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Tiger Woods, who was once considered the best golfer for 264 weeks in a row continues to slip to the 9th best golfer in the world. (Last week he was ranked 7th.) Now, there’s question if Tiger will ever be “Tiger” again.
Tiger hasn’t won a major tournament since his 2008 U.S. Open Championship where he played with a broken leg and knee that had basically been shredded. It was an unbelievable win; simply incredible! But, that was six years ago. Tiger is now 38 years old and if his haunting knees were not enough to keep him off the courses, add in the burden of back surgery to the 14-time major champion’s medical resume.
The beauty of golf is that it is a game that allows you to continue to play even as you age. The key has been being able to age gracefully. Based on Tiger’s medical resume, he is still number one in his class for going under the knife.
http://espn.go.com/golf/story/_/id/10709728/tiger-woods-injury-line
While it appears that Tiger is chipping away at the golfer that he once was, he can still find his way back to the fairway and back to being the Tiger we know on the course. Tiger has made mistakes over the years, on and off the course. There have been mental, physical, and even penetrational (I just made that word up) mistakes all of which he has admitted to. The first step to solving a problem is recognizing that there is a problem.
Rory McIlroy and Tiger both have mega deals with Nike. McIlroy replaced his Nike VR_S Covert 5-wood with their new MM Proto 2-iron and won his third major before turning 25 years old. Maybe Tiger should be asking Nike for a custom MM Proto 2-iron.
Or maybe Tiger just needs a hooker? Maybe he needs to spend more late nights in clubs and bars enjoying the nightlife. After all, his ego is what drove him to be that dominant on the course for all those years.
Tiger is an athlete, born with natural talent and his work ethic will drive him back to adding another major championship to his list of accomplishments. Once Tiger wins major number 15, the wins will continue. They have to. Tiger will not quit the game of golf until he passes Jack Nicklous’s 18 major championships record.
The truth is that golf is better when Tiger plays. Yes, Adam Scott makes the game pretty to watch, Rory McIlroy is a reminder that the younger generation can still play with their elders, and Bubba Watson’s walk gives golf it’s swagger. But Tiger; love him or hate him, simply makes golf better and you can always become better.