With that prediction safely in the books, perhaps I can afford to go perch myself on yet another limb with what I believe are three must conditions in order for Tiger to secure a Masters victory this year at Augusta.

First, Tiger has to be physically and mentally game ready. I am quite certain that notwithstanding his off-course ordeal, Tiger has sufficiently kept himself in necessary good physical condition including more recently the playing and non-playing practice needed to have his swing and putting where it needs to be. By some account of the practice rounds others have played with him, Tiger’s game is as physically and mentally “game ready” as at any time in the past, or better. I believe it.

Frankly, not having to worry about keeping at bay the other 14 or so holes Tiger was, at any given time, playing in another dimension, should contribute to better physical and mental play.

Second, after Tiger carries out his very public 2:00 pm press conference on Monday, April 5, he needs to shut everything down. By everything, I mean everything. Not another interview until it’s over and the only three people he should talk to are, in this order, Steve Williams, Hank Hainey, and himself. Possibly too, Elin, but only under the right circumstances.

Tiger’s conscious and unconscious mind need to be in unison and in a trans-like focus where nothing can distract. A bomb could go off in the middle of his backswing or “patrons” could utter whatever tired or new punchlines they like, Joslyn James could carry out her rumoured threat to figuratively streak naked across Hogan’s bridge, and Tiger has to be completely oblivious to it all. Tiger should wake up Monday morning after the Masters and, if necessary, only then learn about any of the other stuff that may have happened and which might have served to put him off his game and the single task at hand, winning.

This is about more than just being motivated, ready, and focused. It’s about being in a meditative or hypnotic trans for 4 days straight, completely uninterrupted and at peace with yourself. Anything that Tiger lets pierce that protective bubble puts winning at risk.

Third, the usual dose of good luck with respect to weather, wind, bounces and roll that is required to win any tournament, let alone the Masters, has to go Tiger’s way. As the commercials say, these guys are good, but from several hundred yards they are in control of a result that is within feet, not inches. And within those uncontrollable inches there are still bounces and rolls that can go one way or the other that only the golf-gods can choose to play with at their good humour and discretion. Some call it good or bad karma to be thanked or cursed. Regardless, this is the third condition over which Tiger, nor any player, has much or any control, but it’s a condition which must be met as successfully as the first two.

Others will think the opposite or disagree with the conditions and strategy I have set out. Some will think Tiger needs to be loose, cajoling, flapping about, and visibly paying homage to his surroundings, the media, and to his daemons. Essentially prescribing that Tiger be something he hasn’t ever been before. They are wrong of course and only prove they don’t understand the game, Tiger, or the living hell from which he is trying to reincarnate.

Tiger has absolute control over 2 of 3 conditions. He can get himself physically game ready and I think Tiger is one of two people I know who can, when he really needs to, completely turn off all outside and inside distraction. However, Tiger can’t control the luck of the occasional good or bad roll. At Augusta, where wind and undulation are uniquely your worst or best friend, luck is often what makes the difference.

Do I believe Tiger will succeed? Let me answer this way; if all three conditions are met, he can’t lose.

One last prediction…

If on Sunday Tiger is in the hunt – and he will be – then Elin will be there. Note, this is not one of the three conditions.

As my wife less charitably noted, the event seemed overly prepared, handled, and rehearsed. Looking up at the camera at just the right time appeared more the product of professional coaching than a genuine connection with his audience. The gratuitous and elaborate references to his various charities and foundations was overkill. But in the end, did any of this take away from what I believe Tiger is truly feeling? No, not really.

To be kind, perhaps we are just so used to seeing Tiger in a golf shirt, golf hat, relaxed and unscripted, that it’s difficult for us to adapt to a different context.

If Tiger owed us an apology, and perhaps he did, then we at least owe Tiger the right to deliver that apology in whatever manner he is comfortable. That is Tiger’s right as much as it is our right to have our own individual reactions to what Tiger had to say. For my part as a fan and as a semi-competitive and avid golfer, Tiger needn’t apologize further. At least not to me.

Some of the negative commentary following Tiger’s statement focuses on the fact we are no further ahead in knowing when Tiger may return to competitive golf. What irks me is this criticism comes from the very same people, who if Tiger had used the occasion to also announce his return to Augusta in a mere 7 weeks, would have dismissed Tiger’s apology as disingenuous and merely as a pretence for announcing his return to golf. Tiger was damned either way.

I must admit that in the final few minutes before Tiger spoke, perhaps once I caught a glimpse of the somber room full of somber looking people, I suddenly became very concerned that Tiger might announce he would not play in this year’s Masters or perhaps not at all this year, or ever again. How selfish of me? Here is a guy that’s obviously going through hell, even if it’s mostly self-inflicted, and what I seemed to care most about was whether or not Tiger was going to entertain me by putting a small round ball in a slightly larger round hole.

