Years ago, there was the Tiger Slam, a string of four consecutive majors for the world's finest golfer, Eldrick "Tiger" Woods. Now, Tiger is in the midst of a major drought, going 0 for 4 in his last four majors, including last weekend's U.S. Open. Has Tiger lost his moxie?
It was a back nine for the ages, a furious, breathtaking stretch of golf in the 3rd round of this year’s U.S. Open, and yes, it was Tiger Woods once again scattering magic and fist pumps and smiles all over
This was pre-ACL Tiger, vintage Tiger, the Tiger before the crashed SUV and the marriage troubles and the hookers coming after him, and suddenly, out of nowhere it seemed, Tiger in the red shirt prowling
Only this time, Tiger couldn’t seal the deal. Instead of charging ahead like he so normally does, Tiger faltered early and often as he failed to sustain the momentum of his furious back nine a round earlier. The many-time champion bogeyed in 5 of his first 10 holes to go from –1 at the start of the day to +4 by the 12th hole. In all, Tiger finished with an underwhelming round of +74, a far cry from his riveting –66 in the 3rd round.
What’s more, nobody backed down from Tiger—not virtual unknown and eventual winner Graeme McDowell, not runner-up Gregory Havret, and certainly not veterans Ernie Els and Phil Mickelson. So often the rest of the field would wilt under the glare of Tiger’s flaming red shirt, that feared, not-so-subtle reminder that it was Tiger Time. This time, though, it was Tiger who wilted under the intense pressure (he and Dustin Johnson of course), misplaying hole after hole after hole early and digging himself a hole that was in the end too deep to get out off.
So now it comes to this: Is Tiger now just another good player? Is he now just one of the favorites to win instead of being the favorite?
To some degree, it certainly seems that way. This simply isn’t the Tiger Woods of yesteryears. This isn’t the self-assured Tiger Woods who was so ruthless, so assertive, so precise, and so masterful that lesser players withered in his very presence. This isn’t the Tiger Woods who played with that unique sense of inevitability—the inevitability that he’ll make a miraculous chip or a magical putt or a furious charge to the top of the leader board. This isn’t the Tiger Woods who lived for the moment, the man who rose to the occasion every time the stakes got raised. This isn’t the Tiger Woods who will easily break Jack Nicklaus’s long-standing record of 18 majors.
This Tiger is meek and mild, tempered and coy, measured and laid-back. This Tiger is wildly inconsistent and sometimes uncertain. This Tiger inspires no fear, no doubt, no uncertainty among his peers. This Tiger plays with no sense of inevitability, no sense of magic, no sense of the moment. This Tiger, the way he’s playing, may even have to be extremely lucky to break Nicklaus’s record.
Obviously, Tiger has slipped, and quite considerably, in fact. Perhaps it’s age catching up on the once precocious prodigy. Maybe it’s injuries taking its toll on Tiger’s body. Maybe Tiger is breaking down due to the intense pressure of being so great for so long. Perhaps it’s the unnerving and unwavering and unforgiving scrutiny he faced in light of his perceived double life—the one where he was the quintessential family man on the one hand and a filthy adulterer on the other. Maybe it’s the emotional scars of having his family drift apart or of facing the repercussions of his embarrassing gaffes as a husband, a father, and a sports icon. Likely, it’s a combination of all these, and maybe a little law of averages taking over. (After all, Tiger’s been on top for a better part of 14 years, so perhaps it’s time for him to fall off the perch, slowly, painfully.)
Then again, Tiger Woods is Tiger Woods, and by and large, he is still better than most of his peers. This much he proved during that riveting charge in the back nine of the 3rd round of this U.S. Open. And although Tiger failed to sustain his fiery form in the final round, he still reminded everyone, over the course of nine holes, what he’s capable of doing on the golf course, and it was as masterful a display of talent as it was exciting.
Yes, this Tiger isn’t as good, as dominant, as fearsome, and as masterful as the Tiger of yesteryears. Don’t forget, though, that this Tiger can still play at an otherworldly level. He did so over the course of 9 holes last Sunday, and there’s no reason he can’t do it over the course of 72. Now the question is, “Can he do it?”
The answer was a resounding “No” at
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