Tiger Woods: Mediocre Finish at Barclays Perfect Summary for Woods' 2012 Season

All things considered, Tiger Woods has had a great season on the PGA Tour. He has won three tournaments, finished in the top 10 at six events and has made nearly $5 million.

But the Barclays event this weekend was a perfect showcase of how frustrating this year has been for Woods, even with his return to glory. 

The problem with a player like Woods is everyone remembers what he used to be, instead of looking at what he is. What he is right now is a very good, occasionally great, player who will fail to crack the top 30 in as many events as he will win. 

At the Barclays, Woods had an outside shot at getting to the top of the leaderboard on Sunday. He didn't get there, and never really got close, finishing with a five-over 76 for the round and 38th overall with a one-over-par 285. 

If you want to forgive Woods for his performance due to an ailing back, there is certainly an argument to be made. 

Ailing back or not, Woods has been doing this all year long. He will look great on one day, then completely lose everything the next. 

Everyone thought Woods' victory at the Arnold Palmer Invitational would lead to big things at the Masters. Instead, he finished 40th with a five-over par. 

Woods won the Memorial two weeks before the U.S. Open, only to finish 21st. He did have a strong showing at the British Open, but it still wasn't good enough to get over that big hurdle. 

There have been small moments that Woods has managed to conquer the physical and mental side of the game, but it has never come back on a consistent level. 

The Barclays showcased the good and bad that Woods has to offer right now. He is still one of the best players in the world, but how do we really quantify his 2012 season?

Has it been a triumphant success and return to glory for the greatest player of this generation? As I said at the start, all things considered, you can say it has. But for a player like Woods, who is not used to having qualifiers to describe him, all things considered isn't good enough. 

Not all wins are created equal, and Woods is going to be judged by what he doesn't do as much as what he does. Fair or not, he has set the bar this high. He needs to be the star of the show whenever he steps on the course. 

There have been times when we have seen that Tiger. Unfortunately, it has not been enough to deem this season a great success. 

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