The golf season seems like it just ended…well that because it did. And now it is about to start right back up again with a bang. Tiger has confirmed with the PGA that he will be competing in the Safeway Open (the first event of the ’16-17’ season) that is being held in Silverado Country Club (North) in Napa, California beginning October 13th.
He has had more time to spend with his children, but he is a competitor who has fallen from the highest level of success who craves the taste of blood.
Well…he will never be his old self again…injuries and ‘father time’ affect every athlete at some point in their careers one way or another. Those who saw Tiger and said he will be good, but will not last, were only half right.
The stress of marital issues is something that I know nothing, and do not wish to know anything about in terms of first hand experience. But one can imagine that it is exquisitely stressful and can only distract you from your duties and responsibilities as a productive member of society. Some of Tiger’s stripes have turned into spots, and now that everyone can see the spots, he has been stripped of his amour.
Just this past season we have seen several first time winners on the Tour. And the PGA has gone the NBA route referring to their marquee players as the “Big 3” or as I like to say the “Big 4”, has made it clear that they are the faces of golf. Tiger is no longer the big man on campus, and him “knowing” that he was indeed “the man” was part of what made him the player he was, not is.
Not to mention the injuries. He has had knee injury issues since college, but one of the things that also made him the player that he was; the way he would train. He would train with actual Navy Seals and train with them during the offseason among some of the other intense training methods. But the knee, Achilles, elbow, and back issues kept reoccurring because he never took the appropriate amount of time to properly heal. His confidence wasn’t shattered, he thought he could have a speedy recovery because he won the 2008 U.S. Open on one leg. But the injury issues he has suffered can be summed up in two words; too much. Too much use, too much power and too much torque on the body over such a long period of time is not good for anyone’s body no matter how much time and money they put into keeping their body in the best shape possible.
As someone who always tried to model his swing after Tiger’s, I wish him the best of luck and I hope he wins soon so he can get back on track in obtaining the most PGA Tour wins record currently held by Sam Snead at 82 victories. Tiger has 78. The Majors record of 18 held by Jack Nicklaus may be out of reach. Tiger has 14 major victories.
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