By Sam Belden
It is never fun to witness the decline of an all-time great athlete. While most of these legends find that their abilities diminish gradually, there are times when one gives such a lousy and uncharacteristic performance that he or she is forced to endure the public outcry that often comes from disappointed fans. These can be some of the defining moments in the athlete’s career and, indeed, in the history of the sport. Willie Mays’ famous fall in the outfield during the 1973 World Series is an example of this; Roger Federer’s third round loss in this year’s Australian Open is a more recent one.
Last week, golf fans found themselves in this situation as they watched a legend give the single worst performance of his career. During Friday’s second round of the Waste Management Phoenix Open, Tiger Woods, that great paragon of golf, shot a startling 82 and missed the cut. It was the highest round of his 20-year PGA Tour career.
The week did not start out too poorly for Woods; an opening round of 73 was an unremarkable start, but for someone playing his first major tour event of the season on a course that is not part of his regular rotation, it was hardly worrisome.
The next day, however, Woods struggled to get any momentum as his two front nine birdies were offset by three bogies and a double over the same stretch. Once he made the turn, things turned really sour. A triple bogey on the par-5 15th hole was the lowlight on a portion of the scorecard that was littered with big numbers. It all added up to a score with which any touring pro would be disappointed.
It is tempting to dismiss this performance as an aberration; after all, Woods did undergo a lumbar microdiscectomy, a type of back surgery that necessitates a long recovery process, last April.
However, the fact of the matter is that he has been practicing relentlessly and feels no pain; after Friday’s round, he categorically denied the rumors that his poor play was the result of a balky back. Instead he was self-deprecating, acknowledging that his game was not in the best place and stating his intent to focus on the upcoming Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines.
So what is going on? The answer is that Tiger Woods, in all his glory, has caught a bad case of the chipping yips. This is an almost inconceivable development; for so much of his career, the hallmark of Woods’ game has been his mental toughness. On Friday, however, he looked positively bewildered on the green as he duffed chips, misjudged approaches and left himself with unreasonably long putts. The yips are so terrifying that to talk about them is almost taboo, but the sooner fans admit to themselves that the world’s most prominent golfer has them, the sooner they can start to make some sense of the situation.
This is just the latest installment of what has been a long and somewhat exhausting journey for Woods. Ever since his numerous marital infidelities came to light in late 2009, he has struggled to perform at the level that fans have come to expect of him; even strong seasons in 2012 and 2013 have been overshadowed by his inability to deliver at the majors. Instead, Northern Ireland’s Rory McIlroy, who has won four majors since 2011, has become a far more reliable superstar on the world’s biggest stages.
Last week, the differences between the two stars were on full display. While Woods coughed up the worst score of his career and missed the cut in Phoenix, McIlroy hoisted the trophy in Dubai for his 10th European Tour victory.
With every day that passes, it becomes more likely that Woods’ career will never again reach the heights that it did in this millennium’s first decade. His defenders are quick to predict a rebound by pointing out that he is a resourceful, smart, transcendent talent. All of that is true, but so is the fact that all athletes eventually decline. Woods can still be a force on the PGA Tour, but he’ll have to overcome Father Time as well as the yips.
