In 2008, Tiger Woods defeated American golfer Rocco Mediate in a one-hole playoff to win the U.S. Open Championship. This victory marked the 14th major championship that Woods had won since his arrival on the professional golf circuit in 1996. Woods, at 33 years old in 2008, was on pace to break the record of 18 major championships set by Jack Nicklaus in 1986. He has not won a major since.
In the seven years since that victory at Torrey Pines Golf Course in La Jolla, California, the former No. 1 player in the world’s on-and-off-the-course life has been riddled with scandal, injury and overall decline. Woods’ public scandal in late 2009, which resulted in a car accident, a divorce and a trip to a sex addicts’ rehabilitation clinic, began a tailspin from which he has yet to recover. Coupled with Woods’ public indiscretions, his chronic back problems have forced the golfer out of numerous tournaments and majors alike. However, while injuries often plague even the greatest of athletes, Woods has been no stranger to playing through painful ailments galore.
In Woods’ 2008 U.S. Open victory, he limped through the tournament and won with a torn ACL and two stress fractures in his left tibia. He also played through psychological turmoil during the 2006 Open Championship, which marked his first major tournament appearance since the death of his father. In that tournament, he won his third Open Championship title in an emotional victory over Chris DiMarco.
After Woods’ 17th-place finish at the 2015 Masters Tournament, where numerous people claimed that the golfer was back to his old self, the question remains of whether or not Woods will rebound from his strong outing at the Augusta National Golf Club. Will Woods make a comeback in a way only one of the greatest golfers ever could? Or will he continue his descent into mediocrity?
A large problem Woods has had during the later years of his career is his inability to adapt his swing to his aging body. Using a swing that takes a large toll on a golfer’s back worked out well for Woods in the late ’90s and the early-to-mid 2000s. However, with Woods’ age creeping into the high 30s, he has been forced to change his swing to accommodate his debilitating lower back pain.
Yet Woods’ strong resolve and his seemingly inflexible mindset, which have been sources of praise for the golfer in years past, have kept him from doing so. Instead, Woods has gone through numerous swing coaches and caddies in an attempt to try to remain the same golfer he was 10 years ago.
However, Woods said in his comments before the Masters that he felt that his “game was finally ready” to keep him competitive in high-stake tournaments. While a 39-year-old golfer who has not won a major since 2008 seems improbable of making a comeback, if anyone has a flair for the dramatics, it is Woods.
Three times, Woods has found himself in a one-hole playoff in a major tournament, and every time, he has emerged victorious. The 18 other times Woods has been in a playoff, he has won 13 and lost five. His most dramatic memories have often come on the biggest stages.
In the 2005 Masters, Woods chipped off of the rough on the 16th hole for a birdie. With the ball stopping just on the fringe of the cup, Woods waited and was subsequently rewarded when his golf ball fell into the hole, a shot that would propel him to his fourth green jacket.
In 2008, Woods rallied at the U.S. Open and hit one of his most famous putts ever on the 18th hole to force a playoff with Mediate. Doing so on only one good leg, Woods was then forced to play an extra 18 holes of golf in the playoff where he again rallied at the 18th to tie and force a one hole winner-take-all playoff. Woods would best Mediate again in the playoff and win his third U.S Open.
Throughout his career, Woods has captivated the world in the way only a few golfers have. He has won the second most majors of all time, and he has done so against players such as Phil Mickelson and rival Sergio Garcia. He has set records with his minus-18 at the Masters and his minus-19 at the Open Championship, along with becoming the youngest golfer to ever win the Career Grand Slam, which occurs when a golfer wins the Masters, the Open Championship, the U.S. Open and the PGA Championship. However, the latter half of Woods’ career has been characterized by his fall from grace and his inability to return to the top of the golf world.
Woods’ accomplishments speak for themselves, but if he cannot storm back to glory, the question surrounding his career will be how he is remembered. While his legacy should forever be the images of his biggest shots in the biggest moments during his decade of dominance, many will ask if his fall will tarnish those memories.
Right now, Woods is not back, but he is stepping in the right direction. And if there is any athlete in the entire world who could fall off so starkly after the some of the best performances of all time and still return with a vengeance to join the likes of Jack Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer and Gary Player, it is Tiger Woods. An improbable comeback though it may seem, would you expect anything different?
