Tiger Woods of the U.S. reacts to his tee shot on the ninth hole during the third round of the Memorial Tournament at Muirfield Village Golf Club in Dublin, Ohio
Credit: Reuters
Tiger Woods’ entire 2014 season has been utterly hard to watch.
From missing cuts in major championships, to withdrawing from tournaments due to too much pain, to finally deciding to end his season officially, as he did Wednesday night.
The announcement that he won’t be playing in the Ryder Cup as a captain’s pick comes just a little too late .
Tarnishing a legacy that includes 14 major championships and some of the most dominating performances in the history of sports is pretty difficult. But Tiger Woods continues to come closer and closer to scaring what should be a glorious career.
His ugly divorce and an enthralling multitude of affairs slowed him down once. So did an injury in 2008 that nearly cost him the U.S. Open (though he hung on to win in a victory for the ages, on one leg).
But now, after back surgery in early spring, Woods came back too soon and hung on too long.
Desperate to win a major but not nearly in major form, Woods had no business playing a single tournament after March of this year.
The 38-year-old barely made it through his worst ever season as a pro, winning just over $100,000 and failing to do better than a 25th-place tie at Doral.
“I need to get stronger,” he said. “As I said the other day, I need to get my glutes strong again, my abs and my core back to where I used to have them. They are just not quite there yet. Obviously by playing you can’t burn the candle at both ends. I need to get stronger physically and be back to where I was.”
Had Tiger decided this sooner, he would have spared his fans and the game of golf the embarrassment they had to sit through this summer. But instead, he will regroup, rehab, and try and bounce back for the Masters in April of 2015.
With Rory McIlroy streaking behind him, just a Masters title away from a career grand slam, it might finally be time to turn the page in the great game of golf.
Follow sports editor Evan Macy on twitter @evan_macy
