Golf Asia — January 2018

the most birdies of anybody in

the field, but tellingly also made

the most double-bogeys. On a

positive note, he seemed to be

swinging with a freedom that

belied his three back surgeries.

However, his swing was stiff

when he showed up at Torrey

Pines a month later and it was

rigid by the time he got to Dubai, where

he withdrew after an opening round 77.

In April, a few days after attending the

Masters Champions Dinner, Woods had

fusion surgery on his lower spine. He

hasn’t played competitive golf since.

GROUNDHOG DAY

In the early hours of the morning on

end?

Memorial Day in late May, a State

Trooper found Woods’ luxury Mercedes

at the side of a highway just a few miles

from his Florida home. The engine

was running and an indicator was

flashing, but Woods was asleep behind

the wheel. When he failed a sobriety

test, Woods was arrested and booked

for driving under influence. To make

matters worse, the police released his

unflattering mugshot and a video of his

arrest to the media who broadcast it to

the world. Later, Woods said he’d had

“an unexpected reaction to prescription

medication.” The police confirmed he

had not been drinking.

So where does this leave a 42-year-

old Tiger Woods as he plans his return

to the PGA Tour? The good news is that

several other players who underwent

similar surgeries, including Lee Trevino

and Retief Goosen, successfully

resumed their careers. The bad news

is that, in terms of winning majors and

catching Jack, the odds are stacked

massively against Woods. Only one

golfer since the turn of the 20th century

• Julius Boros – has won more than
  one major past the age of 42.
  Also working against Woods is
  the excessive wear-and-tear his body
  has been subjected to over the years
  and the fact that he is physically and
  mentally ‘golf old’, having played
  competitively at an intense level from
  such a young age. With this in mind,
  massive question marks remains as to
  whether Woods can, like Jack Nicklaus
  and Tom Watson before him, adapt
  his technique to match the inevitable
  limitations of his body, and assuming
  he can, will his ‘new’ game will be
  good enough to give the modern breed
  of power-hitting Tour Pros a run for
  their money.
  Regardless of whether Woods goes
  on to win more majors or quietly fades
  away, the one thing we want is for him
  to finish on his own terms. After all he
  been through the past nine years, he at
  least deserves that.

© ROLEX THOMAS LAISNE

54 GOLF ASIA

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