Tiger Woods: Why withdrawing from Arnold Palmer is a good thing

News came out this week that Tiger Woods would be withdrawing from the Arnold Palmer Invitational due to a next strain. Although it sounds bad, this is actually a good sign for things to come for Tiger.

There are plenty of stories out there about Tiger Woods practicing or playing through pain. Who can forget the epic battle between him and Rocco Mediate at the 2008 U.S. Open, where Tiger played on a broken leg. Tiger has played through pain plenty, and it has always ended up being detrimental to his health and his game.

He continued coming back from back injuries before he was ready, leading to poor performances and withdrawals from events. After the ’08 Open, he missed around 8 months after having surgery on his knee and leg. For once, Tiger Woods is letting himself get healthy, and is focusing on the bigger picture.

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Since he started winning majors, there has always been conversation about whether or not Tiger would catch Jack Nicklaus. The Golden Bear has 18 majors, while Tiger currently sits at 14. For a while, it seemed like Tiger would easily surpass Jack, and run so far away with it that he would never be caught.

Now, at 43, Tiger is still sitting at 14. Winning is just about as important as ever to Tiger, and he knows he needs to be healthy when it comes to the Majors. He sat out the Honda, which was previously on his schedule, as he wanted to be healthy for this week’s Arnold Palmer Invitational.

Palmer meant a lot to Tiger, and Woods has had plenty of success at Bay Hill. He’s had eight wins there, and combining that with the significance of it being Palmer’s event, Tiger skipped the Honda to try and get healthy for the “more important” event.

As he wasn’t able to get healthy in time, Tiger is showing that he is focused on the only part of golf that matters to him the most. Majors. He wants to be healthy for them, as he hasn’t won one since that ’08 victory over Mediate. There are majors for four straight months, and Tiger is showing full focus on being ready for those.

Gone are the days of Tiger doing whatever it took to dominate every single week. Gone are the stretches where Tiger Woods won 17 of 28 events between 2006 and 2008. At 43, Tiger doesn’t have that ability left to fight through the pain and still be the most dominant force ever seen on a golf course.

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Everyone in the PGA should still be scared though. Woods has been showing flashes of old Tiger over the last 12 months. Pair that with the fact that he is focusing solely on winning majors? Golfers beware. Woods is locked in on making a run at another major, and he isn’t going to let anyone in his way. Tiger is on the prowl again.

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