Tiger Woods' decline could be one of the most infamous stories in sporting history
TIGER WOODS used to be the most thrilling superstar in the world of sport.
In other words, it took your breath away.
These days, as Woods approaches his 40th birthday, people are still gasping at him - but for all the wrong reasons.
That's
because the former world No.1 has suffered a fall from grace so sudden
and shocking that it might just turn out to be one of the most infamous
stories in sporting history.
Woods is just 38, but is staring at the genuine prospect that his career could be over, when he should be in his prime.
He
hasn't won a major title since 2008 and his golf swing has deteriorated
so badly that there are now genuine fears he will never win another
tournament again, let alone one of huge significance.
In Phoenix last week I watched Woods attempt to compete in the Waste Management Phoenix Open at TPC Scottsdale.
It
was hist first PGA tournament for almost six months, during which time
he had supposed to have remodelled his swing and overcome fitness
problems.
But his comeback lasted just two rounds as he failed to make the cut and shot the worst score of his professional career. An 82.
The numbers didn't stack up for Woods, but it was the manner of his shock exit that stunned onlookers the most.
That's
because someone who took the game to a whole new level with shots of
breathtaking skill and audacity, who won tournaments for fun and changed
the face of golf forever, resembled a hacker struggling to get round
his local course.
Woods failed to hit fairways and greens, producing a series of chips that someone playing off a handicap of 12 would make.
If
that wasn't bad enough, Woods then moved on to Torrey Pines, the
Californian course where he won the US Open in 08 with a broken leg, and
withdrew after 11 holes of similar sub-standard golf with a bad back.
How has it come to this? How can someone so good become so bad?
He
was once superhuman, capable of the impossible. His behaviour away from
the course might have left much to be desired, but on it he had no
equal. No one came remotely close.
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