Tiger Woods: Why Even British Open Win Won't Bring Tiger Back

After shooting an even-par 70 on Saturday in the third round of the 2012 British Open, Tiger Woods sits five strokes behind tournament leader Adam Scott.

Should Woods manage to come back to win the tournament, or even place in the top five or so, sportswriters and talking heads will all but surely breathlessly debate whether or not this signifies that the golfer that once dominated the sport like no other in history is "back."

After all, they did it after he won the Memorial. And they did it after he played well early at the U.S. Open. Some pundits do it nearly every time he hits a ball straight or chips in from the rough.

I hate to break it to those folks: Tiger Woods isn't coming back. At least not in the way that many people hope he will.

The Tiger Woods that destroyed all comers, that had 95 percent of the other professional golfers afraid of him for over a decade?

He's gone.

So is the Tiger Woods that won the 2000 U.S. Open by 15 strokes, and the Tiger Woods that once held all four of golf's major championships at the same time.

You can blame age, a bad knee or the scandal that left his personal life in ashes. Pick one, pick them all, but the simple fact is that the "old" Tiger Woods isn't coming back. Sorry folks.

It's been evident in Tiger's approach in many events this year that even if fans and the media are having trouble accepting that fact, Tiger is at least beginning to.

Woods has played woods and even irons off the tee, sacrificing power for accuracy. When he's implemented that strategy in tournaments it has seemed to serve him well.

However, occasionally "old" Tiger rears his head again, and the incredible shots that Woods used to make now become groan-inducing miscues that knock him from contention.

Can Tiger Woods once again become the best golfer in the world? He actually may already be. If he plays within himself and works on his putting, he can elevate his "new" game to the point where there will be no doubt.

Will he catch Jack Nicklaus' record of 18 major victories? It's still very possible, although it's far from the foregone conclusion it once was.

With that said, though, golf fans waiting for the "old" Tiger Woods to come stalking back out of the rough might as well put their binoculars away.

That cat isn't coming back, regardless of what happens Sunday at Royal Lytham & St Annes.

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