Tiger Woods :: When will we see him again?

The career of Tiger Woods has, for the last few years in particular, been plagued by a series of questions.

Will he ever get back to his best? Has his best been and gone? Will he win another major? Will he pass Jack Nicklaus’ record of 18 majors? What is a microdiscectomy? And those are just for starters.

However, on the back of his early exit from the PGA Championship last week, there is one question that is perhaps more pertinent than all the others: when will we next see him play?

Woods is currently 218th on the FedExCup standings and, even if he had opted to play in this week’s Wyndham Championship, the final qualifying event for the Playoffs, he’d have no chance of gaining the ground required to feature in the lucrative end-of-season shoot-out. So, The Barclays, Deutsche Bank Championship, BMW Championship and Tour Championship will take place without him.

Then there’s the Ryder Cup. For the most part of Tiger’s spell on the sidelines this season, US captain Tom Watson has insisted that he’d pick Woods if he was fit and playing well. He’s doing neither of those things. He also finished 70th in qualifying for the match at Gleneagles next month, with the nine automatic spaces for Americans sewn up at close of play in the PGA Championship last night. To have even an outside chance of getting one of Watson three’s picks on September 2, Woods would most likely have to play in an upcoming event on the European Tour, which is never going to happen. So, any hopes of seeing him in Perthshire in six weeks’ time are bleak at best.

All this takes us up to the end of September, after which Tiger traditionally doesn’t play a great amount of golf.

At 38 – 39 in December – does he have the stomach and the patience to attempt another massive comeback?

Last year, his only three post-September events were the Presidents Cup, Turkish Airlines Open on the European Tour, and his own event, the Northwestern Mutual World Challenge. Either of the last two events are an option for him, which means the earliest we are likely to see the 14-time major winner back in action again is late November.

There are three factors at play, though, which will determine whether or not that happens: Tiger’s fitness, Tiger’s need to get fit, and Tiger’s ego.

There is no question that Tiger needs to play more. He often talks of a need to get more ‘reps’. That means putting more events on the schedule but that’s something he has largely resisted.

However, with his back continuing to cause him problems, is he better shutting things down for the rest of the year and coming back stronger and fully fit in time for the start of the 2015 season? Can his ego allow him to do that and accept the inexorable slide down the world rankings that would consequently happen? At 38 – 39 in December – does he have the stomach and the patience to attempt another massive comeback? If he doesn’t, what does that do to his legacy, his legend? Does one of the greatest and most successful players of all time bow out of golf with a whimper or, as has defined much of career, a roar?

So many questions. So few answers.

Such is the career of Tiger Woods.

Tiger Woods :: Your thoughts?

When will we next see Tiger Woods in action? Where will he be ranked in the world when that happens? Leave your thoughts on the former world No.1 in our ‘Comments’ section below.

Michael McEwan is the Deputy Editor of bunkered and has been part of the team since 2004. In that time, he has interviewed almost every major figure within the sport, from Jack Nicklaus, to Rory McIlroy, to Donald Trump. The host of the multi award-winning bunkered Podcast and a member of Balfron Golfing Society, Michael is the author of three books and is the 2023 PPA Scotland 'Writer of the Year' and 'Columnist of the Year'. Dislikes white belts, yellow balls and iron headcovers. Likes being drawn out of the media ballot to play Augusta National.

Deputy Editor