When Tiger Woods wakes up on Wednesday, December 30 and looks in the mirror, he will see someone he’s never laid eyes on.
He will see the 40-year-old version of himself.
Tiger Woods turns 40 this week and never has his future been more uncertain.
He’s in the battle of his life and he’s fighting an undefeated opponent — time.
Time has brought down the best and it is having its way with the man who has an incredible 79 PGA Tour wins and 14 major championships on his decorated resume.
In a way, that resume is an over-size albatross hanging from his neck. It is the constant reminder of the player he used to be.
This Tiger Woods enters 2016 fragile physically and wounded mentally.
He is a ghost of the player who once ran rough-shod over the rest of the world.
Earlier this month, at his Hero World Challenge event in the Bahamas, his press conference was unlike any before it. He was humble, quiet, introspective. He said there is “no timetable” for his return to competitive golf. His surgically repaired back won’t allow him to do anything but walk. “I walk, I walk and I walk some more,” he said a few weeks ago.
“There is no light at the end of the tunnel,” was his most foreboding statement that came out that day in Albany.
This is a side of Tiger Woods no one has seen. He even put his career in perspective, talking about his achievements, something he never does at a press conference.
The fact of life for a 40-year-old golfer with physical problems and a swing that has been overhauled more times than a bad engine is that the future is a blur.
Woods tried to give himself a boost on his website with his year-end message.
“The thing I’m looking forward to most about 2016 is getting back out there again,” he said on TigerWoods.com. He also added this curve ball: “Hopefully I’ll be able to play my way onto the Ryder Cup team.”
Those are pretty brash statements from a guy who three weeks earlier saw “no light at the end of the tunnel.”
Woods is currently ranked 414 in the world. There’s no timetable for his return so to play his way onto the Ryder Cup team might be the miracle of 2016.
Woods also faces another huge obstacle. For the first time ever, the three top-ranked players in the world — Jordan Spieth, Jason Day and Rory McIlroy — are all under the age of 30.
They’re not the only young stars. The world of golf is full of them.
It’s going to be tough enough for Woods to simply “get back out there.”
For Woods to win, it’s even more of a crap-shoot.
Win a major? Seems highly unlikely.
When pressed recently about Woods not breaking his record of 18 majors, Jack Nicklaus was ever the diplomat. He refused to say it was unlikely even though it is.
“Give Tiger time, he’ll be back,” Nicklaus advised.
There’s only one problem.
Tiger Woods is 40-years-old and time is not his friend.
Surprisingly, Woods added this in his most recent website propaganda:
“Where do I see myself in the next 5-10 years? I am playing golf at the highest level and winning tournaments and major championships.”
Woods hasn’t won a major in seven years, he hasn’t won the Masters in 10 years.
Wishful thinking on his part?
The real question is where will time put Tiger Woods in the next 5-10 years.
And that may be something he is unwilling to think about, much less talk about honestly.
2 Comments
David
Don’t know your qualifications, but when you dismiss the advice of Jack Nicklaus, you are treading on thin ice. Is he capable of winning a major? Looking at the ability he once demonstrated, the fact that he could likely par/birdie any hole on any course, it would seem tat it is just a matter of stringing those together in a tournament. It depends on Tiger and how much he wants it. Could be that he is allowing the opinions of writers who have never even played in a major to negatively impact his mental game.
Gene
Honestly, I think he is done. It is sad to see Tiger is struggling but we do have to face the truth.