There Won't Be Any More Tiger Woods Miracles After 2015 British Open Dud

ST. ANDREWS, Scotland — He made us believers in the remarkable. Tiger Woods was one of a kind, captivating and enthralling. He chipped in at Augusta and won a Masters. He holed impossible putts at Torrey Pines and won a U.S. Open. But after yet another performance that was less embarrassing than it was lamentable, it is time to stop believing.

The one his fans called “Da Man,” as in “Tiger, you da man,” is now Da Disappointment. On the Old Course at St. Andrews, where Woods once broke scoring records, he's on the verge of setting a record of another kind—missing the cut in consecutive majors for the first time in his career. After playing poorly in the U.S. Open at Chambers Bay, he played no less poorly in the British Open.

The second round Friday did not finish because a storm out of the pages of the Last Judgment pounded St. Andrews with such ferocity—fairways looked like lakes—the start of play was delayed nearly three-and-a-half hours. So, in almost a ceremonial capacity, Woods will be returning Saturday.

David J. Phillip/Associated Press

But he was near the bottom, trailing even six amateurs, five over par through the 11 holes he completed and 15 shots behind Dustin Johnson. There would be no miracles for Woods this time or most likely anytime. His game is a mess of confusion and bewilderment.

He had a reason for his Chambers Bay performance, a lack of practice because of that aching back. Then, teasing, he made the cut at the Greenbrier Classic, arriving here with the observation, “I’m very excited.” We listened. We believed. Then we looked.

Woods started with a four-over-par 76 on Thursday in conditions as perfect as a golfer could expect in Scotland. That was 10 shots higher than one of his playing partners, Jason Day, and nine higher than the other, Louis Oosthuizen.

Once more, expectations proved nothing except Woods’ inability to do what he once could and, seemingly, as the failures multiply, what he never will do again.

On the ESPN broadcast Friday, Paul Azinger, a champion (1993 PGA Championship) golfer-turned-commentator referred to Woods in the unkindest of terms, saying, “It’s hard to watch the greatest player of this generation be a middle-of-the-pack hack.” Hack. You cringed.

David J. Phillip/Associated Press

Woods is not a hack. He’s a fallen great. He’s a golfer whose time has passed, at least in competing for the only events that matter to him, the four majors. He’s someone who won’t give up, an admirable quality, but also won’t catch up.

He came here, and Tuesday he told us, “The previous majors were a bit more difficult. I was still learning a new swing...I hit the ball great at Greenbrier. It was the first time I had proximity to the hole with my iron play in I don’t know how many years. It’s been a while. That was a very good sign. And as bad as I putted, I was only four shots out of a playoff.”

That was an easier course, a course softened by rain. That was a course which could create a false sense of satisfaction, of thinking, “I got it back, at last.” The Open showed he didn’t have it back. The probability is he’ll never have it back.

Tournament	Finish
2015 U.S. Open	CUT
2015 Masters	T17
2014 PGA Championship	CUT
2014 Open Championship	69

This isn’t an attempt to kick someone when he’s been trampled down. Nevermind those personal transgressions to which he admitted some six years ago. At his best, Woods was the very best. He has those 14 major triumphs, second only to Jack Nicklaus, and when one considers golfers such as Ben Hogan, Gene Sarazen, Tom Watson, Gary Player and Arnold Palmer, that is an achievement.

But it’s gone. He did make the cut at the Masters, an event where experience and a lack of rough enabled him to call down a few echoes. But in the Opens, where driving accuracy is in demand, where the greens can be slick, Woods was painfully ineffective.

After Thursday’s round, Woods, whom we never heard give in, insisting that even a dozen shots back he would make birdies and make a charge, all but conceded.

“I’m so far back,” he said, “and the leaderboard is so bunched, that in order for me to get in there Sunday, I’m going to have to have the conditions tough and then obviously put together some really solid rounds, something like J.D. (John Daly, who won) did back in ’95. If you shoot some good solid rounds in tough conditions like that, players can move up the board and hopefully I’m one of them.”

The conditions were tough Friday. That didn’t benefit Woods. Nothing seems to benefit Woods. He’s not the golfer he used to be. We believed him in the worst of times, and so often he came through. It’s time to stop believing.

Art Spander is a winner of the 2009 Lifetime Achievement Award in Journalism from the PGA of America. Unless otherwise noted, all quotes were obtained firsthand.