Will Tiger Woods Ever Be The Same?
It all comes down to this, a fifteen-foot birdie putt to keep his US. Open hopes alive. He’s limped and fought his way around Torrey Pines for four days, and now it comes down to one putt to keep the chase for major number fourteen alive. He has the read, stands over the ball and swings the putter back and through. The ball now goes on a bumpy ride that ends up just catching enough of the cup to fall in causing an earthquake like eruption around the eighteenth green. Why does this happen? It’s simple, because for Tiger Woods up until then, that kind of stuff always happened. He was always able to come up with the biggest shot when it mattered most. Since then the Tiger we’ve seen bears no resemblance to that one.
As he gets ready to make his 2015 debut later today at the Waste Management Phoenix Open he’s looking to finally move on from this rocky chapter of his golfing odyssey. The guy used to do nothing but win when he stepped on a golf course, but for the past seven years he’s done everything but that. Sure he’s won regular tour events, but when you’re Tiger Woods it’s all about the majors. His greatness has never been about the fact he’s won Bay Hill more times than I can count. He’s an icon because he won on the biggest stages.
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Since 2008 nothing has gone right for Woods. There was his off the course turmoil, more swing changes and countless health issues. Before that laundry list of issues, everything went right. Sure he changed his swing twice before 2008 and he’d been injured before, but he always managed to come back. As of now the comeback is still either in progress or on hold.
Jan 28, 2015; Scottsdale, AZ, USA; PGA golfer Tiger Woods waves to the crowd on the 17th hole during the Annexus Pro-Am at the Waste Management Phoenix Open at TPC Scottsdale. Mandatory Credit: David Wallace-Arizona Republic via USA TODAY Sports
The pressure on Woods has always been dramatically higher than everyone else. No other golfer out there not named Rory McIlroy could have a bad year if they win three tournaments and no majors. For Tiger though it is, and he set the standards that high. The guy was a freak; he was doing things in golf tournaments that only a few people in the game had ever done. He was on another level and he deserved to be treated that way, and he wanted to be treated that way. The season has always been about majors for Woods. He’s always set his schedule up so that he can be in prime shape during the four majors and we all know about his childhood goal to beat Jack Nicklaus’ record. So yes for him these lofty expectations are not outlandish or unfair.
He seemed destined to break Jack’s record after the 2008 Open. Yes he would take the rest of the year off to recover from his injuries, but after that there were still plenty of years left in his career to continue his assault on the record. In the four years leading up to Torrey Pines, Woods won six majors and if he had continued that pace the record would be his right now. Instead he’s stuck in his own personal golf purgatory.
You want to know how far the mighty has fallen just look at some of the talk surrounding this week’s tournament. He was always the favorite no matter if it was his first tournament of the year or his sixth. There used to be odds in Vegas in which you could literally get for the whole field against Woods. He was just that good that sometimes betting on 140 other guys was just not a safe bet. When it comes to this week ll just think about this, not a single PGATour.com expert picked Tiger to win. He used to be the only pick and now he’s not even up for consideration.
I’d be crazy and oblivious to the facts if I told you that the game is better off without him, because it’s not. Put aside all the negative surrounding him since limping his way to victory at Torrey Pines, the game needs him. Sure Rory has star power but no one is Tiger Woods. When he was at his best everyone watched, not matter if you could hit a nine iron a 160 yards or if you have no idea what a nine iron even is. He transcended the game and was arguably the biggest sports icon on the planet. Yes he’s still the main attention each tournament he plays in but it’s not the same, and it may never be the same.