Tiger Woods’ sad verdict on his golf game as he faces up to reality – Golf – Sports

Tiger Woods, the 15-time major champion, has been plagued by injuries in recent years, threatening to end his illustrious career. He recently underwent back surgery and has not played tournament golf since the 2024 Open Championship at Royal Troon.

His physical issues, compounded by a high-speed car crash in 2021, have led many to fear that his iconic career may be over. When he has been able to compete, he’s been a mere shadow of his former self.

Despite showing brief glimpses of his old magic during the 2024 majors, his compromised mobility has significantly affected his ability to play four rounds in as many days. A recent interview with Woods was released this week by his tech-powered indoor golf league, TGL, promoting its second season, which is set to start without him in December.

The timing of the interview’s filming remains uncertain, but it’s highly probable that it took place prior to Woods’ most recent surgery. He was all smiles as he responded to a series of rapid-fire questions, including one that asked, “If your golf ball could speak, what would it say?”.

While the question was light-hearted and playful, Woods’ response was quite telling. “Now?” he queried. “It would probably start laughing.”

This was Woods choosing humor over sorrow in the face of his career’s downturn. After all, he can take comfort in knowing he has accomplished everything there is to achieve in the sport.

Plus, he gets to enjoy watching his gifted son, Charlie, progress on the golf course.

A close associate of Woods insisted that the former world No. 1 is “not in denial” about the bleak prospects of him competing again, but they maintained that he is determined to do everything possible to give himself a shot.

“He’s not stupid,” the source confided to the Daily Mail. “He won’t retire but he’s slowing down. He wants to do at least one more major and to perform well in it. He wants to end the career with a bang, not a whimper. But right now, we’ll have to see.

“He’s not in denial, but he wants to push himself until there’s nothing more he can do. It depends on his recovery if he’s there yet or not. Seems pretty likely that he is.”