Recently I played golf with a friend. It was one last outing before his surgery for a bulging disk. His doctor said he wouldn’t be playing golf for a while.
Which brings us to Tiger Woods, who walked off the course in the Players Championship Sunday with a similar injury.
“I’ve been playing with a bad neck for quite a while. I’ve been through it. I can’t play with it anymore,” said Woods. “They want me to get a picture on it next week. I might have a bulging disk.”
An injury would help explain Woods’ terrible performance at Quail Hollow, where he shot 74-79 – 153, missing the cut by eight strokes. Woods scored better in the Players, shooting 70-71-71 and was 2-over through six holes Sunday.
The injury would also help explain Woods’ shockingly impotent drives at TPC Sawgrass. Through the first three rounds, Woods ranked last in the field of 70, averaging 259 yards per drive. Even legendarily short-hitting, 53-year-old Fred Funk ranked ahead of Woods.
Some have speculated that Woods incurred the injury on the night of his SUV accident Thanksgiving night.
Woods is set to play next in the Memorial (June 3-6), where he is the defending champion, followed by the U.S. Open (June 17-20) at Pebble Beach, site of what some consider his greatest triumph. In winning the 2000 U.S. Open there, Woods established tournament records by shooting 12-under-par and winning by 15 strokes.
Will Woods need surgery? Will rest, rehab, and medication be an option as he tries to get through the 2010 season?
It was once a foregone conclusion that Woods would break Jack Nicklaus’ record of 18 major championships. Now it’s not so certain.
Woods, 34, is still ahead of the pace of the Golden Bear. At the same age, Nicklaus had won 12 majors.
