What's next for Tiger Woods?
2017 has been a packed year for Tiger Woods. He played at the Farmer’s Insurance, his first PGA Tour event since August 2015. He did not play very well in this tournament, he shot a 76 in the first round, four-over par. Not great, but not bad for someone who hasn’t played an official tournament in over a year. Tiger also signed an endorsement deal with TaylorMade after Nike decided to stop making their clubs. He still wears Nike apparel, but he now has to become familiar with TaylorMade style clubs. He is now playing with a Scotty Cameron blade putter, not too different from the Nike Method putter he has used for most of his career. Tiger once used a Scotty Cameron towards the beginning of his career so that should not be a problem for him.
Aside from the new gear, just a week ago Tiger Woods withdrew the Dubai Desert Classic due to back spasms. This has been a nagging issue for him for a long time. For most athletes, a year and a half is plenty long enough to recover from any injury. He has had several surgeries and I have noticed very little improvement in his game. Could this be the end of the Tiger Woods era?
So what can Tiger do to improve? For now, nothing. He has done all he can for the moment. I think withdrawing from the Dubai Classic was a good idea. I think he needs to take more time and figure out when he is 100% ready to go by the time the Masters roll around.
