Ross: This is the year Tiger joins Jones, Hogan

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DORAL, Fla. -- OK, so Tiger Woods is human. He's not made of "nuts and bolts," as Stewart Cink recently suggested. He won't win every tournament he enters this year, a ludicrous suggestion that only seemed plausible because we're accustomed to seeing him do the impossible.

Woods nearly won at Doral despite sputtering on the weekend. (WireImage)

But now that Tiger's win streak is over after he finished two strokes back of Geoff Ogilvy at the World Golf Championships-CA Championship in Doral on Monday, we can now speculate on things that are more grounded in reality. Like, will he pull off the Grand Slam this season?

He's on record this year as saying that it's doable. And should Woods win all four major championships, the 2008 season will undoubtedly go down as the greatest in the history of the game. He'd also be one shy of Jack Nicklaus' all-time record of 18 majors that Woods has so doggedly pursued.

Speaking of Nicklaus, that's who is next on the list in Tiger's march toward the record for most career PGA TOUR wins. Tiger's next victory -- whether it comes in three weeks at Augusta National or later in the year -- will give him 65 in his career, breaking that tie for third with Ben Hogan. Woods needs nine more to catch Nicklaus, and 18 to pull even with the TOUR's all-time leader, Sam Snead.

Given his history, Woods could conceivably catch Nicklaus this year -- although it would take the kind of season not seen since Nelson won 18 tournaments in 1945.

Woods will probably play 11, or possibly 12, more times this year and he would need to win all but two. That would give him 12 victories in 2008, eclipsing his best season of nine in 2000, and ranking third all-time behind Nelson and Hogan's 13.

More likely would be for Woods to tie Nicklaus when he makes his 2009 debut at the Buick Invitational, where he has won the last four straight, or when he defends his title at the Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by MasterCard.

So how will the rest of this season play out for Tiger? Is this the year he achieves the Grand Slam and/or catches Nicklaus' win total? Let's take a look:

The Masters Tournament: This will be Woods' next start and there's no doubt he'll be motivated. In 11 starts as a pro at Augusta National, he's won four Green Jackets and posted eight top-10s. PREDICTION: Win

Wachovia Championship: Woods likes Quail Hollow, a tree-lined, old-style layout that requires a player to think his way around the course. He's only missed the tournament once since it began -- and that was the year his father died. Woods is the defending champion and hasn't finished lower than 11th. PREDICTION: Win

THE PLAYERS Championship: Woods has won twice on the TPC Sawgrass -- although one of those came in the 1994 U.S. Amateur. Surprisingly, he hasn't had a top-10 since he won the 2000 PLAYERS -- finishing tied for 14th, 11th, 16th, 53rd, 22nd and 37th. PREDICTION: More frustration on Pete Dye's signature layout.

The Memorial Tournament presented by Morgan Stanley: Woods won this event three times in a row beginning in 1999. Since that time, though, his results have been mixed -- three top-fours, as well as a tie for 22nd and a share of 15th, which came last year. PREDICTION: As tempting as it would be to have Woods win Nicklaus' event again on the way to matching the Golden Bear in victories, this will wait another year.

U.S. Open: That record-setting victory at Pebble Beach was the first of two U.S. Open titles for Woods. He was the runner-up last year, for the second time in the last three years, and has five top-10s overall. The fact that this year's renewal of America's national championship is being held at Torrey Pines makes Woods the odds-on favorite. Torrey Pines also hosts the Buick Invitational which he has won six times in 11 starts as a pro, including the last four straight and five of the last six. PREDICTION: Win (How can you say anything else?)

AT&T National: A lack of history makes this one hard to judge -- the tournament that benefits the Tiger Woods Foundation made its debut at Congressional last year. The host never recovered from a 3-over 73 in the first round last year and went on to tie for sixth, six strokes behind K.J. Choi. Woods also played in the 1997 U.S. Open there and tied for 19th. PREDICTION: He'll win, but not this year.

British Open: Woods has won the world's oldest major championship three times already. He's also had seven top 10s and never finished lower than 28th in 11 starts as a pro. Royal Birkdale could play right into his hands, too -- he was one stroke out of a playoff in 1998 when his good buddy Mark O'Meara beat Brian Watts. He opened with a 65, too, that tied John Houston for the low round of the tournament. PREDICTION: Win

World Golf Championships-Bridgestone Invitational: This one is a no-brainer. Woods' mastery of Firestone Country Club is unparalleled. He's won the Bridgestone Invitational six times in nine starts, including the last three straight, and he's never finished lower than fifth there, even counting the two times he played in the NEC World Series of Golf. PREDICTION: Win

Woods hasn't finished out of the top 10 in any tournament in the United States since the 2007 Memorial Tournament presented by Morgan Stanley. (WireImage)

PGA Championship: Of all the major championships, this one is the biggest question mark. Granted, he's the two-time defending champion and has won four PGAs overall. He's only played Oakland Hills twice as a pro, though -- tying for 82nd as an amateur in the 1996 U.S. Open and absorbing, with his teammates, another American Ryder Cup defeat. If he wins the first three majors, the pressure will be suffocating when he comes to this Detroit suburb. Of course, that's when Woods shines. PREDICTION: The Grand Slam is finally a reality.

Deutsche Bank Championship: He came within a shot of making it two-in-a-row at the TPC Boston, losing to Phil Mickelson in one of the most spine-tingling battles of 2008. He's had four top-10s in five starts there, and Woods can use this as another springboard to get the PGA TOUR Playoffs for the FedExCup off to a good start. PREDICTION: Win.

BMW Championship: If the tournament were returning to Cog Hill Golf & Country Club, this would be easy to pick. He's four times as the well-respected public layout in Dubsdread, Ill. This year's BMW Championship, though, is being played at Bellerive Country Club in St. Louis, which was scheduled to host the World Golf Championships-CA Championship in 2001 that was cancelled in the aftermath of September 11th. PREDICTION: This won't be his year.

THE TOUR Championship presented by Coca-Cola: Woods captured the inaugural FedExCup when he shot all four rounds in the 60s and beat Mark Calcavecchia and Zach Johnson by a whopping eight strokes. The victory was his second at venerable East Lake Golf Club where another legendary golfer, Bobby Jones, used to hone his game. PREDICTION: Win.

FINAL TALLY: Nicklaus 73, Woods 72. Stay tuned next year.