By Kelvin Butler
After not winning a major golf tournament since 2008, everyone had accepted that Tiger Woods was a shell of himself and would never win a major again.
His back, shoulders and overall body were giving him pain and he was nearly broken down. On top of that, he was dealing with family issues and addiction, taking breaks away from golfing to get himself together. When his life seemed to be in the most turmoil, he lost all his sponsorship. Before 2009, he was on pace to become the first billionaire athlete.
Sure, he won the 2013 Golfer of the Year, but that was when he awkwardly won every unimportant tournament on that year’s PGA tour. There was some hope after that but then he underwent surgeries, which he took a whole year off for rehabilitation. Surprisingly, he did get a bit better afterwards, finishing in the top ten every blue moon. However, he missed the cut for a PGA championship, meaning that he didn’t do well enough to make the field, which hasn’t happened to him since he became a professional golfer.
But after a decade of poor play, injuries and rehab in 2019, Tiger Woods shocked the world by winning his first major in 11 years—the 2019 Masters on April 14—and he never looked back.
On Nov. 7, Woods named himself captain of the United States President Cup team. The U.S. was down right into the last day but with Woods’s domination in the singles match, the team rebounded to win the 2019 President Cup tournament.
Now, Woods is tied with Sam Snead for the most PGA tour wins (82). I’m rooting for Tiger Woods to surpass Snead for the wins record, finally passing Phil Mickelson for the most major titles.
And there’s a chance for him to make the 2020 Summer Olympics golfing team. So, he might add a gold medal to his resume. There’s still work to do before he can be considered for the prestigious place on the USA golf team.
There’s a chance Tiger can continue with his hot streak and re-establish himself as one of the best golfers in the world.
