Tiger Woods: Why Missing the U.S. Open is First Step in Personal Transformation

There is hope for Tiger Woods yet.

Some might argue that there always was, that a golfer of his caliber, with a resume as accomplished as any the sport has ever seen, was never out of the race. There are those who will defend Tiger's comeback attempt to the death.

They’ll tell you his personal drama hasn’t been the reason for the professional struggles. They’ll tell you that an athlete like Tiger is too mentally tough to have stumbled simply because a bevy of beauties went public and tarnished an image that Woods worked so hard to craft and protect.

There are those who will simply point to his injuries as the reason for a disappointing last couple of years. People will point to his 2008 U.S. Open win where he willed himself to victory on a bum knee, the same knee that has hobbled his chances to catch Jack Nicklaus’ record of 18 majors ever since.

They’ll tell you that his decision to skip the 2011 U.S. Open is a sign of physical ailment that has long been the only demon he’s battled out on the golf course.

I say it’s not injury, but more importantly maturity, that has kept him out of this month’s U.S. Open.

Sure, on the surface his health has continued to be an issue and has forced the once dominant Woods to become a shell of his formerly great self. Woods should have been looking like a prize fighter coming to the end of his prime and learning to install wisdom in the place of raw athletic ability, the same athletic ability which fails all of us at some point.

What we ended up with was a prize fighter refusing to adjust for his own limitations and, in turn, could only flash that brute force and physical dominance in short bursts.

It has wowed us from time to time, but hasn’t equated to wins.

Now Tiger takes a first step towards a personal transformation three years in the making. For the first time since his U.S. Open win, he is finally submitting to his limitations as a golfer and as a human being.

Tiger is admitting that for all of his immense natural ability, he cannot ignore his own health. Playing through pain, toughing it out or whatever glorious cliché we use to describe the sacrifice of athletes is a code word for stupidity when it comes to Tiger Woods.

He finally understands that in order to get back to greatness, he must get healthy.

For Tiger, this means taking time to heal and then, and only then, can real work begin on his swing. The swing was the defining feature of Tiger in his younger years. That powerful swing that drove the ball to the “ooohs” and “aaahs” of the crowd is no doubt part of the reason he’s having so much trouble today.

In order for him to work on a safer approach to his tee shots, he must rebuild strength. Once he’s arrived at a place where he can swing pain free, only then can he reinvent himself.

This gives Woods hope. While Woods is certainly at the end of his prime, he’s still a young man by golf’s standards. In a perfect world there would be no reason to think Woods couldn’t win another four or five majors before he calls it quits. However, Woods has threatened that ideal by refusing to submit to his own limitations.

Insanity is doing the same thing over and over, only expecting different results. Tiger Woods was bordering the insanity line.

This step may also have something to do with a personal healing. In the aftermath of his personal scandal, Tiger, who vowed to work on himself and his marriage, came back to the golf course a lot sooner than anyone would have expected. He never missed a major.

You could have judged him for that, but the reality may have been it was all he felt he had left.

After he lost his marriage, his public image and his personal credibility, all he had left was his greatness. Tiger can now move forward with the understanding that unless he rights his health, he won't have that left either.

He may have also figured out something that so many have known: His personal mistakes, just like his greatness, don't have to define who he is. 

Tiger Woods may not know this, or he may not care, but he might be saving golf through his act of maturity and perspective. There is a notion that has long existed that golf is better when Woods is playing.

The truth is golf is better when Tiger Woods is great.

There are few athletes in the world that are as compelling to watch as Woods is when he is at his best. Tiger has made an important step towards being great again.

There is hope for Woods, yet.