I know many only following the 4 golfing major tournaments each year, but the TPC Sawgrass is being played this week, which is about as close to a major as you're going to get. Significantly, Tiger Woods pulled out of the tournament after shooting a 42 on the front nine holes (Thursday). Here is an interesting perspective posted in the Washington Post:
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"Is Tiger Woods finished as a golfer? No. Is he finished as Tiger Woods? Sadly, I think the answer is yes. I don’t see how Woods can ever again be as dominant as he once was, before his knee and his personal life fell apart.
When Woods pulled out of the first round of the Players Championship after shooting a 42 for nine holes, many fans expressed surprise and dismay. But perhaps the surprise, at least, is misplaced, for two reasons.
First, Woods has always liked to mess with his swing, but as his game gets worse, that obsession gets stronger. It’s hard to tell which is the chicken and which is the egg in that vicious cycle.
The other reason is more simple and impossible to control: age. Woods was simply so superb for so long, that it’s hard for many to accept that he’s 35 years old and being stalked around the course by guys 10 years younger, with healthy knees and stable private lives and without the unending scrutiny of media and fans.
At Sawgrass, he apparently injured his left knee on the first hole, which then impacted his Achilles’ tendon, which then impacted his calf. For any other golfer, that news would be worrisome. For Woods, it could be catastrophic. His left knee has long been an issue: He has undergone three arthroscopic knee surgeries over the years (1994, 2002, 2008) and after winning his 14th (and last) major, the 2008 U.S. Open, with a torn ACL and two stress fractures in his left tibia, he needed surgery yet again."
Full Story
"Is Tiger Woods finished as a golfer? No. Is he finished as Tiger Woods? Sadly, I think the answer is yes. I don’t see how Woods can ever again be as dominant as he once was, before his knee and his personal life fell apart.
When Woods pulled out of the first round of the Players Championship after shooting a 42 for nine holes, many fans expressed surprise and dismay. But perhaps the surprise, at least, is misplaced, for two reasons.
First, Woods has always liked to mess with his swing, but as his game gets worse, that obsession gets stronger. It’s hard to tell which is the chicken and which is the egg in that vicious cycle.
The other reason is more simple and impossible to control: age. Woods was simply so superb for so long, that it’s hard for many to accept that he’s 35 years old and being stalked around the course by guys 10 years younger, with healthy knees and stable private lives and without the unending scrutiny of media and fans.
At Sawgrass, he apparently injured his left knee on the first hole, which then impacted his Achilles’ tendon, which then impacted his calf. For any other golfer, that news would be worrisome. For Woods, it could be catastrophic. His left knee has long been an issue: He has undergone three arthroscopic knee surgeries over the years (1994, 2002, 2008) and after winning his 14th (and last) major, the 2008 U.S. Open, with a torn ACL and two stress fractures in his left tibia, he needed surgery yet again."
