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Have you ever wondered why some golfers are able to win tournaments while others choke? Or why some golfers can shoot low scores while others let good rounds slip away?

Tiger Woods is a deal closer. I first saw Tiger on TV in 1996 when he was in the process of winning his third consecutive U.S. Amateur. He was down a couple of holes to Steve Scott late on in the final nine of the final match.

Just when he had to, Tiger rolls in a 35 foot putt on the 35th hole to square the match. Fist pumps galore, adrenalin flowing everywhere, and there is nothing Steve Scott can do to stop Tiger's march to the champion's podium.

Fast forward 12 years, and around 70 or so PGA tour victories later, and we see a most unlikely situation on TV at the 2008 Anderson World Match Play.

In one of the early Rounds, Tiger is 3 down to J.B. Holmes with 5 to play. Now J.B is. no slouch and it seems that Tiger is about to go down in flames. But Tiger sees things differently than most people and stages what must be one of the most dramatic comebacks of all time, winning 4 of the last 5 holes.

Whenever Tiger tees it up, he is playing to win. His sole objective is to win and he doesn't ever quit in his quest. Tiger may not win every time he plays but his win percentage is something like 25 per cent. For a golfer, it's an incredible statistic and combines with his two professional missed cuts stat to raise him to superhuman status.

Tiger has three main advantages over the rest of the field. First, he believes absolutely that he is going to win and, second, he is not afraid to win. Just about every time Tiger has an opportunity to win, he actually goes on to win.

Not everybody is prepared to win. When the moment arrives for our own 15 minutes of fame, there is a certain amount of fear that rises up in each of us. All of a sudden we start to question ourselves. Can I actually do this? Do I care deep enough to hit the right shots right now? What if I fail?

Tiger doesn't think like this. Tiger killed the beast of negativity a long, long time ago, if in fact it ever even dared cross his path. Tiger only sees ways how to win, not how to lose.

When our chance to win arrives, somehow we have to suppress our negative thoughts and think more like Tiger. Somehow, we have to dig down into our inner selves and find the way to get the job done. It will not happen simply because we would like it to happen. We have to somehow make it happen. We have to want it deeply enough in order to raise our game to the required level.

Thankfully, Tiger's return to the PGA Tour is now close at hand. I've missed watching him play because he plays like no other player. Tiger has only one thought in mind when he plays and that is to win. His fellow professionals, on the other hand, play with two thoughts. First, by playing, they believe that they have a chance to win. However, second, they believe more that should Tiger be in the hunt on Sunday afternoon, then it is likely that Tiger will win.

And that, for those of you who were counting, is Tiger's third, and most powerful, advantage.

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