EDITORIAL – TIGER WOODS – WHAT DOES THE FUTURE HOLD?

Tiger Woods returned to official tournament competition this past February after a 7-month absence, and his return was typical Tiger since his car accident two years ago. He made the cut and then shot a stellar 67 on Saturday before a pedestrian 73 on Sunday.

Tiger says he only plays if he believes he has a chance to win, but his performance highlights a dilemma that no one has really talked about: Tiger needs reps to contend, but is playing so rarely due to his physical condition that he cannot get the reps he needs to contend. Now, before anyone says in years past that Tiger played well the first time out after an extended layoff – which would be correct – Tiger is no longer young. From personal experience, I can tell you the older you get, the more you need the reps. And no, I’m not comparing myself to Tiger in terms of skill, but I’m not the only one who has gotten older who has made this observation.

So now the question is, will Tiger make an effort to play more in order to be sharp for the majors? Because if he doesn’t, or his body doesn’t let him, then to make the climb to the top of the mountain one more time may not be possible. Yes, even for Tiger Woods, who has, since 1997, made the seemingly impossible happen.