Silverman: It Might Be Time To Face Reality -- Tiger May Never Be Tiger Again
By Steve Silverman
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At a certain point, all of the stragglers are going to let it go -- the hangers-on who still believe that Tiger Woods has a chance to regain at least some of his past glory and start playing excellent golf once again, winning a tournament here or there and maybe even another major.
But based on what happened in the first round Thursday at the U.S. Open and the third round of the Memorial Tournament earlier this month, those of us still holding onto Tiger confidence and Tiger hope are going to give it up in short order.
Tiger opened with an 80 in the first round at Chambers Bay, and the look on his face was a familiar one when he topped his 3-wood and saw it roll up the fairway and into the hazard.
The look was familiar because when I play with my buddies Bobbo, Junior (aka Muscles) and Ron, I often see that look on their faces when they hit a worm burner up the fairway. And they see that same expression on my face when I do it.
Bobbo is always the one with the quick remark. When I hit that shot, he looks me dead in the eye and he lets me know without any hesitation.
"You know, you are not very good at golf," he says. "You're actually quite lousy."
No apologies and no "you'll get 'em next time." He's straight forward, and he was the first one to point out that Tiger was beaten by 15-year-old amateur Cole Hammer in the first round. The youngster finished three strokes better.
There is no getting around that Tiger is playing lousy golf. You may want to give him credit for sticking with it and "working through the process," but for those of us who have been in the Tiger camp for years, this is just a brutal development that may be worse than any elite athlete has ever gone through.
Tiger was not one of the best golfers of his generation; he was the best. His peers came from previous eras in golf, as in Jack Nicklaus, Ben Hogan and Bobby Jones. Arnold Palmer may have had more charisma than any of the other three, but he was not as great or consistent.
Tiger had the charisma to match Palmer, and he seemed like he was as good or better as those other historic figures.
Nicklaus was among his biggest supporters, saying on several occasions that he believed Tiger would break his record of 18 majors. The Golden Bear will still come out with words of support, but it seems like he is just trying to be kind at this point.
Willie Mays is often in the photo when it comes to great athletes who lost it at the end. There's that play in the 1973 World Series where as a member of the Mets, he lost a fly ball in the outfield in sunny Oakland. That clip is regularly shown to depict the ravages that hit aging athletes. That play and a sinking batting average doesn't take anything away from the fact that Mays is almost certainly the greatest living ex-player, and perhaps the best or second-best player all-time behind Babe Ruth.
But Mays was 42 in 1973, and high expectations had long since evaporated. He would occasionally get a key hit or make a play, but his ability to play consistently had disappeared by the end of the 1971 season.
Tiger is 39 years old and he should still have good years left. Nicklaus won five tournaments, including three majors, after he turned 40. Palmer won six tournaments after that age, but none of them were majors.
Tiger has never been the same since Thanksgiving of 2008, when his sex scandal became known to the public – and his wife.
He has had numerous injuries as well, but it seems the pristine aura around his image cracked wide open when his social activities became front-page news.
There were those who reveled in his misery and those who had some level of empathy. But it seemed as though the greatest golfer in the world would find a way to get his game back.
While he had a great 2013 season with five tournament victories, he has not come close to winning a major. His career total of 14 majors remains stuck on hold, exactly where it has been for the last seven years.
Based on the way he has played since the end of the 2013 season – when it all started to go sideways for him – that total is not going to change.
I have always been in the camp that wanted to see Tiger do well again, because it makes golf a better game. But I have to agree with Bobbo at this point.
"Tiger, you stink."
Follow Steve on Twitter at @ProFootballBoy