Tiger Woods was once seen as the greatest golfer of all time. He revolutionised the sport, conquering all before him. But what has happened now and is this the end for him?
A brief history
Woods was born on December 30th, 1975 in Cypress, California and according to the Gazette Review website, was introduced to golf before he was two. It was seen that he took to the sport "like a duck to water". After a very successful collegiate career, in 1997 Woods won his first major tournament, The Masters. In doing so he became the "youngest ever winner of the event".
Dominating the sport
Over the course of the following ten years, Woods dominated the sport winning fourteen majors. The BBC noted that within this decade, the extent of Woods' imperious form was the effect that it had on those competing with him. Colin Montgomerie insisted that one of the reasons that he never won a major was that his opportunities were "so limited" by the American. There were tournaments where there seemed a sense of inevitability that Woods would triumph. This was the case at the 2001 Masters when he completed a two-stroke win over David Duval to hold all four majors simultaneously. Putting this into context, no other golfer has achieved such a feat. From the age of 21 to 32, Woods won everything that there was to win; The Masters four times, the US PGA also four times, The Open three times and the US Open also three times.
Where it has gone wrong
However, in 2008 after securing the US Open, no one could or would have predicted for what was to come. His victory nine years ago was his last major victory. So what has happened? There are two major factors for his demise; first of all, since 2008 Woods has suffered numerous injuries as stated on the PGA website.
Whether that be two stress fractures of the left tibia in 2008, a bulging disc in 2010, an injury to his left Achilles tendon in 2011 or tightness in his back in 2013, the list goes on and on. Woods even revealed in 2013, as reported on CNN, that his physical condition was so bad after another back operation that "he can't even bend down to pick up a ball".
The second factor is his form. The Golf website said that Woods "has lost his game" and revealed the areas in which he has fallen. Not only is he missing greens like never before, he is also losing strokes from short range and his speed is slower. The combination of both factors have seen Woods slip alarmingly down the ranking of best golfer. In April last year he was the 476th best golfer in the world according to The Washington Post. It is as a result of this that many believe that Woods is finished. The Golf Digest website stated that "Tiger Woods is done. Tiger Woods is finished".
Whatever happens to Tiger Woods in the future, it is a sad demise for one of sport's all-time greats. He has certainly left his mark even if he is indeed finished.
