Tiger Woods: Here We Go Again

Here we go again, Tiger Woods withdraws from a tournament. In a related story the sun also rose today. Something that was originally a bad running punch line for an overplayed joke has now reached panic level. Two weeks ago he was healthy and his swing was looking great. Now his swing is a mess, and his health is not much better.

Hoping to rebound from shooting his worst score as a pro last week; somehow things only got worse for Woods. Almost immediately it was apparent that something was wrong with him. A surprise to no one; the swing was still a mess. It’s become painful to watch him hit shots these days, and we’re not the only ones in pain. He’s feeling it too. Today the back pain returned. The same back that was supposed to be healthy and strong was back to its old tricks.

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As the day went on it was almost a certainty that his time at Torrey Pines would be brief. It got so bad that at one point playing partner Billy Horschel, picked up Tiger’s tee for him. I used to do that in rounds with my grandpa, but he was in his seventies. Woods’s body looked old and his back was getting worse by the minute. Playing on Torrey’s North Course, Tiger made a lethargic looking double bogey on the 2^nd hole (his eleventh hole of the day) and then after his tee shot on three, his day was done.

For the third time in the past eight events the lasting image we have of Tiger Woods, is a golf cart ride to his car and the end of his day. Since the start of 2014 he has only gone the distance in three tournaments. The guy who was once the model of longevity and consistency on the PGA Tour is now barely a member of it. Last week was about swing changes and this week it’s the back again. The saga just continues.

Plenty of us were losing faith in his swing changes but we wanted to believe his ailing back that drove a spike through his 2014 season was healthy again. After missing the cut at the PGA Championship, Tiger shut things down completely, leaving him five months to rest, recover and prepare for this year. I guess nothing worked, because it’s a new year and still the same old Tiger. So what went wrong today?

"“It (the back) just never loosened back up again. It’s frustrating that it started shutting down like that,” Woods said. “I was ready to go. I had a good warm-up session the first time around. Then we stood out here and I got cold, and everything started deactivating again. And it’s frustrating that I just can’t stay activated. That’s just kind of the way it is.” (Credit ESPN.COM)"

With all this activating and deactivating talk it almost sounds like Tiger is a robot, which is ironic because his performance on the course used to be robotic. He used to flip on a switch and systematically dismantle the field. Now that switch seems to have short circuited, causing a self-destruction.

At this point it’s time to press the panic button, because there is something seriously wrong with him, and it’s sad. Sure he could be a running punch line for weeks to come, but it’s now reached an all-time low. This guy was on pace to be the greatest player ever. We all appreciate greatness, and we want to be a part of it. Tiger was that for us and now he’s on the verge of a sad, rapid decline that didn’t seem possible.

Tiger’s situation reminds me of Mickey Mantle. “The Mick” was special to all Yankee fans; they adopted him as their own son. While he spent most of his career as baseball’s golden boy, it’s his decline that is almost as memorable as his gargantuan home runs. It was sad when he couldn’t run and could no longer play centerfield. Fans will tell you, it broke their heart to see their hero like this. The public may not love Tiger the way they loved Mickey, but the level of greatness is the same. He’ll forever have the memorable shots, moments and trophies. It’s just these current memories are trying to shock the good ones out of our systems.

For this to happen at Torrey Pines is just cruel irony. It was here on the cliffs of the pacific, where he was the example of “playing through pain.” His unbelievable one-legged U.S. Open victory was the toughest performance ever on a golf course. His left leg was in excruciating pain and fairways were long difficult walks. He never quit and he played some amazing golf a long the way. Just like it was seven years ago, today was a struggle for Woods to walk these fairways, but unlike then his game was off. That’s just the way things are now for him; whether we like it or not.

Next: Graeme McDowell With A Share Of The Lead in Maylasia

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