Who can forget where they were back on April 14, the day Tiger Woods announced he is back on the prowl by winning the 2019 Masters Tournament? Every network and radio station couldn’t wait to see the day where Woods would win another major, something he hadn’t done since his victory at the 2008 U.S. Open, and honestly, I was one of the people waiting for that day also. When that day finally came, I remember sitting in a barbeque restaurant, eating a brisket sandwich with a smile on my face, watching Woods sit at a press conference wearing his fifth green jacket.
This was the climax of the journey of a man who was at the top, then went to a through a complete freefall (mostly from his own actions), and worked his way back to the No. 1 spot, at least for this event. It was great to see, but than I had a thought, and asked myself what happens next. As I finish the fries that came with my brisket sandwich, I start to wonder what happens in the future, and get caught up in the wash that is the prisoner of the moment syndrome.
It’s at this moment where I get logic to set in. What seemed inevitable before, which was Woods catching Jack Nicklaus for most career major victories, is suddenly back in the question after a moment of serious doubt. Tiger now has 15 major wins, which puts Nicklaus’ 18 squarely in the crosshairs. Knowing this, we have to understand this isn’t the same man who was tearing the PGA Tour up in the late 1990s – early 2000s. He’s 43 years old, and his body has been through numerous surgical procedures. How much will Tiger be able to play? How will his mind, body and soul hold up? How deep is the competition he’ll have to go through? These are just a few of the questions I ask myself as I ride home.
The first two questions, only Woods can answer, but the last question, I can say the competition will be as tough as it’s ever been. This showed at last weekend’s PGA Championship, the now second of the four major tournaments that was moved from August to May. Coming off of the Masters win, hype was strong, but all of that excitement turned into disappointment when Woods went on to miss the cut, while his playing partner, Brooks Koepka, was blowing through the course at Bethpage Black on his way to his second straight PGA Championship win. If Tiger is going to pass Nicklaus, it’ll be tough to stave Koepka off alone, and that’s on top of the mix of Dustin Johnson, Jordan Spieth, Rory Mcllroy and Justin Rose, among others.
While I would never claim to know everything, I do know and believe this much. It’s hard to think of a scenario where a person can just show up and beat the world’s best in any situation, let alone without any playing and practice time. That’s what Woods was essentially trying to do, because he didn’t play at all between the Masters and PGA Championship. The result was nothing short of disastrous, and if Tiger wants to win any tournament going forward, he has to play competitive golf. He says he’ll play in the Memorial Tournament leading up to the U.S. Open at Pebble Beach, so that’s a good sign, but is that enough? If I was a betting man, I would say no. I root for Woods to break Nicklaus’ record, but I don’t see it happening if he just plays in primarily majors. If Tiger is back on the prowl, it’s time to go hunting on other courses.
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