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Tiger Woods returned to Torrey Pines on Thursday, the scene where he prevailed in a 19-hole playoff over Rocco Mediate to take out the 2008 U.S. Open.
The win catapulted Woods to second spot on the all-time major tally with 14 career titles, just 4 shy of the great Jack Nicklaus.
He’s won a total of eight times on this course but in his opening round yesterday, the world number 56 bumped and sliced his way to a two over par, before retiring on the green of the 12th hole.
Woods looked like a shadow of the champion he once was.
It marked the sixth time the 39-year-old has withdrawn from a tournament since 2010 and the third in his last eight starts.
On the second day of the Phoenix Open last week, Woods carded an 82, his worst professional round and a whopping 12 shots short of making the cut. Yet he still commands more attention than Rory McIlroy at a pub in Northern Ireland.
The sporting world is hanging onto the idea that he can wake up tomorrow and shoot a 65, sink an impossible chip on the 16th hole at Augusta, and be the Michael Jordan of golf that he once was.
Tim Finchem, the PGA Tour commissioner, was asked about his thoughts on how Tiger Woods is travelling and the interest he generates for the game:
“I think when he tees it up this week, everybody in the world’s going to want to see how he’s going to play because here you had a guy who was so incredible for such a long time and he’s struggling out there,” Finchem said.
He’s on his fifth swing change and is just nine weeks out from the Augusta Masters.
Will he win another major? Probably not. Do I want to see him try? Absolutely. It’s the quintessential archetype of a hero’s journey, upon which all great stories are built.
Woods’ name will continue to grow and golfing fans will continue to follow his every stroke in a sort of painful fascination as he tries to fights his way back to the top.
There are no hard facts to show that Tiger is on a comeback trail and no obvious signs that he has what it takes to make it to where he once was.
It has been over six years since Woods won a major and 18 months since he won his last tour title. But in many ways, it still feels like Tiger Woods is the best golfer in the world.
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