Woods’ downfall hard to watch

Overheard in a diner Monday morning on the west side of Houston: “It’s a shame because driving used to be the best part of Tiger’s game.”

Sure, it made me smirk. It also made me feel bad.

This and the many jokes to come following Tiger Woods’ DUI arrest in Jupiter, Fla., are hard to laugh at.

For years, we’ve talked about Woods’ golf game and if he would ever return to the form we once knew. Now this. Tiger once seemed invincible. He was the greatest golfer — the man some considered the greatest athlete — in the world for years.

He changed the game. He was a champion, a role model, a trailblazer.

Then came the 2010 infidelity/ sex addiction scandal and we all saw a different side of Woods. That was hard to get over. Watching the news conference apology that year, we saw a man ask for forgiveness, admit to needing help.

A hero fell, but many of his fans stuck with him and forgave him. It took time, but Woods became known for golf again, rather than scandal.

But in 2010, Woods was still a phenomenal golfer. The game wasn’t nearly as good without him.

Now? Woods is an afterthought. Injuries have set him back significantly. He’ll never be the same.

Golf has gone on without him. New faces have emerged. Younger and better players are winning tournaments.

Woods’ newest issue won’t be as easy for him to come back from. His game isn’t even a shadow of what it was seven years ago. The comeback golf fans have waited for from him isn’t in the cards.

The DUI photo circulating of Woods is a far cry from what he used to be. Instead of a Nike hat, the messy thinning hair. A white t-shirt instead of a champion red polo. Sad, glossy eyes instead of the intense, focused glare on the 18th green.

Woods’ error in judgment this time will require more than time. He was the butt of jokes, the topic of conversation at Memorial Day barbecues. He’s the subject of chatter about how sad it is when the

mighty fall.