney had an inside track into the mind of the prodigious Woods during some of the top years of his life in professional golf.
One passage in the book asserts Woods was seriously considering joining the Navy SEALs in the summer of 2007. Keep in mind, his father had passed away a year earlier, according to ESPN. The age limit for becoming a SEAL is 28. Woods claimed the Navy was willing to make exception, according to Haney's book.
Earl Woods was a member of the U.S. Army special forces. When asked by a reporter about why he thought of joining the Navy, Woods tersely wouldn't answer the question about the book.
Perhaps joining a military unit will help get Tiger Woods's focus back. He badly missed a five-foot putt at the Accenture Match Play Championship that would have tied his second round match after 18 holes. Although his drives and approach shots are working perfectly, the really short game keeps missing the target.
SEALs are known for their intense training and sharp skills with all kinds of weapons. Perhaps finding another hobby aside from golf to expend all that pent up energy inside the psyche of Tiger Woods will help alleviate his personal pain of losing his father in 2006 and then losing his marriage in 2009.
Anything would help at this point. Perhaps basic training can help the younger Woods can focus on golf amid tons of distractions regarding his past failures.
William Browning has covered sports for the Yahoo! Contributor Network including golf and local golf courses in southwest Missouri. He currently resides in Branson, Mo.
