Tiger Woods: Five Reasons Why It's Time for Him To Hit the Panic Button

It's time.

In a year when Tiger Woods figured to "roar" back into his place at the top (ESPN's Scott Van Pelt predicted TW "is going to annihilate 2011"), Woods stumbles around, searching for his lost game.

It's time to think about pressing the panic button. Here are a few reasons to freak out if you're Tiger, one of his fans or a network broadcasting the Tour.

"Nice Playing With You, Tiger. I Can't Believe I Beat You."

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MARANA, AZ - FEBRUARY 23: Tiger Woods (L) congratulates Thomas Bjorn of Denmark (R) on his win on the 19th hole during the first round of the Accenture Match Play Championship at the Ritz-Carlton Golf Club on February 23, 2011 in Marana, Arizona. (Photo

TW was a No. 1 seed this week at the Accenture Match Play tourney in Arizona.

He lost to a 16 seed, Thomas Bjorn—a nice enough guy who barely made it into the field and who trails Woods in tournament victories by oh...only about 90.

Tiger was the only No. 1 seed sent home on day one.

He was visibly shaken after the round, and fumbled for words to describe what happened. But who wouldn't be stunned when you're Tiger freakin' Woods and a No. 1 seed and you lose to a 16 in a tournament that you've won three times before?

"I'll Be Seeing You In All Those Unfamiliar Places."

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MARANA, AZ - FEBRUARY 23: Tiger Woods (C) prepares to hit a shot from the rough on the 19th hole before losing to Thomas Bjorn of Denmark (not pictured) during the first round of the Accenture Match Play Championship at the Ritz-Carlton Golf Club on Febr

Tiger has had a real problem in keeping his ball out of the "woods."

TW's swing is so unreliable these days that his ball has to be thinking it's a regular cast member on "Lost."

When Tiger needs a money drive these days, the chances are 50-50 he'll blow it and end up in places he's never been before.

Even his old swing coach, Hank Haney, tweeted yesterday after Woods' Accenture fail, "I have never seen him drive it out of play with a match or tournament on the line," after Tiger yakked a 3-wood into the desert bushes on the first playoff hole against Bjorn.

Winless Streak at 529 Days...and Counting

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LEMONT, IL - SEPTEMBER 13: Tiger Woods holds the J.K. Wadley trophy after winning the BMW Championship at Cog Hill Golf & Country Club on September 13, 2009 in Lemont, Illinois. (Photo by Hunter Martin/Getty Images)

It's been over 16 months since Tiger Woods won a PGA Tour event. (Ah yes, remember back to 2009 in the sweet September air at Cog Hill?)  

As each day passes it's gotta be like water torture to someone with his competitive fire. It has to be driving him absolutely nuts. He and we haven't seen him have a drought like this since...well, never.

It's Officially a Train Wreck When You Can't Beat Sergio

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DUBAI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES - FEBRUARY 13: Tiger Woods of the USA and Sergio Garcia of Spain after the final round of the Omega Dubai Desert Classic on the Majlis course at the Emirates Golf Club on February 13, 2011 in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. (Pho

Two weeks ago, Tiger was paired with Sergio Garcia in the final round of the Dubai Desert Classic where both shot 75's—good enough to get them in top 10 for worst scores of the day.

These days, Sergio and Tiger may be No. 1 and 1A in the race for "Mr. Most Messed-Up." And you KNOW that Tiger knows he's run completely off the rails when he can't beat a head case like Garcia.

Young Guns Not Only Don't Fear Woods, They Joke About Him

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DUBLIN, OH - JUNE 02: Tiger Woods (L) and Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland wait in a fairway during the Memorial Skins Game prior to the start of the 2010 Memorial Tournament at the Muirfield Village Golf Club on June 2, 2010 in Dublin, Ohio. (Photo by

It's starting to feel like piling on. Kicking the man when he's down, huh?

First it was Ian Poulter who kept calling Woods not by his name but by "Number 2"—like in No. 2 in the world rankings. (Of course now that would a compliment since Tiger's dropped to No. 3, and if the rankings didn't go back two years, Woods would be down in the territory of notables like Martin Laird and Yuta Iketa.)

When Rory McIlroy was asked about a possible changing of the guard in golf he said, "I don't think Phil and Tiger have got any worse ... well, Phil hasn't."

And boom goes the dynamite. When other players start making fun of you...find that panic button and press it down with urgent intent..certainly the TV people are reaching for it.