Tiger Woods: Fans Need to Accept That Elite Golfer Will Never Return to Old Form

Bogey. Bogey. Double bogey. Par. Bogey. Bogey. That was the line of Tiger Woods through six on Sunday, as abysmal as it may sound.

If you’re a Tiger Woods fan, it may be time to close your ears or brace yourself because you’re not going to like what I have to say. In fact, I already know what your rebuttal is going to be. I understand that he’s Tiger Woods, sure. But he’s done nothing on a major level to prove that since his return to professional golf. Maybe it’s time to accept that he never will?

In his first two days of action in the 2012 U.S. Open, Woods certainly did spend some time atop the leaderboard.

I’ll give him that.

He is, after all, arguably the most talented golfer to ever play the game. He’s won 14 major tournaments, and his 73 PGA wins is the second best of all time. The last time that he won a major tournament, however, was in 2008, well before the infamous incidents that led to his disappearance from the sport altogether.

I’ll even give him this much: If Woods retired tomorrow, he would still make anyone’s list of best golfers of all time. He’s done that much for the game, and it’s not even close. Anyone who can win 14 major tournaments by the time they are 32 has deservedly earned that honor.

He’s a 10-time PGA Player of the Year. He was the PGA Tour money leader nine different years, and he won the Vardon Trophy eight times.

He’s one of the few players that transcends the sport and deserves to be treated with respect.

But after an incredibly disappointing Round 4 showing, it has reminded me of something that I’ve come to accept about Tiger Woods: The days of his dominance are behind us.

It’s about time that other fans begin to hop on this bandwagon before they start to look foolish, cheering on a demoralized Woods who's no longer able to play at the same level that he thinks he was once at.

After his first five holes in the final day of the U.S. Open, the most important round of the entire tournament, Woods was nine over par and tied for 38th in the entire tournament.

Through six shots, he was six over par and 10 shots behind the Jim Furyk.

And as ESPN blogger Farrell Evans pointed out, “ […] Tiger is not a chaser. All of his 14 major wins have come with him starting the final round with the lead.”

Woods is the most marketable player in golf, by far, but the days of him being the most likely to win whenever he steps on the green are likely far behind him. The media may still treat him as the darling of every tournament, as fans across the world know Tiger Woods, but we may never see another major tournament victory from Tiger Woods.

And as this column in the Ottawa Citizen explains, the PGA has figured out how to move on without Woods:

"

"Although a Tiger renaissance would yield benefits to the PGA and its television partners, the future of professional golf isn’t riding on it," writes Mark Sutcliffe. “The men’s golf tour survived when he was slumping and injured, and it will be fine when he retires, whether he wins five majors between now and then, or none. […] The finances of each tournament are organized so that the PGA and its television partner can’t lose. So unlike the professional sports leagues, which are watching the ratings every week, the PGA and its TV partners are not consumed with audience numbers."

"

Not one to rule himself out, Woods was insistent that he could still come back.

“It’s just patience. It’s just a few birdies here and there,” says Woods. “It’s not like where you have to go out there and shoot 62 and 63. This is a U.S. Open. You just need to hang around.  Because anything can happen at the last three holes."

I’ll end by saying this: Woods is the most talented player in the game right now, and he may prove me wrong. If so, I’d be happy to admit my mistake and treat him with even more respect because of it.

But I don’t think I’m wrong. 

Follow @BryanKalbrosky