Has Tiger recovered?

Was he looking to hide, both from your public as well as himself, the true reason for his second-successive, fumbling Red Shirt Sunday following his failure to keep off a much more humble (regarding his world ranking) Robert Rock inside the final round in the Abu Dhabi Championship only 7 days before?

This after Mickelson, who missed a cut together only finished inside 30s and 40s in their first three starts in 2010, rediscovered his magic in Sunday's final round from the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-am and, after starting the afternoon every one of six shots off the lead and 2 behind Woods, came charging through to his 4th Pebble Beach victory with his fantastic first this season having a discount golf clubs sublime, bogey-free, 8-under 64 that included six birdies plus an eagle.

Woods, meanwhile, who had started your day as the firm favourite and, fo the time being, had given good cause for Nick Faldo, in their capacity as a TV analyst, to convey "it's almost definitely gonna be Tiger" following your third round, found himself once again tumbling around the leaderboard via what could possibly be one of several worst putting displays of his career

Playing alongside Mickelson and overnight leader Charlie Wi, Woods first bumped into trouble with the 7th where he missed a putt Taylormade R11 irons which was just a tap-in.

It had been all downhill and then as his steely focus deserted him, his putter skills went AWOL and that he slumped to your 15th place finish having a 3-over 75 that left him clearly despondent and head down and seeking anything much like the Tiger of old while he eased home trailing a buoyant Michel son by possibly 11 shots.

It may be worth recording that compared to Mickelson's 26 putts, at least two of that have been monsters nobody expected him to hole, Woods needed to Taylormade R11 driver make 31 putts, at least a pair of which were near sitters nobody expected him to miss.

In their press interview afterwards, Woods dismissed any suggestion that this pressure exerted by an on-form Mickelson's had have got to him.