Not Out Of The Woods Yet

Will we ever see the triumphant fist
pump again wearing his Sunday red?

The 2008 U.S. Open was the site of Tiger Woods's last major championship victory, but it will not be his next. Woods announced Tuesday due his ailing knee and achilles tendon he will not participate in the 111th year of the event at the Congressional Country Club in Bethesda, Maryland.

The World's former No. 1 pulled out of the PLAYERS championship in May for the second straight year as a result of recent his leg injuries, but have they are nothing new.

    Many remember his gutsy performance in the '08 U.S. Open when he defeated fellow American Rocco Mediate in an eighteen-hole playoff, hobbling along the Torrey Pines fairways on a torn ACL, but that's now just a mere memory for Woods. He has yet to win a PGA Tour event since then and with his three-year anniversary of that victory approaching rather quickly despite what he says, his once unbreakable confidence is growing to mediocrity.

    At one point in time golfing legend Jack Nicklaus's record of eighteen major championships looked in serious jeopardy with the rapid rise of a kid from Cypress, California and his greatness, but now at the advanced age of thirty-five and ongoing injuries, Woods is no longer a spring chicken with the record continuing to slip away.

    Woods currently has won fourteen major championships throughout his career and looked to regain his form at this years Masters. The ten-time PGA Tour Player of the Year finished fourth at Augusta National, making an unbelievable push for the lead the final day of the tournament, but ultimately came up short.

    Woods with his newly revamped swing has showed signs of the golfer we once knew and loved, but has yet to find his rhythm on the course. His recent personal issues have been well documented over the last year and half, but those seem to be a thing of the past, needing now to get back to playing good golf.

    There is no question the once dominant Woods we saw play is gone, but with his track record and skill set still in tact he will in fact win again. The question will continue to be his health and if it will allow him enough time to surpass the Golden Bear as the greatest ever to swing a golf club.