Saul: Tiger of old was back at the Masters this weekend

If you’re here for some Tiger Woods hate, you can stop reading right now.

When Woods took a… If you’re here for some Tiger Woods hate, you can stop reading right now.

When Woods took a break from golf during a five-month self-imposed hiatus after word of his multiple affairs surfaced, he seemed to be in no state of mind to compete at the top of his game. But as discussion of his sex addiction and marital discord dissipates, it seems that the fewer people who talk about him, the better he plays.

In perhaps the most mentally challenging sport in the world, finding consistency can never be overvalued.

This Sunday at the Masters, the audience actually saw a few glimpses of the old Tiger, the man who was arguably the most dominant golfer the sport has ever seen. Examples:

1) Woods unleashing one of his thunderous fist pumps after making a putt for eagle to leave him shooting a 31 on the front nine. (That’s really good.)

2) He twice held a share of the lead on Sunday.

3) Woods came into Sunday morning’s final round seven strokes behind the leader and almost came back for an epic victory.

In his 14 major victories, Woods never won from one stroke back on the final day of competition, let alone seven. The fact that he almost did it this weekend should be an eye-opener for golfers and fans worldwide.

Woods’ late-tournament presence is huge for both his confidence and the fear of his competitors. We’re not talking about some Burger King sponsored 9-hole tournament — this is the Masters. This is the tournament in which golfers have become notorious for burning, throwing out, compounding and breaking their clubs after four days of excruciatingly tough golf leaves them one stop short of psychiatric care.

And with Charl Schwartzel’s win, golf has now seen 10 different players win the last 10 majors.

The truth is, we need Woods back. Golf needs Woods back. He is still the only man in the world who can dominate in a way that brings all kinds of sporting fans to golf. And I’m here to tell you: The old Woods is right around the corner.

He did the tough stuff right and the easy stuff wrong. Which, in my opinion, is a good sign.

He was able to place the ball on the green in his first eight holes in the final round, and he also hit six out of his first six fairways.

After a birdie on the seventh hole, an eagle on the eighth and a par-saving pitch out of the sand on the ninth, Woods was sharing the Masters’ lead for the first time since 2007.

But he was left 3-putting some of the easiest holes on the course. Maybe all the divorce talk is still getting to his short-game, but Woods is slowly and surely shaking off whatever cobwebs or mental blocks he had, and he is getting closer and closer to ending his 17-month winless streak.

Despite that streak and his five-month leave, the 36-year-old Woods is still only four major championships away from Jack Nicklaus’ record.

And when he finally does get that elusive win (which will be soon), how will America react? Will his shiny first-place trophy or a good post-victory interview draw forgiveness from the country that has put his personal life through a paper shredder?

If America can forgive Woody Allen, Kobe Bryant, Bill Cosby (did you miss that one?), R. Kelly and Mike Tyson’s alleged sexual misdeeds, I think it can find some room to reaccept Woods. At the end of the day, Woods just admitted to committing adultery in a country where more people will probably get divorced than vote this year.

I’d be willing to bet that when golf’s most exhilarating player finally gets his swag back with a first-place finish, the sport’s popularity will have a significant and uncoincidental explosion. Don’t believe me? Check out this excerpt from a CBS release:

“An estimated 42.3 million viewers (Persons 2+) watched CBS Sports’ third- and final-round coverage of the 2011 Masters on Saturday, April 9, and Sunday, April 10, making it the second largest number of viewers to watch all-or-part of the network’s weekend coverage of the Masters in 10 years.”

Like all the great ones, Woods will be back, and he’ll find his way to the winner’s podium once again. Personally, I’ll be glad to see him there.