Tiger Woods’ Last Chance to Conquer the Course

The greatest golfer the world has ever known will take the course post-injuryJay MehtaThe Santa ClaraOctober 19, 2017Narcotics, adultery and police encounters forced Tiger Woods into a seemingly unrepairable bust.Six months ago, the greatest golfer of all time underwent an intensive surgery to solve an ongoing injury that has taken him off the course for the majority of the past year.Woods, a controversial yet legendary golfer, hurt himself approximately three years ago while golfing, but preexisting injuries from his car accident in 2009 did not help his overall health. Since then, he has not fully recovered. In April, Wood’s surgery involved joining and fusing multiple vertebrae in the lower back to decrease chronic back pain.Lower back pain is already common with golfers because the pressure exerted on the back during a swing accumulates over time but Woods’ situation made it worse when he got into a car accident under the influence of a variety of drugs.Last week, Woods was finally cleared by his team of physicians to resume playing golf with no restrictions.“He can do as much as he needs to do. Tiger is going to take this very, very slowly. This is good, but he plans to do it the right way” Woods’ agent, Mark Steinberg, said.This is a good sign for Woods because his health has been detrimental to his career and legacy throughout the last few months.Not only did the injury get in the way, but Woods’ name was once more tainted when he was spotted by the police in his vehicle while extremely impaired due to prescription drugs.This report did not help to clear his name due to his past infedelities as well as many instances of narcotic drug abuse and other police encounters for reckless endangerment..On Oct. 7, Woods posted a video of himself on Instagram of his famed swing, showing that he has been slowly recovering.At this point, surgeons and physical therapists have limited him to 60-yard pitch shots and have suggested he restrict the amount of twisting he exerts.However, the video shows full swings even with a driver, which requires a greater amount of torque generated by twisting.While Woods says he is not experiencing any pain while swinging post-surgery, sports fans are still skeptical he will make a comeback and land any victories.His last victory was four years ago at the Bridgestone Invitational.Within these last few years, he has been a far cry from his younger days when he was bagging victories at almost every major golf tournament he played.The last tounament Woods played was Feb. 3 at the Dubai Desert Classic when he dropped out due to his back spasms.It was only his third tournament since he had his third back surgery in 2015, which caused him to miss every major tournament in the past two years.It has been a slow and disappointing year for Woods, but he is prioritizing his health— which is the right move long term.Even though Woods hasn’t been playing, he’s still been involved in the golf world.As an assistant captain at the President’s Cup two weeks ago, Tiger Woods is making sure his name is still relevant.This year, the former number one golfer in the world dropped out of the World Golf Ranking’s Top 1000 list. But 2018 could mark the beginning of a resurgence.Despite every controversy, Woods is still the best golfer of all time and he may have the chance to prove that once more.Contact Jay Mehta at jmehta@scu.edu or call (408) 554-4852.