For those of you who think that’s all I, and I suspect others, were worried about, you can stop reading now.

Tiger’s words, even if borrowed, ring very true; “it’s not what we achieve, it’s what we overcome that matters.’ Perhaps then our zeal for wanting to see Tiger back sooner rather than later says more about our desire for early signs that Tiger is successfully overcoming his daemons than it is about watching the world’s number 1 golfer play golf.

Tiger may not defeat his daemons and his marriage may yet fail. But not everyone has, or should have, the morbid mentality of a  TMZ or the National Enquirer. There is a vast difference between showing an appropriate amount of interest in Tiger’s unfortunate circumstances versus wanting, hoping, and in some cases having at least an indirect hand in causing someone fall just to sell more eyeballs.

There appears to be no limit to what Tiger can be criticize for, including Ernie Els and others who think the timing of Tiger’s statement during the Accenture match play championship is “selfish.”  I truly did not see what benefit accrued to Tiger by speaking on Friday as opposed to say Monday, nor do I see how Accenture was so maligned. In fact, I agree with Brandel Chamblee’s assessment that Accenture has only benefited as more viewers than otherwise might have tuned in when Tiger is in the news in one form or another.

More ironic, if not selfish in their own right, is that Accenture is the firm who shortly after the Tiger saga broke, I thought initially showed the greatest amount of compassion and insight into the complexities of the matter with their clever “it’s what you do next that counts” advertisement. Too bad Accenture was too selfish to stick around long enough to find out. Or, was Accenture also guilty of some level of disingenuousness?

For weeks, if not months, I have openly speculated that Tiger would play in the 2010 Masters. Now I am not so sure. But my gut still thinks/hopes there is no way Tiger’s role in this year’s Master’s is going to be limited to that of clutching a TV remote.

No way!

Now we all owe Mr. Giambrone the respect and privacy he deserves.

Like Tiger, Mr. Giambrone has some soul searching to do but not until the full impact of this ordeal has hit him. It hasn’t yet. That will come when the camera lights go out, media attention and the blogosphere refocuses elsewhere, and he finds himself thinking private thoughts in the wee hours of the morning.

That process may or may not involve Ms. McQuarrie in tow. I suspect it wont. But that too, like Tiger and Elin, is a private decision none of us has the right to invade or judge.

Mr. Giambrone, while I have never met the man, is obviously an intelligent and ambitious young public figure. Mr. Giambrone is not the first, nor the last, individual whose actions can be explained by the role of the hidden brain.

Say what you wish, but the TTC is a world class organization that is not without its positive markings from Mr. Giambrone’s contributions and influence. With time, he will reincarnate.

Time now to put yet another divergent, and unfortunate, story to rest.

It’s one thing to be brazenly optimistic. It’s quite another to be completely utterly politically naive. As soon as Mr. Giambrone comes to fully appreciate the gravity of his public predicament, he will be forced to do the only thing which public opinion will otherwise take care of in very short and brutal order.

Don’t get me wrong, the Toronto electorate is on a different curve when it comes to “house on the prairie” values. No other city in Canada has a adult classifieds listing longer than the used car section. The city is likely filled with a disproportionate share of everyday folk who think it’s okay to have one partner for getting elected and another for getting erected. No argument here.

But when otherwise every day people come out from under whatever particular fantasy turns their crank, they still have to be fine upstanding citizens who hold honest jobs, raise families, pay taxes, and when called upon to do so, elect best suitable candidates to public office. Toronto may be as avant-garde as they come, but folks still vote and fantasize with different parts of the brain.

It doesn’t take more than a scant read of the comments section the Star to assess how public opinion is reacting to the Giambrone story. Some of the very same people who may share an equivalent fantasy, or reality, will condemn sanctimoniously when given the opportunity. What better pretence than the safety and security offered by an anonymous comments section?

The Globe’s usually politically seasoned Adam Radwanski must have a personal stake in this issue, for it seems according to todays post he’s “just fine” with it because “it’s difficult enough to attract good people to run for office.” Excuse me? Canada’s biggest city is so void of public office talent that Giambrone’s behaviour is something to overlook because there is no one else?

Some may argue this space appears to apply a double standard when it comes to Tiger Woods versus Adam Giambrone. Not entirely the same situation. When Mr. Giambrone can shoot 64 from the back tees he’ll have my vote to play in the Masters, and if Tiger emerges to run for Mayor of Toronto he won’t.