Tiger Woods withdrew through injury during the third round at The Masters; fifteen-time major champion has only completed 72 holes twice since October 2020; Woods facing speculation over his future after latest injury setback
Tuesday 11 April 2023 16:23, UK
Tiger Woods has already admitted his time as a full-time golfer is over, while uncertainty over his future has ignited once again after a forced withdrawal from The Masters.
Woods' career has been plagued by injury problems, with multiple back surgeries and a host of setbacks, although his recovery from the car crash in February 2021 that shattered his leg and ankle has been his toughest yet.
It would take nearly 14 months for him to appear at another full-field event, with Woods electing for a "game-time decision" that he would make his comeback at The Masters last April. Making the cut was an impressive feat, although he faded badly over the weekend with back-to-back rounds of 78.
Woods was unable to finish the tournament at the PGA Championship, saying he felt "sore" after a third-round 79 in cold and windy conditions at Southern Hills, then elected to skip the US Open before missing the cut in The 150th Open at St Andrews.
A return to PGA Tour action did not take place until the following February at the Genesis Invitational, where he completed 72 holes for the first time since October 2020 and finished tied-45th, and he then fell short in his ambition to play four rounds again when he returned to The Masters.
Woods lacked the usual self-belief when asked about his hopes of contending for an unlikely 16th major title, instead using his press conference to describe his appearance the previous year as a 'smaller-version' win for simply making the cut.
The 47-year-old felt he was hitting it better than the previous year but acknowledged his injuries ached more than they had in his comeback appearance, while Rory McIlroy claimed in a pre-tournament practice round together that only mobility issues were preventing Woods being a serious contender.
Woods has issued no plans about his long-term future in the sport, other than focusing on the majors, although he responded to suggestions that 2023 would be his last Masters appearance by saying: "I don't know how many more I have in me, so I just appreciate the time that I have here and cherish the memories."
Butch Harmon, Woods' former coach, said: "He works hard just to get here and he feels that if he shows up, then he has a good chance to compete. Can he ever win another one? I would never say, as every time you say he can't do something he proves us wrong!"
Woods admitted to being in "constant" pain during an opening-round 74, his highest on the first day since winning The Masters in 2005, although he battled through tough conditions to make a record-equalling 23rd cut at Augusta National.
The 47-year-old had seven holes to play when the second round was halted due to storms on Friday, then returned in cold, wet and windy conditions to sneak through on the cut mark and avoid a first missed cut at The Masters as a professional.
"I hate to say this, but I was just hoping that he wouldn't make the cut, that he would finish outside," Harmon admitted. "Not because I don't want to see him play, we always want to see Tiger play, but you could just see he was in agony trying to get around there."
The unseasonably cold weather faced Woods with a new challenge during the third round, where he made two bogeys in his first five holes and then carded back-to-back bogeys to fall six over for his round and bottom of the leaderboard by three shots.
"When you saw the forecast earlier in the week, you had to have thought it was going to be a very big mountain for him to climb," Golf Channel's Damon Hack said. "I think considering the schedule that he wanted to play, which was all of the majors and a few more, maybe that's just going to be too much for this 47-year-old body to handle.
"You hope that somehow, some way he's able to pull the rabbit out of the hat, but it seems like it's getting harder and harder for him to do."
Woods was struggling to walk and was in clear discomfort when play was suspended on Saturday afternoon, while cold conditions on Sunday morning would have only added to his physical struggles, with a statement on social media confirming he had reaggravated his plantar fasciitis.
"He knows how much pain he's in, so he's got to get realistic," Sir Nick Faldo told Sky Sports. "It's a great a shame, but he doesn't need to go out there. I don't think the fans want to see Tiger looking in that much pain."
Hack added: "Considering how he was - not moving well, noticeably limping - this is probably the best course of action. He made the cut, but what was there to gain for the rest of this weekend?
"It's cold, it's damp, the course is long, and soggy and hilly and wet - and for what he's been through physically, probably the best course of action for him was to withdraw."
Woods denied speculation about a potential retirement at The Open last summer and it is a subject that will be revisited in the coming weeks, with his physical limitations leaving one of golf's all-time greats struggling to do little more than try and finish the tournament he competes in.
"I don't know how he's able to keep doing this," Faldo said. "He's got the most amazing mindset where he thinks 'I'm only going to come if I can win'.
"The little fellas who sit on your shoulders, when are they going to say 'Tiger, I think you need to call it a day'? I don't know if he will. I know at the end of my career when I was having physio before and physio after, when you're in pain, one day you go 'I've had enough of this'."
Woods has previously said: "Every year from here going forward is to play in all the majors - I am not going to play too much more than that." That target currently looks uncertain for 2023.
He was next scheduled to feature at the PGA Championship, an event he has won four times, although it remains to be seen whether he will be fit to play at Oak Hill Country Club from May 18-21.
The US Open takes place from June 15-18 at Los Angeles Country Club, before Woods has the chance to return to Royal Liverpool - where he defended the Claret Jug in 2006 - when The Open rounds off the major season from July 20-23.
"Look where The Open is this year - it's fairly flat and he did win around there," Harmon said. "He didn't hit a driver once and he hit an iron off almost every tee when he won.
"Will we see him again? Gosh, I hope so."
