Is Tiger Woods done?

We all know Tiger's story, so there's no reason to re-hash any of the infidelity stuff.  The most dominant golfer in the world, at least through 2008, is at his lowest professional point.  He won his last major championship at the 2008 U.S. Open, and has only won a total of six times since that victory.  That's six tournament wins since June 16th, 2008.  For a player that has averaged a shade over five victories a season since turning professional back in 1996, not winning a tournament in 21 months is a bit alarming.

Is he done?  That's the question on every golf fan's mind.  Can Tiger get back to where he used to be?  He seemed to put himself back into the conversation with a fourth place showing at this year's Masters.  But, waking up this morning, checking the scores of the first round of the Players Championship, Tiger finds himself four over par through four holes.  Not a great start.  Maybe he was lucky to finish fourth at the Masters.  It's possible.

There are a lot of critics out there who want Tiger to be done.  They want him to never win another tournament.  There are still some folks out there who believe that the sport of golf is "better" when he's not winning.  For me personally, golf isn't the same without that "Tiger Factor."  There was a time you could turn any tournament on that Tiger was playing in, and his name would be somewhere on the first page of the leader board.  He may not win the event, but there was a "buzz" you could sense.  Other players felt it.  Fans at the event felt it.  Those watching at home could even feel it.  There was always this little nervous tension wondering if Tiger would win it, or wondering how close he would get to it.  Right now, even though I'm a fan of golf, both playing the game and watching it as well, it's difficult for me to be as interested in it as I once was.

What Tiger needs right now is to do what so many have done in the game of golf, and that's just swallow your pride and ask for help.  Tiger's problem is that he thinks he has the answer.  He fired his swing coach, Hank Haney, choosing to go with the lesser known Sean Foley.  Since that change, the results have been terrible.  Tiger is now struggling with the problem many of us have with the game, a little thing called "inconsistency."  It would be such an easy game if we could just put the same swing on the ball every time and hit it how we want to, right?  But, if you take the swing out of it, I'll tell you exactly where Tiger is losing his game, and exactly why he hasn't won.  He's become mortal with a putter in his hand.  You don't see the same Tiger on the greens as you used to.  He's clearly not confident standing over a 10 foot putt like he used to be.  Tiger has always sprayed drives all over the place.  Heck, some of the best highlights we have of Tiger Woods are these miraculous shots he hits around or through trees, out of fairway bunkers, or from other holes for that matter.  He's made his career out of being able to give himself a chance after those mistakes.  Now, the issue is sinking the putt to make all of those great shots worth it.  That's what he's not doing anymore.  He's lost his concentration on the green.

I happen to be one of those people who roots for Tiger to win.  I want to see Tiger take down Jack Nicklaus's record of 18 majors.  Right now, Tiger stands at 14 and is within range.  At the age of only 35, he's still in the prime of his career.  The PGA isn't the same without a dominant Tiger Woods.  Sure, it's led to a "youth movement" and given us a bunch of great, young, talented players to watch and root for, but it's still not the same.  Maybe the light bulb will go on again for Tiger, and we can get that buzz back as we watch him chase down Jack's record.  I, for one, hope it happens sooner rather than later.