Not This Tiger's Day
It's World Tiger Day today (Wednesday, July 29) but not a day to remember in the life of Tiger Woods. The 14-time Major winner is enduring one of his worst seasons so far and is facing the prospect of an early end to his season.
From favourite to star performer to what many are now calling a ceremonial golfer - Tiger Woods' reputation has got a major beating over the years and it's gotten even worse now. Forget the hope of him winning a major or try to play catch up with Jack Nicklaus' 18 titles; Tiger is not even making top-30s. (Click here for latest Golf stories)
Digest this, he has not got a single top-10 finish since the start of 2014 and has 5 missed cuts in 14 events that he's played in 18 months. In fact 2015 has been particularly devastating, Tiger missed the halfway cut at both the Augusta Masters and the British Open and his short game isn't in the best of health.
This week's Quicken Loans National could be his second-to-last start before the new PGA Tour season begins in the autumn. He admitted, "It's frustrating not to be able to win golf tournaments. I'm not really there in contention very often. And so that part is frustrating. People don't really realise how close it is between a person who's winning and a person who's missing the cut."
Down to World No.266, Woods took over 2 months to fix his short game this year, but things are clearly far from being fixed. He said, "I didn't think it would take this long because I thought I would have my short game earlier. And so, you can cover up a lot of different things when you're chipping and putting well. I've changed coaches and changed techniques. But things are starting to come together."
Add to that the fact that he underwent back surgery last year. Tiger admitted that it's not been easy," I came off back surgery, changed my golf swing, and done a polar 180 (degrees), and recover from back surgery. So you add those two together and it's the perfect storm. And I've had to fight through both of those at the same time."
Barring a dramatic turnaround, Woods' season will conclude at the PGA Championship in 2 weeks. But keeping in mind, the 'drama' that Tiger Woods has the potential to add, anything is possible. And that's what keeps his fans and to some extent even the game of golf going. Happy World Tiger Day!