Tigerless Field

The U.S. Open is less than 24 hours away from teeing off. You know, one of the four majors in golf, arguably the biggest golf tournament of the year.

This tournament brings out the biggest names in the game, except this year the most recognizable won't be in the field. Tiger Woods.

Most know, golf fans or not, what kind of hype Tiger brings to the world of golf––the way he can bend and shape a golf ball, pulling off miraculous shots most of us can't even fathom trying as Tiger on Xbox. And most, no matter how ignorant to the game, surely have noticed with Tiger in a total downward spiral in his career that the hype surrounding the game has died down in recent years.

Golf just isn't the same without Tiger Woods.

So when I learned of Tiger's absence at the Open this year, I couldn't helped but feel a bit let down. Even through all his mishaps and downfalls I remained a Tiger fan. Sure he slept with 17 women and blew it with his smokin' model wife, but he was still the greatest golfer to ever play the game––I was happy to look past his off-the-course shenanigans to watch him perform magic with the little white dimpled ball.

Yet that Tiger has never returned.

It started with the yips over the putter. Then neck and knee problems that forced him to withdraw from tournaments. Soon he was pulling out (probably not the best term to be used here) before the tournaments began––Jack Nikulas' Memorial, the U.S. Open. And to make matters just a bit worse, his caddy, Steve Willams, is caddying for Adam Scott this week. Both sides said that the move is temporary because Scott is in between caddys at the moment, but could it be another pawn in Tiger's collapse?

Metaphorically speaking, Tiger is in the rough, needing to carry 200 yards of water to reach the green, and all he has is a 9-iron. It's your shot, Tiger.

I can't help but think, and I hate to admit this, that my inner Tiger fan is looping into its own downward spiral. The lingering thought of will Tiger return to the greatness he once achieved––even half the player he once was?––lingers in my mind. The one, the dominating force on tour that fellow golfers knew to be aware of as he roared up the leaderboard, so carefully planning his prowl to snatch the leader of the pack by the throat with viscous swings and deadly clutch putts.

And so this weekend, with the entire golf community tuned in on Father's Day Sunday, we'll all be left to wonder: Is this the moment when Tiger would make his move? To fire a ridiculous 7-iron from 200 yards out to four feet from the pin and snatch another win from the helpless field?

Unfortunately, we'll never know.