The whole golf world was waiting for Tiger Woods’ return to competition after sixteen months away from tournaments due to injuries. At last the spectacle would be back, the fans would be encouraged and the sponsors would be more inclined to invest a lot of dollars to make themselves visible in the major competitions. But, unfortunately, the illusion vanished soon, too soon.
He opened his long-awaited comeback in December at the Hero World Challenge, where he finished fifteenth and signed a second round 65, missed the cut in his second appearance, at the Farmer Insurance in San Diego in late January, and in his third tournament, at the Dubai Desert Classic in early February, he withdrew after the first day, 77 strokes, again due to back problems. His doctors prescribed prolonged rest.
“This is not what I expected, I’m extremely disappointed,” said Tiger, whose comeback will depend on his physical evolution and the outcome of the medical tests he may undergo.
His participation in the first major of the season, the Masters, April 6-9, is practically ruled out.
Tiger’s sporting future is, unfortunately, not at all flattering, and this has been made clear by several of his colleagues, some more diplomatically than others. In the first case would be the legendary Gary Player, who, when asked about the chances of Tiger to win a major again, said: “I hope he does, but I don’t think so. I say that with respect; I don’t think it will happen, although I hope I’m wrong.” Not at all diplomatic was Pat Perez, winner of two PGA Tour tournaments. “The bottom line is he knows he can’t beat anybody,” he said, referring to the former world number one’s comeback. According to the American golfer of Mexican descent, Tiger has returned to the media limelight for commercial interests, to keep his name in the limelight and thus justify the large amounts he charges from the firms he represents. “He has to keep those issues relevant, but more importantly, he doesn’t know he can’t beat anyone,” he argued.
Regarding the possible non-appearance of his fellow Californian at the Masters, Perez said in an apocalyptic tone that “if he’s not at Augusta, it’s over”.
A quarter of a century in the American Circuit
Those times are long gone, 25 years ago, when a very young Tiger jumped into the world golf limelight with his debut on the PGA Tour. It was February 2, 1992, when a slender 16-year-old stripling showed up at the Nissan Open in Los Angeles and signed his first round of 72 strokes in the best professional circuit in the world. Amateur Tiger became the youngest player to play in a PGA Tour tournament. On the second day he shot 75, not enough to make the cut at the Riviera Country Club, in a tournament won by Davis Love III.
The Tiger at the time, a lanky lad who weighed 63 kilos, 20 kilos less than today, had to ask the tournament’s chief steward for permission to make his first round.
“It was a life-changing moment,” recalls Tiger 25 years later at a not exactly sweet time in his career, in which he has amassed 79 titles, including 14 majors, second only to Jack Nicklaus, who amassed 18.
“It was a great learning experience for me,” acknowledges the former world number one. “I realized I wasn’t good, that I had a long way to go. At that level, I wasn’t competitive. I was junior level, not professional, and the others were much better than me,” he recalls.
That unforgettable experience, supervised at all times by his father, Earl Woods, was the prelude to what would come later and would eventually make young Tiger one of the greatest golfers of all time.
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