With divorce finalized, Tiger leading at The Barclays

Coincidence? I think not.

Anybody who expected Tiger Woods to return to the golf course and start dominating right away was out of their mind. If there's one thing that can mess with the head of a professional athlete, it's problems at home. And when those problems are as public as Woods' were? Forget about it.

We all know what transpired with Woods and his many, many mistresses and it's understandable that Elin would not want to try and work things out, whether she hit him with his own driver or not. I will say this about her: Good for her for not being like 90% of wives of professional athletes, who would have stayed with Tiger strictly for the ridiculous amount of money he makes. Good for her for not being a gold digger and stressing true love in a marriage over financial security. But I digress.

It took Tiger a few months to get back into the swing of things, but now with his divorce finalized he can focus more of his attention on the game he plays so well. With all these issues looming over his head, no wonder he couldn't shoot or putt straight. And I'm not saying that the issues between him and Elin are completely behind him. He still has his children to worry about, and that is a big concern.

But maybe this was exactly what Woods needed. A weight has been lifted off his shoulders and while that weight is unlikely to completely disappear anytime soon (or ever), it seems to have relaxed him enough to have his best round of the year.

It takes a lot of concentration to hit a tiny little golf ball 300+ yards and if your focus wavers at all, you won't hit the ball square or straight. If his concentration truly is back and he is able to begin to focus on the game again rather than the issues surrounding his personal life, Woods should be able to return to his perch atop the golf world very soon, if not this weekend.

Then maybe, just maybe, anything we hear in the future about Tiger Woods will have to do with golf and not how many women he cheated on the mother of his children with. And as sick as I am of hearing about his personal life, here I am writing about it. Go figure.