Tiger Woods Withdraws from Players: Why His Injuries Affect His Game so Much

With his stunning early withdrawal from the Players Championship due to yet another injury, it is hard to believe that Tiger will make a solid comeback soon—if ever. 

While he has shown some signs of great play, his body is now telling him that just wanting to come back and win is not that easy. Couple that with a slate of much better players who are entering their prime, and it is difficult to believe he will ever win another tournament, let alone a major.

One would think that all the working out would have made him stronger but in golf, flexibility is key—much more than strength. He has to re-tune his body and approach golf in a more relaxed manner.

His obsessive personality helped him gain fortune and fame and greatness as a golfer but it is now working against him.

Despite what purists might say, golfers are athletes and they need to stay fit in order to get the most out of their bodies in a pressure-packed four-day tournament.

Prior to Tiger, working out at the gym, running, even stretching were never viewed as important elements of golf training. Before Tiger, golfers hit a thousand chips, drives and short irons a day.  They spent hours on the greens to fight against the yips.

They hung out at the 19th Hole. They smoked and sported pot bellies. While this may not be true of all golfers, the pro golfer's life seemed to be more about the country club ethic than the workout ethic. And, despite this golden life, they played stellar golf.

Tiger changed that with his NFL-style workouts. He built up his body with weight training. He ran miles a day in order to strengthen his legs and gain more stamina. He sported muscles while his left-handed counterpart increased his belt-size. He intimidated his fellow golfers as much for his remarkable ability as for his remarkable biceps.

Any athlete will tell you, whether they are a weekender or a pro, that you have to take it easy when you return from an injury. Take it slow. But that has never been Tiger's way.

It is one thing to swing from the heels when you are 25, much different when you are 35. And, it is that much harder when you are coming off injuries. When Tiger walloped the ball out of the sand in his last tourney, it was Tigeresque and the crowd loved it. But his body didn't.

Hey, Tiger, this is not Tin Cup. You can't go for it every time. Laying up may not be in your vernacular but in order to catch Wade Simpson, let alone Jack Nicklaus, you better learn to be a little more Zen on the course.

Tiger's workout regimen is nothing if not admirable and it will help him to regain the muscular strength needed to make a comeback. But there is a tightness to his game that seems to resemble that of his latissimus dorsi.

Tiger's injuries have compounded what was already the most difficult return in pro sports. He has had to fight a variety of demons, to regain his swing as well as his mental toughness.

As someone who seemingly understands his body, he now needs to take it slowly and surely, he needs to take a page from the past and approach his game with a calmness and not a craziness.