How "Done" is Tiger Woods?

[nevets88]

I wonder what Golf Channel thinks? 

 

[billchao]

38 minutes ago, nevets88 said:

I wonder what Golf Channel thinks? 

 

Right, because all surgeries are the same. Give me a break.

[RichWW2]

At this point I'd be surprised if he doesn't retire so I picked #1.  If he doesn't retire he'll need to recover and be able to play at least two rounds without getting hurt or having back issues and play well enough to make a cut.  As a huge fan of his I'd like to see, at very least #2 happen, but it's looking less and less likely every day that goes by.

[mchepp]

My issue with Tiger continues to be that he is continuously coming back before he is ready. I was happy when he took the year off to try to recover, but if he could only play 7 competitive round then he was not well and truly healthy enough to come back. Stay away until you are healthy. Be that 2-3 years so once he's back, he is truly back and can play a complete year. 

As a small aside, why on God's green earth he thought it a good idea to travel to Dubai to play is beyond me. Any person with back issues will say that long flights like that are not good for your back. Even if he was not sitting, just the act of being in a single place for so long. Just looks to me like he was chasing the sponsorship dollars and not what was best for his health. 

[iacas]

3 hours ago, Blackjack Don said:

I didn't vote, because there was no option for my answer. I don't think he's going to win another major. I don't know if he will win another PGA tournament. But I think in ten years, Tiger is going to transform the Champions Tour. I hope I'm here for it. I think Tiger will make the Senior's Tour nearly equal to the PGA Tour, depending on who comes next. There isn't any player on the tour today that can overshadow Tiger's light. When he wins on the Senior Tour--I really despise "Champions" Tour, it sounds like a "made-up name"--it's going to give a real bump to the industry.

I don't think he'll care to play the Champions Tour.

Just now, mchepp said:

My issue with Tiger continues to be that he is continuously coming back before he is ready. I was happy when he took the year off to try to recover, but if he could only play 7 competitive round then he was not well and truly healthy enough to come back.

You don't know that. He was fine in the Bahamas. You only have the benefit of hindsight right now.

Davis Love III won 18 months after a back surgery, did he not? And he's older.

Just now, mchepp said:

As a small aside, why on God's green earth he thought it a good idea to travel to Dubai to play is beyond me.

$1M+.

Plus, let's be realistic, he's been playing there for awhile, and didn't want to play Pebble or the Waste Management. So if he wanted to play Tour-level golf, it makes sense he'd go there.

But I still think it's mostly the cash. Just not ALL of the reason.

[mvmac]

17 minutes ago, mchepp said:

My issue with Tiger continues to be that he is continuously coming back before he is ready.

I think that might be the saddest thing in all this, he probably did feel healthy/ready when he came back in the Bahamas (or as healthy as he's going to get) and he's still having problems to the point where has has to WD in his 3rd tournament back.

[nevets88]

25 minutes ago, mchepp said:

My issue with Tiger continues to be that he is continuously coming back before he is ready. I was happy when he took the year off to try to recover, but if he could only play 7 competitive round then he was not well and truly healthy enough to come back. Stay away until you are healthy. Be that 2-3 years so once he's back, he is truly back and can play a complete year. 

As a small aside, why on God's green earth he thought it a good idea to travel to Dubai to play is beyond me. Any person with back issues will say that long flights like that are not good for your back. Even if he was not sitting, just the act of being in a single place for so long. Just looks to me like he was chasing the sponsorship dollars and not what was best for his health. 

My thoughts exactly. His main nemesis wasn't Els or Mickelson or some other player, it was himself.

[Big C]

I was just listening to an interview with Steve Kerr that made me think of Tiger. As you may recall, Kerr had a microdiscectomy during the 2015 offseason. It is supposed to be a fairly routine back procedure and the same surgery that Tiger has now had twice. But Kerr experienced complications within a week of the surgery, including headaches, neck pains and dizziness. The pain became so severe that he actually had to miss the first half of the Warriors 2015/16 season. And even now that he's back on the bench full time, he still has limitations to his ability to work out, play golf etc. 

