Is Tiger’s neck strain cause for concern?
There’s no word for something that’s both unexpected and expected. But this isn’t the first time Tiger Woods has left us at a loss for words.
Woods announced in a tweet on Monday that he would miss this week’s Arnold Palmer Invitational due to a neck strain. As if reading our minds, he answered everyone’s first question in the same tweet.
“My lower back is fine, and I have no long-term concerns.” Woods has never been one to share more information than he has to, but even he realizes things are different this time around. Over the past year and a half, the golf legend has been embraced like never before, lifted by his competitors and propelled by the entire sports world as he tries to do the unthinkable and reach the top of the mountain. One. Last. Time. The 14-time major champion has played 23 tournaments since returning from spinal fusion surgery in the fall of 2017. With a win at the 2018 Tour Championship, a runner-up at last year’s PGA Championship, and nine top 10s, his comeback is already a resounding success. But we want more.
A ninth win at Bay Hill this week was a real possibility. His iron game this year has looked great. And while some criticized his conservative strategy off the tee at Club de Golf Chapultepec two weeks ago, it was Tiger sticking with a plan and focusing on scoring.
His stats largely backed up what we saw. He was ready. Except for his putting. And this was the week we were supposed to get some answers.
At both the Genesis Open at Riviera and in Mexico, Woods couldn’t get anything going on the greens. But the poa greens on both courses can be bumpy at times. This week, back in his home state of Florida, on Bermuda grass, we’d see if the putting problems were real.
While Woods hasn’t shown any signs of physical problems this year, his message said, “due to a neck strain that I’ve had for a few weeks.” That’s surprising. The Genesis Open three weeks ago was a cold, wet, gruelling tournament. Woods dropped four shots over his final nine holes and admitted to being worn out. You have to wonder if that’s where the trouble began and whether the late decision to play the next week in Mexico was a mistake. Woods said in his tweet that he hopes to play next week in the Players Championship at TPC Sawgrass. Two weeks after that is the WGC Dell Match Play, and then it’s just two more until the Masters.
The plan all along was to play a lighter schedule this year than last, when he teed it up 19 times. If this injury is minor, perhaps the rest will do him good. But what if this isn’t just a simple neck strain?
There was a time when, for all Tiger showed us on the golf course, he was a closed book off it. Over the past few years though, he’s opened up. But the most closely guarded secret of any athlete is his or her health.