Has Woods lost his Master-ful touch at Augusta National?

It's been five years since Tiger Woods slipped his arms into the silk sleeves of a Green Jacket on a Sunday at Augusta National. Why the drought for someone who was predicted by some to win as many Masters titles as Jack Nicklaus and Arnold Palmer combined? That's easy, Tiger says.

By Craig Dolch, PGATOUR.COM Correspondent

Most professional golfers would be thrilled with these results in the Masters: A pair of runner-up finishes, as well as a third and a sixth-place tie, earning almost $2 million during his last four trips to Augusta National.
     
Tiger Woods, obviously, isn't like most pro golfers.
     
Anything short of him slipping on a Green Jacket late Sunday night is considered a bad week.
     
Especially for a guy who won four of his first nine Masters as a professional, including the first one by a record 12 shots in 1997.
     
Especially when Jack Nicklaus predicted that Woods would win as many Masters as the Golden Bear (six) and Arnold Palmer (four) combined -- never mind that Nicklaus' comments came before Woods had even made his first cut at Augusta National as a pro.
      
Instead, the 34-year-old Woods -- who will be making his return to competitive golf at this week's Masters after a nearly five-month break -- is still not halfway to double figures and the four-year gap is as long as he's gone without winning at Augusta National since he turned pro in late 1996.
     
Has Tiger lost his Master-ful touch?
     
He admits he has, at least on Augusta's devilish greens.
     
"The last couple of years, my putting has been streaky here," Woods said after finishing sixth at last year's Masters. "I get on rolls where I make everything, and I get on rolls where I didn't make anything. Consequently, I didn't win the tournament. You have to be very consistent around this golf course.
     
"Especially now (because) there are not too many birdie opportunities. It's not like how it used to be. So given that, you've just got to be obviously very patient, and hit the ball well, but make the putts when you have the opportunities, because they are not going to come as frequent as they used to."
      
The numbers support Woods' assessment: In the last four Masters, he has taken no fewer than 117 putts, needing that many in 2006 and 2007. He required 120 putts in 2008 and 122 last year.
     
By comparison, 2009 champion Angel Cabrera took nine less putts (while finishing four shots ahead of Woods); 2008 winner Trevor Immelman took eight fewer putts (he finished three strokes ahead of Woods); 2007 champ Zach Johnson needed five fewer putts to finish two shots ahead of Woods; and 2006 winner Phil Mickelson had one less putt while finishing three in front of Woods.
    
But to blame his Masters victory drought simply on the flat blade would be an overstatement. Everyone knows a golfer has to have a good week on Augusta's greens to have a chance to wear the Green Jacket, yet even in his finest moment, Woods has never gone all Ben Crenshaw among the azaleas and dogwoods.
      
Even in his four wins, Woods has never taken less than 115 putts for the 72 holes (in fact, he had 116 putts in his landmark 1997 win). Of course, one of the reasons Woods has more putts than other winners is because he hits more greens -- he has ranked first in greens in regulation for the week during three of his wins and second the other time. In the last four years, he's ranked T6, T7, T7 and T13 in GIR.
       
So it's not just a case of a balky putter.
       
A closer look at Woods' statistics during his four wins and his four near-misses since 2006 reveals a startling change in what used to be Woods' biggest asset: His power.
     
He averaged 323.1 yards a drive when he overpowered the course (and the field) in 1997, leaving him with wedges to the par-5 15th hole and mid-irons to the other three par-5s. His driving distance dipped in his other victories -- 305.5 yards in 2001, 293.8 in 2002 and 292.4 -- and has continued to decrease the last four years. He averaged 290.1 in 2006, 280.4 in '07, 283.9 in '08 and 280.5 last year -- and each year he failed to finish among the top 25 in driving accuracy.
      
Some of this power reduction has been by design after Augusta National officials instituted a "second cut" in 1999 and they have continued to toughen up the course by adding length and trees. No longer could a long-hitter such as Woods just grip it and rip it at the Masters.
     
"When I first played here, you could hit tee shots that were pretty far off-line, but you did it on purpose," Woods said. "I remember Raymond (Floyd) telling me to hit the ball as far right as you possibly can at (No. ) 9 so you can fire at the green. Now you have to hug the trees because there's a stand of trees down the right-hand side.
     
"The golf course has changed quite a bit. Your strategy has changed. Now, you have to drive the ball well in order to win here. I just think that the way the golf course was set up then versus the way it's set up now, guys with power had just a huge advantage."
     
There are other factors that have played a role in Woods remaining stuck on four Masters wins: The field has been slightly expanded (Woods beat a field of 86 players in '97; 98 players are expected to tee it up this year); weather issues the last few years have leveled the field, as has recent equipment technology gains; and Woods, like everyone else, has dealt with off-course issues.
      
In 2006, Woods admitted he put too much pressure on himself to win because he knew his father, Earl, was gravely ill. Woods finished third, and less than a month later, he was burying his father.
     
"That was a lot more difficult than I was letting on, because I knew that was the last tournament he was ever going to watch me play," Woods said. "I just wanted to win one for his last time and didn't get it done and it hurt quite a bit."
      
It hasn't helped Woods that he has never gotten off to a great start at the Masters. Amazingly, he has never shot lower than 70 in his 13 tries as a professional (the year he won by 12, he opened with a 40 on the front nine, before rallying with a 30 on the back nine).
      
Attempting to reverse that trend in his first competitive start since Nov. 15 seems far-fetched. But not for those closest to Woods. John Cook, a close friend who played a couple of recent practice rounds with Woods at Isleworth, said he doesn't think it's a pipe dream for Woods to win off such a layoff.
      
"It was vintage," Cook said. "If he takes that game up there, I'd be hard-pressed to see anybody beating him."
   
Yes, as we've learned the last 14 years, Woods isn't like most pro golfers.