Kerr's advice in the interview was pretty simple - "to anyone out there that's having back problems, do NOT get surgery. It should be an absolute last resort after all other options have been exhausted." 

My takeaway was  - there is no such thing as a "routine" back surgery. Some guys may have the procedure and go about their life just fine afterward. But when things don't go smoothly, the side effects can be pretty debilitating. Sadly, it sounds like Tiger is finding that out the hard way.

[70sSanO]

I am no die hard Tiger fan, but I am hopeful that he gets back to a level where he could win a lesser event here or there.  I think this only happens if Tiger changes his approach to conditioning.  He needs to stop trying to build up his strength and push himself beyond what he can do physically.

Hopefully a day will come when he gets serious about making meaningful changes.  I'm not sure Tiger really wants to go out like this.

John

[JDP]

this guy won the US Open! on a crippled knee -mic dropped

 

[wannabe]

I chose option 2, and I'm sad to say I did so.  I've given him the benefit of the doubt and really rooted for him (ultimately still do) for a few years now, but this last episode has convinced me he's unfixable for a winning form.

Quite simply, Tiger had over a year off to both heal and practice, with the best care in the world.

And now we've seen the result.

The will is there, God bless him, but the body isn't.  He's compensating to avoid his back, and even doing that, he's out after just a few competitive rounds, for several weeks.  That tells me he's not gonna make it.  I don't buy the excuse of the long trip to Dubai: it only would be an issue if he's unfixable in the first place.

This combined with the ongoing requirements these days to compete at the highest level of the sport, he may show up and try, but won't win.  And he likely shouldn't be showing up anyway.

And I'm a glass half full kinda guy.

Hope I'm wrong.  Tiger, prove me wrong!

[iacas]

2 hours ago, JDP said:

this guy won the US Open! on a crippled knee -mic dropped

Almost a decade ago. And knees aren't backs.

[David in FL]

4 hours ago, 70sSanO said:

I am no die hard Tiger fan, but I am hopeful that he gets back to a level where he could win a lesser event here or there.  I think this only happens if Tiger changes his approach to conditioning.  He needs to stop trying to build up h and push himself beyond what he can do physically.

Hopefully a day will come when he gets serious about making meaningful changes.  I'm not sure Tiger really wants to go out like this.

John

He'd probably prefer it to speculation that he's otherwise healthy but is simply unable to compete at a top level any more.

[JDP]

23 hours ago, iacas said:

Almost a decade ago. And knees aren't backs.

The reason I mentioned him winning the US open on a busted knee was to put an exclamation point on his
ability to overcome obstacles.

[Zeph]

He's definitely got the drive, but abilities and persistence can't fight through injuries that won't go away. He's been one of the most driven people on the Tour for many years, but the last 10 years has been a story of injury, recovery, return, injury.

The interesting part is that the injuries and problems seems to return after he's started playing on the Tour again. He's got many rounds of golf on private courses before he returns, but something apparently changes on the Tour, possibly going faster and harder. What works and doesn't aggravate his injuries in practice is changed during Tour play, making him hurt himself more easily. His body might be in a state where he can play without injuries when he's relaxed and not going as hard after it, but once the stakes are out, he can't control it. That could mean he's always on the edge of what his body can take, and is dependent on being able to hold back on the tour.

[MuniGrit]

He swings like an old man trying not to get hurt now. It looks weird. How far he has fallen since that beauty of a swing he had in the late 90's under Harmon and even in the 2000's with Haney. I expect he will get fed up and retire sooner than later.

[Daddycool_83]

Im a massive fan of tigers,hes one of the reasons I got into golf,I think hes times passed though and he may show signs of brilliance (should he make a third comeback) in a round or two I jyst dont think he had the ability to put it together over 4 days contending with the new breed of golf stars.

[Scotsclaff]

He's done. The insurance companies will make sure of this.

Poor lad!