The rhetoric from Team Tiger is bullish. We have come to expect that. Just as, unfortunately for Mr Woods, it has proved wise not to take such sentiment at face value.
“He wants to play right now,” said Woods’s agent, Mark Steinberg, on Wednesday night. “He’s chomping at the bit. Honestly, he competes to compete at the absolute highest level. Clearly these last two events weren’t up to that. When that swing gets grooved he’ll be ready to go.”
Those last two events, remember, included a career-worst round of 82 in Phoenix and a departure after just 11 completed holes at the Farmers Insurance Open. In the latter instance, Woods looked as physically and mentally tortured as has ever been the case on a golf course.
Earlier on Wednesday, Woods had released a statement via his website which cast doubt on when he would be seen competitively again. “My play, and scores, are not acceptable for tournament golf,” the American said. “I enter a tournament to compete at the highest level, and when I think I’m ready, I’ll be back.”
This cuts to the quick. Woods has no interest whatsoever in playing out his career with ties for 55th place. It is therefore hardly a huge leap of faith to suggest the greatest player of his generation – and many others – is limping towards a retirement nobody could have seen when Woods turned 30. Now, at just 39, we must realise his best days are long gone. The increasing body of evidence suggests Woods himself does as well.
The timing of this Woods release was intriguing. Earlier in the day, his camp had insisted there were no plans for a statement but they, like anyone else in golfing circles, would have been aware of mounting rumours in the United States about the 14-times major winner’s current status. The sad part is that Woods has now regressed to such a point that nothing can be completely ruled out; he is the embodiment of a spent-force sportsman.
After Woods did speak, Steinberg insisted this was merely a response to numerous media inquiries about the golfer’s health. And kind, considerate people that they are, they did not want to release anything to clash with the AT&T National Pro-Am at Pebble Beach this weekend.
The truth is that Woods is not scheduled to play until the Honda Classic, starting on 26 February, so – a reply to those rumours aside – there was no reason to issue an update now. Steinberg rebuffed the suggestion that Woods is taking a leave of absence in all but name. But why say anything to differentiate this tournament gap from any other?
A more significant date falls in eight weeks’ time, when the Masters gets under way. “He looks to peak four times a year,” Steinberg added of his long-time client. “That’s not to diminish the other events, but yes, the Masters is incredibly important.”
The trouble here is that Woods is in a competitive Catch 22. To prepare for Augusta National, regardless of past glories there, Woods must test himself in events. Recent history tells us hours of Woods range-work has no positive impact at all on tournament results.
Even if you take Woods at his word, that his most recent back problem is not related at all to the area where he had surgery a year ago, he has little scope for on-course work at all in the coming weeks. He is not even eligible for the first WGC event of the year, at Doral, in early March.
The subplot is that when Woods does play, and especially now, he is seeking to claw his way back towards respectability under an incredibly intense public glare. Every swing is analysed, every wince is freeze-framed. “As competitive as we are, we don’t want to see anyone suffer like that,” said Ernie Els of Woods. “We’ve got to do our stuff in public. I don’t care if you’re Tiger Woods, Ernie Els or whoever. If you have some error in your game, you get exposed.”
If you take Woods’s physical struggles away, he is clearly wrestling with contrasting technical thoughts which are impacting on his ability to play golf naturally. When that happens to any golfer, they face a serious battle to recover. “He was a brilliant short-game player,” said Greg Norman, himself a past world No1. “For that to fall off a cliff as quickly as it has is mind-blowing. I’ve not seen that in any other athlete.
“You can see the physical side of it, about where his weaknesses are and what he’s doing wrong, but I think it’s more deep-seated. I think it’s deep inside his head and maybe deeper than that.”
Somehow, sometime, this will all come to a defining head. The smart money would be on it happening soon.
Woods’ woe since his last major win
November/December 2009 Woods's infidelities come to light, ultimately costing the golfer his marriage. He was officially divorced in August 2010.
May 2010 The American withdraws during the final round of the Players Championship, citing a bulging disk. The injury is later specified as in Woods' neck.
May 2011 He lasts only nine holes at the Players Championship, golf's so-called "fifth major". A knee injury is blamed, which costs Woods appearances at the US Open and Open Championship.
April 2014 Woods misses the Masters, having undergone surgery on a pinched nerve in his back. In August, he exits the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational with further back pain.
February 2015 The 39-year-old completes just 11 holes of the Farmers Insurance Open, again succumbing to back injury. "The latest injury is not related to my previous surgery," the golfer insists.
(Guardian service)
