News
Monday, May 12, 2008
Bowed But Not Broken
By Phillip Howley
St. Louis, Mo. – Tiger Woods is waving a white flag.
During a video teleconference for BMW Championship Media Day at Bellerive Country Club where he spoke publicly for the first time since the Masters, Woods surrendered.
He made it clear he does not believe he can compete with the young players who are tearing up the PGA Tour right now. For that matter, he can’t compete with the older players, either. Shoot, he’d have a hard time competing with Al Czervik right now.
“I couldn’t compete against those guys right now unless we were playing a putt-putt course,” Woods, 32, said. “I think they would have a distinct advantage in anything over 30 yards.”
No, Woods has not had the Sampson haircut. No, he hasn’t been exposed to Kryptonite. And no, he’s not melting.
Woods is still buff; he’s just not up to snuff, not yet anyway. The world’s No. 1 player had arthroscopic surgery immediately following the Masters Tournament, the third time the two-time U.S. Open champion has required surgical attention to his left knee.
On Monday, he said he was “sick” of riding a stationary bike, anxious to compete but he is not quite ready for prime time golf.
“The rehab’s going well,” said Woods, owner of 13 major titles and eight USGA championships. “I’ve been chipping and putting, not doing anything beyond that. Hopefully I’ll start hitting balls, start progressing soon and start working my way up the bag.”
At the same time, that U.S. Open-ological clock is ticking. Only four weeks remain before the world’s best golfers converge on Torrey Pines in San Diego. Certainly, Torrey Pines has been a home away from home for Woods. He has won six times there in his career, which includes the most recent Buick Invitational earlier this year.
But this is more complicated. The last time Woods took an extended leave of absence was 2006, after his father passed away. Emotionally spent, Woods stayed away from competition for several weeks and tried to regroup. When he returned, he made the U.S. Open at Winged Foot his first start. That’s like skipping batting practice and choosing Sandy Koufax to be the first pitcher you face in the big leagues. The results were not favorable.
Woods missed the cut at Winged Foot by three strokes, the first and only time as a pro he has failed to play the weekend at a major.
“When I came back to the Open (in 2006), I probably wasn’t really ready to play yet,” said Woods. “I was eager to get back in the competitive environment, but I wasn’t ready to deal with all the things you have to deal with inside the ropes and compete and play. And it showed; I played terrible.”
Woods indicated this time is different. Depending on how much rehabilitation progress he can make over the next few weeks, he will not rule out going there again, i.e. playing the Open without a warm-up.
“This time around … everything in my life is doing great,” he said. “I’m just trying to get the leg organized enough to where I can play and hopefully I can play before (the Open). If I can, I will. If I can’t play before, I will play at the Open.”
After all, it is, as stated, Torrey Pines. If there is such a thing as a golf safe house, if there is a course Woods could step off the bus and conquer, it might be the South Course he knows so well. As an amateur, he also posted a win at Torrey Pines, taking the annual Junior World Championship.
“I’m looking forward to it,” he said. “When we played the Buick the fairway lines were … they said they were experimenting with them. So the USGA wasn’t 100 percent set on the fairway lines – I’m sure they will probably be narrower.
“The rough will be deeper, the greens will be dried out, baked out that time of year … I haven’t played on those conditions – dry and fast – since probably the Junior World days. But it was nowhere near as difficult (then) as it would be during the US. Open.
“You know the golf course will be set up well and be set up difficult. You can’t just scrape it around the golf course and win the U.S. Open.”
Perhaps in the future Woods will have to make concessions to his left knee. Perhaps his training habits will require some alterations. Perhaps his recreational activities might require some adjustments. For instance, skiing could be out, pogo-sticking might be in jeopardy, kick-ball is probably on the fence.
He did not say as much, but Woods acknowledged, “I said that after the first (surgery), I wouldn’t have another one. I said that after the second one that I wouldn’t have another one and here I am having three. It is what it is, that’s the nature of playing sports.”
Another nature of sports, and of life, is evolution. Not long ago, the PGA Tour was a Camelot for the 40-something crowd, as veteran stars flourished. This season, the landscape seems to be changing. When 28-year old Sergio Garcia won The Players Championship on Sunday, he became the ninth player in his 20s to win this year. Former Walker Cupper Anthony Kim, 22, won the previous at the Wachovia Championship.
“This is the new wave of players, guys who are in their 20s and going to be out here quite a long time,” said Woods, who has won 18 of his last 36 starts on the PGA Tour. “Basically it is the next generation of players. It’s good to see. We need to have turnover, need to have guys who are younger playing well and drawing more attention to our sport.”
Of course, as Garcia quipped, having Woods missing from the picture, “… always makes things a little bit easier.”
But Woods has enjoyed the extra time at home with his family, which includes a baby daughter (Sam Alexis) fast approaching a first birthday. But he’s also anxious to get back and re-establish his turf.
“I miss being out there to mix it up with them,” he said.
Woods might be waving a white flag now, but he’ll be back in red soon.
Phillip Hawley is a freelance writer whose work has previously appeared on usga.org and usopen.com.
