Let’s be clear right from the start: We may not have just seen the end of Tiger Woods’ brilliant career. Dude won a U.S. Open with a broken leg. You think a car crash is gonna’ stop him?
But what viewers saw on Saturday sure didn’t look like Tiger can go on much longer.
Tiger Woods. Painful to watch. 😬 pic.twitter.com/kMV9WxViQo
— McNeil (@Reflog_18) April 8, 2023
Woods withdrew from the Masters — a tournament he has won five times — after the third round. He was nine over par at the time, having dropped shots at nearly every hole as he finished his rain-delayed second round.
The scene was so sad that his former coach had an even sadder thought.
“I hate to say this but yesterday at the end of this show I was just hoping that he wouldn’t make the cut, that he’d just finish one outside,” Sky Sports analyst Butch Harmon said on Sunday. “Not because I don’t want to see Tiger Woods play, we always want to see Tiger Woods play, but you could just see he was in agony trying to get around there and it wasn’t a surprise at all to be honest that he had to withdraw.”
In the end, Woods could manage just 14 holes on Saturday (seven in the second round; seven in the third). Then, his body quit.
“I am disappointed to have to WD this morning due to reaggravating my plantar fasciitis. Thank you to the fans and to @TheMasters who have shown me so much love and support. Good luck to the players today!” Woods said in a Twitter post.
I am disappointed to have to WD this morning due to reaggravating my plantar fasciitis. Thank you to the fans and to @TheMasters who have shown me so much love and support. Good luck to the players today!
— Tiger Woods (@TigerWoods) April 9, 2023
That makes sense. He was, at the time, in last place at +9 with no chance to win (the winner ended up -12).
Look, we all know Tiger is tough. In 2008, during rehab from knee surgery, Tiger suffered a double stress fracture in his left tibia. He played the U.S. Open with the fractures — and won.
In 2017, he underwent his fourth back surgery. That time it was all so bad doctors had no choice but to fuse two vertebrae together.
And yet he won again. Woods played in October 2019 at the inaugural Zozo Championship in Japan and shot 64-64-66-68. That gave him 82 wins on the PGA Tour, moving Woods into a tie with Sam Snead for the most career wins on the Tour.
But on February 23, 2021, Woods was badly injured in a single-car collision. He suffered compound fractures to his right leg in addition to a shattered ankle.
But he came back yet again. And how tough is Tiger? Fellow golfer Jason Day on Monday revealed why Woods was forced to withdraw from the third round of the 2022 PGA Championship.
“I was talking to him at the end of last year, and then he was saying the reason why he pulled out of the PGA was a screw went through the skin on Saturday or whatever it was,” Day said, according to the New York Post.
Tiger is the Energizer bunny: He just keeps going. But here’s the thing: He wants to win. At 47, he just keeps coming back because his competitive spirit drives him on and on.
Yet what happens when he realizes he can’t win anymore? He’ll quit the game. It’s that simple. He’s not in it for the money — he’s worth $1.1 billion.
Woods may have glimpsed his future at the Masters. And like all the greats in history, he’ll simply walk away when it’s time.
Let’s hope it’s not time.
The views expressed in this piece are the author’s own and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.
Joseph Curl has covered politics for 35 years, including 12 years as White House correspondent for a national newspaper. He was also the a.m. editor of the Drudge Report for four years. Send tips to [email protected] and follow him on Twitter @josephcurl.
