Tiger Woods Taking A Leave of Absence from Golf

It has been a rough year of golf for Tiger Woods. To be quite honest, his game hasn’t been the same for the past few years, ever since the whole sex scandal came and went. But these recent months have been the worst by far. Just the other week at the Phoenix Open, Tiger shot a career worst 82 and missed the cut by 12 shots. Then a few days later, he had to withdraw from the Farmers Insurance Open in Torrey Pines because his back was bothering him. On top of that, he currently ranks #62 in the world, which is his worst ranking ever since he first entered professional golf in 1996. Frustrated by his failures, Tiger has decided to take an indefinite leave of absence from golf and the PGA Tour until he improves his game.

Tiger made the announcement on his website, saying, “Right now, I need a lot of work on my game, and to still spend time with the people that are important to me. My play, and scores, are not acceptable for tournament golf. Like I’ve said, I enter a tournament to compete at the highest level, and when I think I’m ready, I’ll be back. Next week I will practice at Medalist and at home getting ready for the rest of the year. I am committed to getting back to the pinnacle of my game. I’d like to play The Honda Classic — it’s a tournament in my hometown and it’s important to me — but I won’t be there unless my game is tournament-ready. That’s not fair to anyone. I do, however, expect to be playing again very soon.”

While Tiger has been dealing with a lot of injuries over the past few years and undergoing physical therapy, many people speculate that what is really holding him back is a psychological issue. Maybe he is still a little scarred from the public shame and downfall he experienced back in 2009. Or it could even be that his age is catching up to him. Whatever the issue may be, Tiger will be using this time off to practice and meditate until he feels that he is ready. With the Honda Classic starting on February 23, this break could be as short as two weeks or it could last as long as a few months, with him missing the Masters in April. No one really knows, not even Tiger himself. At one point in time, Tiger was the best out there and I hope he can overcome whatever he’s dealing with and revive his glory days.