In finishing a career-worst 18 over par on a course where he'd won an unprecendented seven times, the world's No. 1-ranked golfer has gone from being asked when will he snap out of a slump to being asked if he's bottomed out yet or is there more to come.
And the truth is it's hard to say after watching him crash and burn in such an unexpected fashion. Since turning pro, Woods hadn't finished worse than tied for 60th in an event in which he completed four rounds, and that was in his first start, the 1996 Greater Milwaukee Open. At Firestone, his 10 total birdies were buried by 22 bogeys and three doubles as he tied for 78th place with Swede Michael Jonzon. Ouch!
About the only positive thing one could say about his performance was he didn't curse on network TV for a change. But it's hard to do that when you are done playing before CBS has a chance to come on the air. How did someone who finished tied for fourth in the Masters and U.S. Open after a self-imposed, four-plus-month exile from the game come to this type of Waterloo? Beyond the distractions of a personal life strained by marital problems and a golf swing that is a mere shadow of what it once was, it's not surprising that he is struggling. Woods himself said he was not surprised.
"It's been a long year," he said after shooting a final-round 77 at Firestone, looking and sounding like a player who has lost his way along with his aura of invincibility.
There was a time when his peers would give up before they even played against him. That started to change when Woods lost to Y.E. Yang in a final-round showdown at last year's PGA Championship. Now, with the way he's playing, there's no reason to fear Woods or his mojo.
Woods needs five majors to eclipse the record 18 major championship titles held by Jack Nicklaus, but now some will begin wondering if Woods has got five more victories of any kind in him.
That's over-the-top thinking that's too close to the news of the day. If one looks at the careers of Tom Watson and Nicklaus, they will see that these icons also experienced downturns.
Sal Johnson of GolfObserver.com wrote the following about Watson's downturn:
Between 1974 and 1984 he dominated golf winning 36 of his 39 victories in that period and all eight of his major championships. He did it a lot like Tiger did with great clutch putting, which became a struggle from 1983 onward.
Watson found some flashes of glory years later, winning in 1987, then in 1996 and then for the last time in 1998. But in the time period of 1984 and 1996 Watson suffered a divorce and it was quietly mentioned that he had a drinking problem that he corrected. He has gotten remarried and has made peace with his family, thus has won on the Champions Tour and almost won the British Open at age 59.
Wikipedia provides the following information on Nicklaus' downturn:
After Nicklaus won the 1967 U.S. Open, he did not win another major championship until the 1970 Open Championship at the Old Course at St Andrews. Moreover, his highest finish on the Tour money list for the years 1968-70 was second; his lowest was fourth, his worst ranking on the list since turning professional. ...
During this period, Nicklaus also let his physical condition decline somewhat, putting on excess weight, which affected his stamina. He significantly improved his condition in the fall of 1969 by losing 20 pounds, and his game returned to top form.
In February 1970, Nicklaus' father, Charlie Nicklaus, died. Soon after this Nicklaus won the 1970 Open Championship under difficult scoring conditions where the wind howled up to 56 mph, defeating fellow American Doug Sanders in an 18-hole playoff round in emotional fashion.
He describes this period in his life: "I was playing good golf, but it really wasn't that big a deal to me one way or the other. And then my father passed away and I sort of realized that he had certainly lived his life through my golf game. I really hadn't probably given him the best of that. So I sort of got myself back to work. So '70 was an emotional one for me from that standpoint. ... It was a big boost."
Woods, the 2009 FedEx Cup champion, has vowed to keep working on his game, which he admitted hasn't been this off since he rebuilt his swing under Butch Harmon in the late '90s. It took him two years then to rediscover his A-game. It might take him longer this time around. After all, he's 34 years old, his left knee isn't what it used to be and he will remain fodder for tabloids for the rest of his life.
But it would be wrong to write him off this soon just because he experienced a tournament from hell on a difficult course. He picked a bad week to play so poorly. Normally he wouldn't have made the cut. Still, you don't win 14 major championships without having the drive to overcome adversity. When his personal life is sorted out, chances are good his golf game will return to winning form.
In the meantime, Oldgolfdawg would advise Woods to follow Sergio Garcia's lead and take a vacation. They both look like they could use one.
Information from Golf.com, GolfObserver.com and wikipedia contributed to this post.
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