‘This is the end for Tiger Woods’

THIS isn’t the way it was supposed to end. But Tiger Woods’ amazing golf career is done, at least according to the US press who claim the star is past it.

Tiger Woods

FOR the third time in his past eight PGA Tour events, Woods got into a cart in the middle of his round and was driven to the parking lot because of back pain.

Most troubling about yesterday in the Farmers Insurance Open was he spoke only a week ago of feeling “great” physically, and this was only his second event of the year.

He blamed this one on the weather, which caused his “glutes” to shut off.

Woods walked off the course after 11 holes on the North Course at Torrey Pines, citing tightness in his lower back from standing around for more than an hour in the cool Pacific air during a fog delay in the morning. He never looked comfortable.

“I was ready to go,” Woods said. “I had a good warm-up session the first time around.

“Then we stood out here and I got cold, and everything started deactivating again. And it’s frustrating that I just can’t stay activated. That’s just kind of the way it is.”

Tiger Woods holds his back in pain after playing a tee shot.

Woods now has gone 12 straight PGA Tour events without a top 10, dating to his runner-up finish in The Barclays in 2013 when back pain dropped him to his knees.

This was his first round since a career-high 82 last week in the Phoenix Open to tie for last with a club pro and miss the cut by 12 shots.

Woods’ woes have led some sections of the media to say one of golf’s greatest ever players is officially done. His career is over.

“It’s not fun to watch Woods play golf anymore. It’s sad, and a little dark. It reminds us all how quickly greatness can fade,” wrote USA Today’s Nate Scott.

“I don’t care much for the excuses anymore. I believe them, sure. I believe that Woods probably isn’t 100 per cent healthy, that his body may be breaking down. Or maybe it’s already broken down.

“But how injured do you have to be to hit a chip like this?” Scott added, pointing to the clip below.

“That’s a shot you or I hit. That’s not a shot Tiger Woods makes.

“It wasn’t supposed to be like this. And it is really sad and weird to watch.”

Several players came out of the scoring area and said, “What happened to Tiger?”

“It’s just my glutes are shutting off,” Woods said, sounding more like a physical therapist than a 14-time major champion.

“Then they don’t activate and then, hence, it goes into my lower back. So I tried to activate my glutes as best I could in between, but they never stayed activated.”

In his past six tournaments since back surgery last March, he has missed the cut three times, withdrawn twice and finished 69th in the British Open, his lowest 72-hole finish in a major.

“It’s just tough not seeing him have his best, whether it’s with his game or with his health,” said Rickie Fowler, who played in the group with him.

Woods will fall to his worst world ranking since before he won his first PGA Tour event as a 20-year-old in 1996, and he most likely will not qualify for a World Golf Championship for only the second time in his career.

He is not expected to play again until the Honda Classic in three weeks.

Originally published as ‘This is the end for Tiger Woods’