TIGER WITHDRAWN DESERT CLASSIC

[CallawayLefty]

Steinbergs story could be true. As a person who has spasms occasionally I can tell you it makes you feel like he looked playing yesterday. The so called back experts here kill me. You can tell most have never had a back issue and don't know what they are talking about.

 

Hard to believe Steiny saying it's just back spasms when Steiny also said that Tiger didn't have any pain during the round yesterday. Just can't admit the truth.

 

I think the policy in the Steiny/Tiger camp is to first consult the scorecard for the day, and then evaluate how bad the back pain was that day.

[yakhillclimb]

Am I the only one who thinks he is not injured and just pulls out of the tournament because he does not want to embarrass himself more this week?

He had no pain yesterday and does not have pain today, he can make full swings without a problem. The spasms sound for me like "let's find some small thing to get us out here without loosing face". I don't condemn him for that, I can understand.

 

We will see him again, but he really has to improve his game. I don't understand how critical most people here talk about his back. Seems like everyone analyzes each swing in detail in slo-mo and trying to see a glimpse of pain. We have seen only three rounds, but the truth is, he played golf for months now without pain, otherwise he would not be there. The back/pain issue is not as big, his game is just off!

 

This is exactly what I was thinking... I call B.S. Whenever he W.D's he always has some war story to go with it. Not discounting his back, but I think it's his go to excuse. There's nothing wrong with saying "I got old, made too many swing changes, and my game left me" It's always a glute, a knee, popping his finger back in, his back, whatever. He makes it sound like he's playing football.

[stinger_gc]

I wouldn't be suprised if he pulled out of Riviera and Honda because those 2 courses will eat you up.

[Soloman1]

Agents only get paid when their clients gets paid. Endorsements pay more than tournament paychecks. I thought a year ago that he was just trying to keep and sell new endorsements by selling false hope.

 

He's a lawyer . . .

[jay65]

Yummy, is that coffee that so many are finally starting to smell? Some have been asleep far too long, and some others still appear to be in the land of nod. Wakey! wakey! Lol.

[WhiteTigerman]

At Torrey pines he turned an 80 plus into mid 70s last week. A great mid 70 round. With the wind and his current game he saw a mid 80 to 90 in his future and decided to bounce. Tiger woods withdrew all the time he was playing bad rather than being a man and owning up to just playing bad. Always an excuse.

[cwglum]

[Need2golfalot]

The Euro Tour announcers called it. He looked to be in pain in the first round. Walked gingerly and grimaced. He looked and played like he was on narcotic pain meds too. 5 over par is really good considering his physical condition and side effects the pain meds.

 

He was there for the appearance money and trying to keep his brand recognition. Not sure how much it helped his brand. Wonder how much he got paid for only playing one round. We know he is a liar. Ask his ex-wife.

 

I'm sure he is done competing at golf but don't expect him to officially retire yet. His name will still be batted around with speculation about when he will return. Announcements of appearances followed by withdrawals. Try this drinking game: turn on Golf Channel 'Morning Drive' or 'Golf Central' take a swig of your beer everytime they say 'Tiger' or flash his name on screen. You will be hammered in just a few minutes.

 

 

[CallawayLefty]

At Torrey pines he turned an 80 plus into mid 70s last week. A great mid 70 round. With the wind and his current game he saw a mid 80 to 90 in his future and decided to bounce. Tiger woods withdrew all the time he was playing bad rather than being a man and owning up to just playing bad. Always an excuse.

 

Yeah if he could just stick it out a little while longer and learn how to keep turning those 80s into mid 70s he'll be able to win the B flight of the Southern California Mid Am next year.

 

Dunzo folks. Nothing to see here. I predict we're within 6 months of the actual announcement.

[SurfDuffer]

Steinbergs story could be true. As a person who has spasms occasionally I can tell you it makes you feel like he looked playing yesterday. The so called back experts here kill me. You can tell most have never had a back issue and don't know what they are talking about.

 

I have back problems but mine are up high at the base of my neck. When I get muscle spasms it ranges from pinching to excruciating and runs from my neck down the left side of my spine down to just below my shoulder blade. My issue has nothing to do with golf and is triggered by certain motions or lifting things. Usually kills my golf game for three days to three weeks depending on how bad the flare up was. If I had the same sort of an issue in my lower back and it was triggered by swinging a golf club my golfing days would be over.

[Holy Moses]

After playing all the majors one last time this year, he'll retire. Tiger won't walk away without saying goodbye to them one more time.

[CallawayLefty]

After playing all the majors one last time this year, he'll retire. Tiger won't walk away without saying goodbye to them one more time.

 

Well he's going to have his work cut out for him to shoot better than 150 in any of them, which still equals a missed cut in all of them.

[augustgolf]

only Tiger can make a thread that started at 2:35am go 2 pages by 5:45

 

Imagine what would happen if he'd signed to play with PXG :)

 

Or teed up a K-sig

[Hstead]

Robert Damron is laying it all out there. He called this a while back.

[vernon]

"Muscle spasm's, not nerve pain." Well, muscles are full of nerves and only nerves can cause a muscle to spasm.

 

He should be happy that he's relatively pain free and still able to workout, play recreationally on occasion and enjoy his kid's growing up.

 

He's not different than the rest of us when it comes to back injuries, surgeries and permanent disability.

[SurfDuffer]

It is truly fascinating to me that he continues to say he isn't in pain. Anybody who watched him play the 1st round in Dubai could clearly see that he wasn't moving well and was walking excruciating slow at times.

 

Why continue to lie about what is really going on?

