Even before his latest lurch into ignominy, we knew that Tiger Woods would not be at Royal Birkdale in July for The Open. We also knew that in his absence he would be talked about by the game’s followers. Sadly, the talk will be historical, for most accept that his career as a player of championship calibre is over.
It was at Birkdale that Woods first displayed in Britain the best of his character and adapted his genius to the demands of links golf. It was 1998, 19 years ago — the span of a man’s prime and enough time to soar as high as may be imagined into the firmament of fame, and to crash back down. Woods was the game’s superstar when he came to Birkdale. The year before, he won his first major, The Masters, by 12 strokes. But he had shown nothing brilliant or appealing to the British public. Quite the opposite. At the 1997 Open at Troon, he was surrounded by security men, avoided eye contact, only answering questions on sufferance.
On the course, he lacked the guile required by seaside golf. He had been told from the cradle that he was the chosen one, he had secured the biggest sponsorship deal ever offered to a golfer, he could hit the ball further and better than anyone, but he couldn’t hack it. At Birkdale, Woods, aged 22, seemed a different young man. He was open and courteous and relishing the test. “I’m just learning to play golf,” he said. “I’ve learnt a lot of different shots and I’m pleased with my progress. Last year I went for too much or played too safe. I’m learning to get it right, to just play smart.”
His mood was made bounteous by an opening 65 and a share of the lead. Even when he shot 77 in the third round in high winds, he was forthcoming. “People have no idea how hard it is to play this type of course under these conditions,” he said. “I was happy to leave the 18th because the suffering was over. On every hole, par was a good score. You have to keep reminding yourself to be patient. And if your mind goes, your game goes.”
That was a day when the defending champion, Justin Leonard, shot 82. Phil Mickelson signed for 85 and Woods, despite his 77, remained in contention. With a 66 on the Sunday, he missed the playoff involving Mark O’Meara and Brian Watts by one stroke. Woods won the first of his three Opens two years later, at St Andrews. But there were two further aspects of that Birkdale championship that have a bearing on the premature curtailment of his extraordinary career: it was the first major Jack Nicklaus chose not to play after 146 consecutive appearances; and it was won by O’Meara, aged 41, which is Woods’ age today.
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Woods’ run of consecutive majors finished at 46, when he won the US Open in 2008 despite an injured left knee. He underwent surgery and missed the rest of that season. That was the last major he won, and it left him with 14, four short of Nicklaus’ record. In his best years, when Woods was in a class of his own and the best of the rest were intimidated by his presence, Nicklaus’ record was the only objective that might stretch him.
Nicklaus predicted that Wood would overhaul him, but the catalogue of injuries, surgery, false dawns and misdemeanours has made it clear that Woods’ race is run. Nicklaus was generous when asked on Tuesday about Woods’ difficulties. “I’m a fan of Tiger’s,” he said. “I’m a friend of Tiger’s. I feel bad for him. I think he’s struggling. I wish him well. I hope he gets out of it and I hope he plays golf again. He needs a lot of support from a lot of people and I’ll be one of them.”
There has been much speculation about Woods’ travails. Some suggest that the death of his father, Earl, in 2006 destabilised him emotionally. Others say excessive weight-training has been cripplingly counter-productive. He cuts a forlorn figure today, as the shocking police mugshot taken in the early hours made obvious. Woods suffers from insomnia as well as chronic pain. Perhaps, most of all, it is the abnormalities of fame, wealth and celebrity that have made him wretched. Unlike his predecessors, Arnold Palmer and Nicklaus, Woods, in an era of intrusion, has had to hide away. He spent a slice of his fortune on two super-yachts. One he named Privacy; the other Solitude.
Click here to watch the dashcam video of Tiger Woods being arrested by police
