Tiger Woods' Talk of Wrist Bone Injury Overshadows Rory McIlroy Trouncing
Despite his obvious genius and incredible career record, Tiger Woods will always be an individual who splits opinion within the golfing community and general public.
At the 2015 Masters, we saw the emergence of Jordan Spieth, fulfilling his potential by winning the first green jacket of his burgeoning career, but it was Woods who still created plenty of headlines as he returned to elite competition after a recent layoff.
Tiger surprised many during his four days' work at Augusta, first by threatening a genuine return to form across the opening three days as he stayed with the chasing pack, albeit as Spieth blazed a record-breaking trail across 54 holes.
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However, the legendary player struggled on Masters Sunday after being paired with the mercurial Rory McIlroy. The Irishman hit form to finish fourth in the tournament—seven ahead of Woods, per Masters.com, as the troubled American fell out of contention amid shocking claims of a fresh injury.
Mark Cannizzaro of the New York Post reports Woods hurt his wrist during his final round of 73 on Sunday, with the golfer claiming he "popped" his wrist joint on the ninth hole after hitting a tree root during a swing.
Woods said he fixed the joint himself in order to complete his round, as McIlroy overshadowed his partner with a brilliant 66 in his final round, per Cannizzaro:
"I didn’t know there was a tree root there. I drove my hand or drove the club straight into it. It didn’t move. But my body kept moving. I told [TV] there that there was a little joint that popped out and I was able to somehow put it back in, which didn’t feel very good, but at least it got back in and I could move my hand again.
I was in a hole, there was a big depression there and I didn’t really suspect there would be anything in front of it. Evidently, there was.
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Tiger's admission did not impress many, attracting instant criticism him for his statement. Former NFL head physician, David Chao, believes Woods' self-diagnosis was wildly inaccurate:
It would be easy to surmise Woods was making an excuse for his drop in quality at the end of the competition, especially in light of McIlroy taking him to task in a one-on-one situation, but Tiger's overall contribution should not be overlooked.
Woods finished Sunday with a total score of 283, matching his effort from 2013, with an improvement of 10 shots from his 2012 card.
He avoided major trouble throughout the week, never once shooting above bogey. In total, he hit 15 birdies and one eagle, per The Masters.
The expectations of Tiger are always stratospheric, but these statistics show he is close to finding his best game once again.
Martin Samuel of the Daily Mail highlighted we have not seen the last of the great golfer, despite the emergence of super talents such as Spieth and McIlroy:
"What is plain, despite Sunday's disappointment, is that rumours of Tiger's demise were exaggerated. He was diagnosed from afar as having the chipping yips, and there were plenty of amateur physicians declaring his condition at best chronic and at worst incurable.
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Woods has always been the alpha male in world golf during his career, and he will have to accept this is no longer the case. The "wrist injury" may have been something or nothing, but the player's explanation was more of a testament to his ego and former prowess as he tries to keep up with the game's young superstars.
He knew McIlroy had bested him on the final day. The wrist may well have played a part, but Woods is clever enough to know his post-tournament injury revelation was sure to deflect focus away from his one-sided trouncing.
However, Woods showed enough to suggest he will soon find himself back in full contention for golf's major titles in the next 12 months, if he can stay healthy and focused, as the mind and body weaken with age.
At Augusta, he proved the old magic is still present. Now he has to show he can still live with McIlroy, Spieth and company.
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