 

I would not be surprised to see Tiger retire before the end of this season. He just can't get any momentum and at some point he's going to have to accept his fate.

 

- Josh

 

Watch closely his tee shot on one yesterday. That was not a grimace of frustration. That was pain. Watch how he walks on eggshells as he walks away. Watch some of his shot selections from yesterday where he hit to sawed off finishes where the old Tiger would have hit a shot with a high finish. He was clearly hurting yesterday. It was painful for me to watch.

[rcain1us]

Taylormade must be thrilled with their big investment

[Holy Moses]

Even if Tiger wasn't in pain, the swing he's given us the last few weeks won't win anything. Sawed off, unreliable, stiff, short. If that's the only way he can play, might as well not play.

[Nessism]

Steinbergs story could be true. As a person who has spasms occasionally I can tell you it makes you feel like he looked playing yesterday. The so called back experts here kill me. You can tell most have never had a back issue and don't know what they are talking about.

 

Hard to believe Steiny saying it's just back spasms when Steiny also said that Tiger didn't have any pain during the round yesterday. Just can't admit the truth.

 

Two good posts here. I can relate to having a gimpy back and getting spasms. Once the spasms pass you can play again but simple fact is that Tiger's back is not strong and that will limit him for sure. For one thing he won't be able to practice like he used to.

 

The long history of not being open to the outside world leads to all the negativity and speculation. I feel sorry for Tiger but that part of his problem he created.

[Brazz]

He looked really stiff warming up putting but the big sign was the slow motion, glazed over, detached mannerisms until later in the round. He really looked like he had to load up on the meds just to be out there. Watching him putt early in the round where he missed the line by a mile with Joey tendering the flag, it was like he didn't know were he was.

 

Bummed, hope he can pull through but not to the point of ruining his back even further.

[moegolfer11]

http://youtu.be/o9IXAJg4Vm0

[egr2teup]

This is not a surprise.

 

I am very surprised Tiger played Dubai. He must've been some kind of optimistic with his health to put himself in this position. Imo, he'd give back the $1.5M to alleviate what he's going thru right now.

 

Hopefully, this is nothing more than a blip in his comeback.

[tbowles411]

This is going to plague him for the rest of his career. His back is compromised. He'll never be the same, and needs to find a way to manage warm up, playing, meds and yes, pain. Watching the first round, he never looked comfortable and very stiff. I question the 17 hour flight to go play, but I guess even rich guys with bad backs like money!

 

Wanting to play as badly as he does it admirable, but he needs to be smarter. Stricker said he still believes he's not 100%. I tend to agree with him. But at the end of the day, he needs to play and knock off the rust. But at what point do you finally say, "I can't do this anymore?" He's not the first one to hang it up due to injury and he won't be the last. The mind is obviously willing, but the body is rebelling against him.

[ClintDagger]

Tiger was clearly in pain yesterday but played through it despite a poor score. Then he denies any pain in his post round scrum and doesn't WD until an hour before his tee time. Makes me wonder if his team had to talk him into this knowing he's just not right and knowing the potential for a horrendous round. I think a WD for a back issue is something Tiger wanted to badly avoid knowing the chatter that would spark.

[BlackDiamondPar5]

Steinbergs story could be true. As a person who has spasms occasionally I can tell you it makes you feel like he looked playing yesterday. The so called back experts here kill me. You can tell most have never had a back issue and don't know what they are talking about.

 

Hard to believe Steiny saying it's just back spasms when Steiny also said that Tiger didn't have any pain during the round yesterday. Just can't admit the truth.

 

I think the policy in the Steiny/Tiger camp is to first consult the scorecard for the day, and then evaluate how bad the back pain was that day.

 

Anything coming from Seiny is like the propaganda that comes from Pyongyang.

[mocokid]

Whose responsible for his return playing schedule? Steiny? Some real intelligent scheduling. Brilliant plan: lets play 5 weeks in a row.

 

1. 1st Torrey Pines: wet, damp, chilly, penal rough.

2. Dubai: 17 hour flight

 

Looks like he should have waited until the East Coast swing. Logistically it works for him (he lives there). Temps are warm and humid. Better for a tight back than cold and wet.

 

First post that makes sense on here..................agreed.

[braincramp52]

Taylormade must be thrilled with their big investment

 

You think Tigers cashed the check ? :)

[tbowles411]

Tiger was clearly in pain yesterday but played through it despite a poor score. Then he denies any pain in his post round scrum and doesn't WD until an hour before his tee time. Makes me wonder if his team had to talk him into this knowing he's just not right and knowing the potential for a horrendous round. I think a WD for a back issue is something Tiger wanted to badly avoid knowing the chatter that would spark.

And it has. It's already at a fevered pitch.

[braincramp52]

This is not a surprise.

 

I am very surprised Tiger played Dubai. He must've been some kind of optimistic with his health to put himself in this position. Imo, he'd give back the $1.5M to alleviate what he's going thru right now.

 

Hopefully, this is nothing more than a blip in his comeback.

 

Still drinkin' the Kool-Aid ? :)

[Holy Moses]

Whose responsible for his return playing schedule? Steiny? Some real intelligent scheduling. Brilliant plan: lets play 5 weeks in a row.

 

1. 1st Torrey Pines: wet, damp, chilly, penal rough.

2. Dubai: 17 hour flight

 

Looks like he should have waited until the East Coast swing. Logistically it works for him (he lives there). Temps are warm and humid. Better for a tight back than cold and wet.

 

First post that makes sense on here..................agreed.

 

There's not a fat check that Tiger will ever walk away from. It's an ego thing. Tiger would rather harm his body than miss an extra $1.5 million.