The End Of The Tiger Era – Again
Surprisingly, Despite Turning Down Fox TV Sports Request For An Interview, Tiger Woods Did Answer Some Questions For The Rest Of The Media After Shooting Another Round In The 80's - Image Credit Bryan Outram
by Alfie Lau
The epitaph has been written several times this year already.
It came after an 82 at the Waste Management Phoenix Open and the subsequent missed cut. It came a week later when after only 11 holes, a WD and a hurried rush to the parking lot, where an impromptu press conference was held only because his car was blocked by camera stands and reporters.
It came two weeks ago when he shot 85 at The Memorial in the third round, a score not even a 14-handicapper would take.
And now, we come here to praise and to bury the great golf career that spawned 14 Major titles for Tiger Woods.
Woods shot his second-worst round in a Major during the opening round of the U.S. Open at Chambers Bay, an 80 in pristine conditions, so unlike the 81 he shot in a rain and windstorm at Muirfield during the 2002 British Open.
There’s no doubt now that the only metric Woods himself uses to measure whether he is the GOAT (Greatest of All Time) is unattainable: Jack Nicklaus’ 18 Majors will not be caught by Woods and his 14 Majors.
Sure, Woods will always contend at The Masters, and after turning 40 later this year, there’s a good chance Woods will add another Green Jacket, perhaps when he’s 46, like Jack was in 1986.
But you won’t see 5 more Major wins for Woods, whose game can best be seen in his bumbling and stumbling around, trying to break 80.
Watching Woods slip on the wet grass as he played his third shot during the second round, I couldn’t help but remember the same Woods, who 7 years previously gritted through a bum leg, bad knee and resilient Rocco Mediate to win the U.S. Open at Torrey Pines.
Woods at 50 per cent was still better than the rest of golf, but now, as Jordan Spieth takes centre stage and young guns like Dustin Johnson, Jason Day and Rickie Fowler try to win their first Major, Woods seems like yesterday’s man.
In fact, the only solace he could take from his opening round 80 was that he could joke that “At least I kicked Rickie’s butt today.”
image credit bryan outram
Tiger Woods Leaves The 17th Green En Route To Shooting A Final Round 76 And Missing The Cut At The U.S. Open
Fowler, who was one stroke worse during the opening round, had entered the tournament as a favourite, having finished in the top 5 at all 4 of last year’s Majors. But if you needed proof that golf is hard, then Fowler’s fall into the abyss looks like a one-off and come the British Open next month, the man in orange should be back in contention.
Woods, laughing as he shook hands with Fowler and their playing partner, Louis Oosthuizen, shows that he is human and perhaps he’s finally discovered that golf is hard, but little has changed in other aspects of his life.
Woods declined FOX Sports’ request for an on-camera interview after his opening round and while he did come talk to the rest of the media, his agent, Mark Steinberg, made sure Woods was only answering five questions.
When the media exceeded that number, getting their eighth question in, Steinberg had the USGA put a halt to the impromptu press conference, telling the USGA’s Brian DePasquale, “Brian, get in there.”
Woods dutifully walked off the podium, off to the uncertain golf future he’s created for himself and once again, we’re writing about the end of the Tiger era.
Woods has an action-packed schedule moving forward, everything from playing in the Greenbrier, British Open, Quicken Loans (a tournament which benefits his charity) and the PGA Championship, but maybe the best thing for Woods is to take some time off from golf and find a new way to compete.
While Woods is adamant that the work he’s doing with coach Chris Como is coming along, the results so far are disastrous. Maybe fresh eyes, working alongside Como, are what’s needed. Maybe he needs to go back to fundamentals he developed working with Butch Harmon, Hank Haney or Sean Foley.
Newly single, Woods has added another variable into his life, as he’s now truly a single father to Sam and Charlie now that Lindsey Vonn is out of the picture. Picking the kids up from school has taken precedence over practicing chipping and putting, and Tiger will have to figure out the proper balance.
Tiger’s legacy as a Hall of Famer and one of the all-time greats is secure. In fact, looking back at his dominance from 1999-2002 and then 2005-2008, we see a man at the top of his game, so overwhelming a competitor that he had them beat before a ball was ever struck.
There’s an old saying that Father Time is undefeated in sports and sadly, Tiger Woods has discovered that while he was once golf’s biggest winner, he too has been KO’d by the still undefeated Father Time.
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