Tiger Woods is two over through two holes at the Firestone tournament -- a tournament that he has won seven times.
Tiger has plainly had a rough year, and it probably has something to do with his personal problems. But I think his struggles will continue until he gets his fabulous putting stroke back, and he is at an age where that may not happen.
Tiger is now 34 years old. When Tom Watson (another once-brilliant putter) turned 35, he had won 36 PGA tournaments and 8 majors, and was widely acknowledged as the best golfer in the world. For the rest of his life, he only won three more tournaments, none of which were majors.
When Arnold Palmer turned 35, he had won 44 PGA tournaments and 7 majors. For the rest of his life, he only won 16 more tournaments, none of which were majors.
Even Jack Nicklaus only won 10 tournaments after his 37th birthday, although four of those were majors.
These examples show that at this point, Tiger has almost certainly won the overwhelming majority of tournaments he is going to win. That's not anyone's fault; that's just how the world works. He may be able to grind out enough majors to catch Nicklaus -- although Nicklaus's accomplishments are looking more and more impressive -- but he won't ever be what he was.
it seemed so obvious six or eight years ago that Tiger was going to overtake Jack's record--just completely obliterate it. i completely bought into that notion, anyway.
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