What Tiger’s Dubai scratching means for 2017

hen Tiger Woods committed to an ambitious schedule of four events in five weeks to begin his 2017 campaign, the implicit message was that the 14-time major champion had rehabbed his surgically repaired back adequately to handle the rigors of tournament golf. Either he was fooling himself or he sustained an undisclosed injury in Dubai because the guy can’t even endure sitting or standing. Because his foundation is the tournament’s primary charitable beneficiary, Woods was supposed to present the trophy to winner Dustin Johnson at last month’s Genesis Open at Riviera CC. He took a pass, just as he did from his Wednesday press conference, the reason being that the spasms that forced his withdrawal from Dubai were an ongoing source of discomfort, even with “hourly” physical therapy, according to his agent Mark Steinberg. That Woods cannot manage even the most rudimentary tasks invited derision after he withdrew from the press conference. But the move actually spoke volumes. Woods is not right, and his comeback is in danger. At this point, perhaps it’s best to not expect anything of him anymore. “Tiger is such an ‘if’ that I don’t think we’ll see him for six months,” Pat Perez told the Associated Press. “Jordan, Jason and all these young kids winning, they’re taking over. They’re not going to catch him. Even combined, they’re not going to catch him,” Perez added. “Tiger is the needle. Anyone who argues that is crazy. But it’s almost like seeing Bigfoot now. You don’t know when you’ll see him.” Or even if. — DAVE SHEDLOSKI