There’s a question we have to start asking ourselves.
Could this be the end? Retirement? The end of watching Tiger Woods play competitive golf?
It is hard to fathom. Tiger is too young, by golf standards, to retire. Jack Nicklaus won a major at forty six – surely Tiger can win one at forty.
Yet here we are. In the last handful of tournaments he has played he has either finished DFL or hung a WD next to his name. I know he’s hurt. In fact, some have said that the injury seemed to be made worse by the fact that he wasn’t playing that well, but at Torrey he had just birdied the par-five tenth hole and gotten himself to even par for the day before a final double bogey and all sorts of pain caused him to withdraw. So I call BS on that. He is withdrawing, at least at Torrey, because he is hurt. I sense he wants to play. But all this pain makes you start to wonder could this be the beginning of the end of watching Tiger Woods on the PGA Tour?
His chipping has been woeful. Something is very wrong there, but that’s fixable. A lesson with a good short game instructor and he should get back on track inside 30 yards. I don’t buy into the “yips” argument because it is not looking like a muscle flinching issue, but more a technique issue. So let’s agree not to debate this. Even his full swing mechanics are hard to discuss because I really haven’t seen him play enough to judge how his mechanics are working. For now, Chris Como and his work with Tiger get an “incomplete” on their report card.
There are two areas with Tiger recently that cause me grave concern. The first, he appears to have lost his mental edge. Tiger was not approachable before. He was a fierce competitor and very few guys were close to him at all. He kept his distance to keep them fearful of him. That competitive fence he had built appears to have been knocked down. He is looking more like a politician at the range than the world’s best golfer. He is talking, laughing, and is generally approachable almost like he wants to be liked by them. He even appeared to get a chipping lesson from a few of his fellow pros. Think about it: one of the two greatest golfers ever to walk the planet getting a lesson from guys he used to crush. This would be fine for most guys, but it is not Tiger’s MO. Phil was the approachable one, not Tiger. By not letting other golfers inside his world they all had a little “fear factor” with him. So when they played in his group he often squashed them like bugs. I remember the stat in 2001 where golfers playing with him had something like a 1.5 higher stroke average when playing with him. All that is gone.
I know that there are stories of Hogan, Snead, and others getting tips from each other or other touring professionals, but the Tiger of 2000 would not have been caught dead getting chipping lessons from Billy Horschel. This is signal that Tiger is aware that he has lost his domination. Almost a knowledge that the end is near.
The second area of concern is his psyche around what happens with his back. The pain is in his mind now. I am not saying that the pain is not real, but this was a pain that before the surgery he might have ignored, now he wonders if he has done some additional damage to his delicate back. Possibly before he wouldn’t have worried about it and just pushed through, he now worries that this could put him back to the point where he needs surgery again. If this is true it is not going away anytime soon. It may forever nag him or years until he trusts his back again. Trusts his back to push it that little bit more. This is a mental thing, but it is tied in with the pain that he has felt. It is likely a nagging thing, that sits in your mind “am I hurting it worse, why is it not going away, should I just rest it?” These are constant questions now swimming around in his head.
Tim Duncan has said that he will walk off the court when his is done with his time at San Antonio. Tiger himself has said that he doesn’t want to participate in a tournament if he didn’t think he could win it. I think that theory is going to be severely tested in these next few months. If he finishes last when he tees it up in Florida or has so much pain he can’t play at Augusta it may be a long time before we see him again. Right now on the PGA Tour Tiger is the only one moving the needle. Phil is of course a star but even he is fading. A healthy Tiger is a healthy PGA Tour. Without him people are going to tune out. So as a golf fan Tiger’s health has to concern you.
If this is the end, than it was one incredible ride. From his “Hello World” entrance into professional golf, to his meteoric rise to super stardom, to the Tiger Slam, to the hydrant, to certain hall of fame induction. It was worth the price of admission and one hell of a ride. I hope what I am writing is nonsense and he makes a triumphant return, but as I see it now the future of Tiger Woods being a major factor again looks bleak.
Your Take
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Photo credits: © Jake Roth.
I tend to agree with most of what you wrote. I’ve always thought that the one thing that could end Tiger’s dominance was a physical injury. I realize he hasn’t won a Major since before the “incident”, but he was still winning at a better clip than anyone else during the period following and before the back injury.
I think you rightly point out that his affable behavior towards competitors and fans is alarming. This is just a theory, but I think Woods knows that he likely will never win the way he used to with this injury and certainly won’t break Jack’s record. He knows his career is quickly coming to a close and realizes that the way you continue to stack cash after retirement is to be a likeable, ambassador of the game (look at Arnold, Jack and Player… these guys are still in the top 10 earners in the golf industry every year). Phil Mickelson is the likely successor to this group when he hangs it up and will no doubt continue to make money off the game until the day he dies. Tiger knows that he needs to open up a bit for his after golf career. Being a cold-blooded killer on the course and an emotional vault off of it worked wonders for his image while he was tearing up the tour, but when the wins dry-up and playing days are over, he’ll want people to see him as a down-to-earth guy who still marketable.
Who knows, maybe I’m wrong about this being a calculated, PR play… maybe he just wants to be friends with people on tour now that he knows his playing days are numbered.
The PGA was here before Tiger and it will still be here after Tiger.
Golf is not football he can get himself competitive again it will happen
I can’t help but think it’s a more the mental thing that is holding him back and than the physical side.
When you were number one for five years it must put a heavy strain on your body,physically and especially mentally. I think Tiger is good for the game and hope he can come back but something tells me unless he thinks he can win he won’t bother entering tournaments.
When people talk about the strain he put his body under with that full swing I just say two words “John Daly”.
Injuries are slowing Tiger down, but I also sense he’s “trying too hard.”
He should just take it slow for a season or two, make sure he heals up, and see if he can get his “Tiger” back. I think he needs a head coach right now more than a swing coach.
With the advances in sports medicine, if he slowly works his way back in he can win some more tournaments.
As far as dominating, that will be difficult, as he created the prototype for the 21st Century golfer: His model has spawned a lot of Tiger 2.0 players who can also win: McElroy, McDowell, Day, (B.) Watson, Reid, etc. He created his own competition.