Tiger Woods at the Players Championship: Average Play Now Routine

Tiger Woods is an average golfer.

There was a time when that statement would have been absurd to make let alone think about, but the sad truth of the matter is that it's 100 percent reality now.

Tigers' fall from grace has been epic and well documented, but everyone—even his detractors—has been waiting to see if he could make a comeback.

I dare say a comeback is almost expected. This is Tiger Woods we are talking about.

Yet, here we are at the 2012 Players Championship at Tiger finds himself in an all too familiar position: somewhere in the middle.

In the tournaments third day, Tiger shot an even Par-72 to find himself at two-under-par for the tournament. If you're keeping score at home, that has him tied for 34 with the likes of Bryce Molder, Jim Furyk, Chris Couch and a handful of other golfers that have yet to make big names for themselves.

No, he's not wearing his signature red Nike polo and black hat and tearing up the course on a Saturday afternoon. Instead, his game is looking rather pedestrian and he's being mentioned with players most average fans don't know.

Heck, even some hardcore fans probably have to Google a few of those guys—no offense meant, of course.

This, my friends, is what has become of Tiger Woods.

He was once the greatest golfer in the world and he's easily the second greatest of all time behind Jack Nicklaus, but now he's become average.

He's fallen down to earth and looks more than mortal—he looks flawed.

Maybe it's time for us to stop anticipating the great comeback story and eventual rise back up to the top of the golfing world.

Maybe we should just accept it. Average play is now the norm for Tiger. You can keep waiting for the comeback if you want, but you probably shouldn't hold your breath.

It may never happen.