No Open for Tiger: Injuries Continue to be Troublesome

Courtesy of http://www.dailymail.co.uk

Remember the Tiger of the past years? The guy who could do just about anything with a golf ball? The chosen one who always adds more excitement to the atmosphere? Is his dominant era done with?

“Not playing in US Open. Very disappointed. Short-term frustration for long-term gain,” was the tweet from Tiger Woods yesterday announcing that he removed himself from the 2011 US Open field at Congressional Country Club in Bethesda, Maryland. This was shocking to a large degree in the golf world because Woods had expressed in recent interviews that injuries to his Achilles and Left Leg are feeling much better; that he expected to play in the U.S. Open. In the view of many the word “expect” from Tiger Woods is usually even more than a guarantee to his fans. Yet, here we are a day after the news that Woods is out and we are stunned that he will not be there; clearly meaning he is finally understanding that if he wants to be dominant once more and catch the Golden Bear’s record then he is going to have to fully heal – frustrating nonetheless.

When Tiger is in contention in a major – I don’t care if you absolutely hate watching the sport – your watching it because the most exciting play in present day sports is going to make a charge to win the thing. The man adds a certain sensation to the game; you’re always in awe, thinking about when is Tiger going to take control? You know the rest of the field fears him when he is hitting shots, making long eagle and birdie putts, pumping his fists, and getting excited. That is what we watch for, the entertainment because rarely can fans who do not have an absolute passion for the game sit down and watch golf for two hours; but they can when Tiger is on the back nine, in contention to win a major championship.

However, more importantly, today we ask the East Side if they remember the most magical run Woods took us on in 2008 – The US Open major championship in Torres Pines. This was the weekend that he injured his ACL, yet he did not only walk 18 but he took control of the tournament…limping. For 99.9% of athletes, when they are injured or sick we expect them to..well..crumble. It is not a surprise when the pressure is on or someone is injured they do not perform to the level that they are capable of performing. Then there’s that rare .1% who are champions, and care a thousand times more about winning than physical or mental pain. We all did not question his greatness, rather we just sat there and watched…

I have never seen a golf crowd go as nuts as those fans did that day when he made the eagle putt on 18 because they appreciated his heart…no…wait…I have. It was the day after when he followed up the third round with a memorable fourth round, he did not go quietly to Rocco Mediate, rather he put his foot on the gas.

The Crowd went insane, and everyone watching – I’m sure – was thinking that this guy was the best, without a doubt. Oh by the way, did you notice they had to nearly mute the crowd sound when he made it? Yeah, it was that loud.

Despite his past miracles with injuries in majors Woods is now faced with the ultimate injury, one that some say could be career ending. But ask yourself, do you really think Woods – with his work ethic – is going to cave in? No. He’ll be back, it’s just a question of when he is ready. Woods told his fans via his website that he would like to be back for AT&T National and the next two majors – the British Open and The PGA Championship. Opportunity for him to get back in the swing of things and he will likely be in contention for at least one of those tournaments.

With that said, we cannot tell if Woods is down and out or merely going through a phase – only time will tell. One thing that we can be sure about is that this guy is motivated to get back to his prior greatness and he will try to ride a one way express train all the way past Jack and Arnold, past Phil and up-and-coming golfers straight to the top. Despite what Tiger Woods does after this point, I will be able to tell my son that I did witness the greatest ever to play golf. However, I want to tell my son that Tiger Woods taught the world a whole lesson; that you can make mistakes that you will pay for, that there will be times when you question if you can recover from losses and pain, but overall you will preserver and go by any means necessary to be successful in life. The injury will take up some of his prime it is a fact, but he will come back with something to prove. Tiger’s heart and will make him a champion because when he steps out onto the practice green, the driving range, or even the course, he wants it more than anybody else.

Get well soon Tiger; golf needs you back.