Once upon a time, Tiger Woods was arguably the greatest athlete of all time. With 79 PGA titles to his name, he was also one of the highest-paid and most popular athletes in the world.
However, his popularity and form hit a dip, in a major way, when his extra-marital affairs came to the fore. Then began the downward spiral that saw his critics advising him to retire while he still had some sort of dignity left.
His body seemed to have given up on him. He had to have multiple back surgeries, which saw him having to cancel appearances on the PGA tour. He fell down the rankings and the likes of Rory Mcllory and Justin Rose replaced him. A comeback seemed highly unlikely. He was well and truly down and out.
This weekend, Woods win his first tournament since 2013 – a feat many, including himself, thought he would never achieve.
“I just can’t believe I pulled this off,” he said in an interview on his official website. “It’s been tough. I’ve had a not-so-easy last two years. I didn’t know if this would ever happen again,” he said.
Four back surgeries and five years later and Woods is fast becoming the USA’s favourite comeback hero.
While he had his doubts, Woods didn’t fall in what the naysayers were saying about him. Should he choose to retire now – which seems highly unlikely – he would do so having won 80 PGA titles.
Through sheer determination and a never-say-die attitude, Woods was able to reclaim glory and leave his critics scratching their heads.
“80 is a big number,” said Woods. “I’ve been sitting on 79 for about five years now, and to get 80 is a pretty damned good feeling.”
Poor record
The irony is that Woods’s Ryder Cup record is awful.
In seven appearances he has been on the winning team once, and that was back in 1999. Though his singles record is strong, in foursomes and fourballs he has won nine, lost 16 and halved one.
Taking into account that most of these matches took place when he was far and away the best golfer in the game and winning Majors for fun, it is a shocking, but not perplexing record.
During his prime years Woods was a focused, solitary figure, able to communicate with fellow players or the media only through a fixed-smile veneer that gave nothing away and invited nobody in.
Now 42 and having hit rock bottom in his personal and professional life, he is said to be a different person than when he won his 14th and last Major 10 years ago.
Finding a partner for Woods was always a challenge for successive US captains for various reasons. But this time, with Woods back after missing the previous two editions, there is likely to be a longer queue with their hand up.
“I believe this time Woods will be a definite asset,” Europe’s 2014-winning captain Paul McGinley said at the weekend.
“His competitiveness is growing week by week and his rapport with fellow team members will be stronger.”
Current Europe captain Thomas Bjorn, who had some memorable battles with Woods as a player, also welcomed the American’s return.
“For such a big event you want big personalities, big profiles… I’m excited about seeing Tiger back in the fold.”