Tiger Woods at Pebble Beach: Old and Tired

To be 36 years old and in incredible physical shape, Tiger Woods looked like an old and tired man on Sunday.

You would have thought his final-round 75 was an 85 after watching his play and emotion out on the course.

After parring the first five holes, we were all anticipating some sort of magic to happen.  There was a glimmer of hope when he birdied the par-5 sixth hole, but then he began his downward spiral.

Woods would go on to bogey the seventh, eighth and ninth holes for an opening front-nine of 38.

When he made the turn to the back nine, Tiger was finished.  You could see it in his eyes and in his walk. Even his swing looked like he was putting in minimal effort.

He birdied 12 and then had back-to-back bogeys on 14 and 15 finishing the back-nine with a 37.

Phil Mickelson had the effect on Tiger that Tiger was so used to having on his opponents.  Phil's excellent play on the front nine seemed to frustrate and demoralize Tiger.

After the round, Tiger acknowledged his frustration, stating, "It was a fun day to be out there, but also in the end it was really frustrating."

Tiger's played well the first three days of the two tournaments he's played this year, but when Sunday came he just didn't look like the same player.  He didn't look like he had the mental stamina and determination to dominate on Sundays like we know he can.

With him playing in one or two more tournaments until the Master's, Tiger needs to fix the mental block that is preventing him from hoisting the trophy on Sunday.

If he could just hold it together for 72 holes (the last 18, more importantly), he can return to the form that we all expect him to maintain and become the player again that the PGA Tour NEEDS him to be.