A 44-year-old man who played only his third event of the year not only made the cut, but finished with a final 67 round to finish in the top 50 in the 102nd USPGA championship at Harding Park on Sunday.
He only had a three putt during the week and only one hole where he scored something worse than a bugbear.
Let’s put it this way, and how can you see Tiger Woods’ performance as anything but positive, as he sets his sights on the strong tournament roster over the next three months?
Tiger Woods spoke honestly about his struggles during the PGA championship
The trouble is: when have we ever judged Tiger by deadly standards? When did he ever apply these measures to himself? In Tiger’s words last week, the conclusion he drew after his performance was a lousy acceptance that he is struggling to keep up with modern day superstars and the requirements of the modern game.
“The reality is that the courses are getting bigger and bigger,” said the man who definitely doesn’t stretch. “It’s getting much harder to win here.”
Given everything that has contributed to the game, it’s depressing to think that it looks like we’ve reached the stage in Tiger’s career where he’s reduced to a handful of places and occasions where he has a realistic chance of winning.
You can almost forget this, for example, in places like Harding Park where the weather is cool and movement in its molten back is limited. Likewise, places like Winged Foot, site for the US Open next month, because the rough will be high and it won’t hit fairways enough.
The only place he will always have a chance is Augusta National, of course, but even there he could struggle this year because it will be staged in November, with the likelihood of less mild weather than usual.
The golf legend got a -3 round on the final day to finish -1 in San Francisco
With flag placements inviting and prepared for the aggressive play of the final groups afterwards, Woods at least accepted the chance to finish on an upbeat note and score well.
Perhaps the best iron player of all time, there were a couple of vintage examples at the 14th and 17th for creating birdies. The problem for chronic back sufferers, however, is being able to pass the ball with the big clubs consistently.
Tiger’s last push of the event was a classic example of a man with back pain coming towards the end of the round, as the ball spiraled to the right due to his inability to stay down through the area affected. He duly finished with a bogey five.
The program is now condensed. After a week off, most of the top players will compete in three consecutive FedEx Cup events in America and one US Open in just five weeks.
Woods admitted that he was trying to bring his strength and stamina to the point that he could play events in consecutive weeks, which would definitely help if his back could pull it off.
“At this point I don’t know how long I will be able to play, but that’s the goal,” he said. ‘I think I’ve shown here that I can be competitive. Friday and Saturday I didn’t have enough putt holes to give myself a chance. ‘
There is no shame, of course, in whatever happens to Tiger from now on. But what about the man once considered his rightful heir, after entering the scene to win the Masters at 21 and three majors before the age of 24? Jordan Spieth is only 27 years old and arrived at Harding Park looking to complete his Grand Slam career.
Perhaps the saddest sight of the entire week took place on Thursday afternoon. After opening with a 73, the Texan spent six long hours on the driving range, hitting a few shots and looking completely dejected about the rest.
The fact that he turned 68 on Friday to make the cut speaks volumes about his grit, but he followed with another setback, and a 77 that left him in the back scorers on Sunday.
“Don’t worry about Jordan, I know him like anyone else and he’ll be fine,” said world number one Justin Thomas, the man who grew up in Spieth’s shadow. But it’s hard not to worry about Spieth. His breakdown has been going on for too long now to be dismissed as the type all players face.
Woods entered the tournament with very little competitive action behind him
Rory McIlroy’s last round was shaping up a bit like the top three, with too many slow drives and consequently too many errors. A bogeyman in thirteenth place made 12 for the week plus a triple, and no one could hope to compete by making so many mistakes.
He finished with a double under after a 68, a better shot than Woods.
The first highlight of the final day was a hole in one for South Korean Byeong-Hun An on 11, the first of the tournament.
An exciting ending was assured given the way the course was set up and the condensed ranking, with Dustin Johnson leading by just one shot, with a skeleton with a dozen players gathered three shots from the pacemaker.
History man Brooks Koepka, who wanted to become the second player to win this title for three consecutive years, was just two shots away, with a trio of Brits also in range. Paul Casey was on the same line as his playmate Koepka, with Tommy Fleetwood and Justin Rose three adrift.
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