After two back operations to relieve pain from a pinched nerve, Tiger Woods cannot see any light at the end of the tunnel to resume his golfing career.
“I have no answer, neither does my surgeon or physio – there’s no timetable,” Woods said.
Woods has often used his injuries as a sympathetic crutch, but that quote appears very genuine. Where Woods lost me was his next quote.
“There’s nothing I can look forward to, nothing I can build towards.”
That has nothing to do with his back, it has more to do with the emergence of Jordan Spieth, Jason Day, Rory McIlroy, and Rickie Fowler.
Seeing Woods has fallen dramatically from being world number one for a record 683 weeks to a journeyman 400 and that the quality quartet is playing sensational golf, Woods is quite right to say there’s nothing to look forward to. He has never taken to finishing second or worse with grace.
Woods turns 40 on December 30, and it’s the emergence of Spieth, Day, McIlroy, and Fowler that will stop him from reaching the two goals that have always been his prime targets all his golfing life – Jack Nicklaus’ majors record, and Sam Snead’s PGA record.
Woods’ 14 majors is still well short of Nicklaus’ 18, especially as Woods hasn’t won a major since the 2008 US Open – 23 majors ago.
Worse than that, Woods has missed the cut in his last three majors this year for the first time in his career. His 79 wins on the USPGA tour is only three short of legend Snead, but Woods hasn’t won since the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational in 2013.
So there’s been a long time between drinks, which Woods is finding hard to accept.
For the greater bulk of his career, Woods has been virtually unbeatable. During that long period, every other golfer teed off playing for second money at best when Woods was so dominant.
His career earnings on-course alone are proof of that.
His $110,061,012 is the length of the straight ahead of second-placed Phil Mickelson’s $77,452,710, and Vijay Singh’s $69,644,297. For the record, the top Australian Adam Scott is 10th on the all-time list with $39,478,018.
So according to Woods he’s likely to fade into the background and surface next year as one of the Davis Love 111 vice-captains for the Ryder Cup clash with Europe at Hazeltine National Golf Course in Minnesota.
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