By Joe Schackman
The game of golf will change on Sunday.
Since 1997, when Tiger Woods took his historic waltz down Augusta’s 18th fairway, the PGA Tour has become such a Tiger-centric universe that it would leave Copernicus scratching his head. Woods’ story is more closely tied to golf’s trajectory than any athlete that has come before him. His ups and downs have shaped the sport’s overarching plotline for more than decade.
But now, this Tiger-focused era is entering its final years, and the upcoming Masters Tournament represents a clear fork in the road for the sport. Golf will go one of two directions, and unsurprisingly, it’s Woods who is behind the wheel.
Tiger’s play last week at The Arnold Palmer Invitational was vintage Woods, and came not a moment too soon. After his win last fall at the Chevron World Challenge, he had failed in each of the subsequent tournaments to post four consistent rounds. In two, at Abu Dhabi and the AT&T Pebble Beach, Woods struggled on Sunday, something that would have been unthinkable a few years ago.
Winning the Arnold Palmer Invitational exorcised those demons, though, and put him in position as the favorite going into the first round at Augusta. It’s here where he built his career, and where he once again has a solid shot at success. Tiger hasn’t finished outside the top six on this course since 2005.
The question is whether that experience will outweigh his baggage. Woods is a 36-year-old with a balky knee and a fractured personal life, a reality far removed from his days as a young pro chasing 20 majors. With every missed shot or poor round, more people question whether he can ever capture a major championship.
The Masters will be his best chance to quiet those doubters and jumpstart his pursuit of Jack Nicklaus. Woods is healthier than he’s been in a long time, his swing is back to normal and he’s got momentum. Win his fifth jacket, and the chase is officially back on.
If not, though, if Woods fades or pulls up lame, we’ll get a further glimpse of what the sport will soon look like without him. While Tiger was sidelined, golf fans were treated to a merry-go-round of champions. Grisly veterans like Stewart Cink and Padraig Harrington cemented their legacies while younger players like Martin Kaymer and Graeme McDowell won their elusive first championships. Just one player, Rory McIlroy, emerged as a potential superstar, and even then he only came away with one championship victory.
Those players are the future if Tiger fails to win this weekend. The media and fans will still gravitate toward Woods, but he’ll never be the force he once was. The sport itself will have to move on from his increasingly grim push toward Nicklaus’ record and fashion a new future.
Is that lot to ascribe to one four-day tournament? Absolutely. But it’s a harsh reality. Injuries robbed woods of potential wins on friendly courses during his prime, there are few championships coming up where he has had success. The U.S. Open won’t return to a conquered site until 2019, leaving just the Open Championship in 2014 and 2015 and the PGA Championship in 2014 (and then not again until 2018 at earliest).
This Masters is the key for Tiger. It’s a familiar venue and he’s ready to play. Either Tiger wins this week and remains on his path toward being the greatest ever, or he falls short and mixes in with the rest of the pack, sneaking up every few weeks to compete and remind people he is still around. But not the same.
Joe Schackman is a co-founder and editor of Began in '96.
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