Is Tiger Woods finished?

Tiger Woods: Finished? Photo:

Best Opinion: Sports Illustrated, Mercury News, Waggle Room...

As Tiger Woods struggles to regain his stride on the golf course and put his sex scandal behind him, sportswriters are starting to wonder whether his days of dominating the sport are over. Sports Illustrated columnist Joe Posnanski stirred up the debate this week by declaring that . Woods, Posnanski says, is no longer the seemingly immortal king of his sport — he's just a "balding, 34-year-old man fighting his swing, his putter, his confidence, his past and his history." He has "played stunningly mediocre golf this year after taking off a few months to deal with his personal issues," failing even to come close to winning a tournament. Is it time to "write off" Tiger Woods? (

Woods will never dominate golf again: It's not just the time Tiger Woods has lost to injuries and his personal troubles, Time is just catching up to him. At 34, he "already is older than the average major-winner over the past few decades," and very few golfers have continued winning major tournaments into their late 30s. Woods may win a few more, but at this point he's "just another very good player."


It's foolish to count him out so quickly: "2010 is officially a throwaway for Tiger Woods," . But that doesn't mean his game — especially his putting — will be in "disarray" forever. As he chases the legendary Jack Nicklaus' record for the most major victories, Woods has at least five good years left (Nicklaus "stopped really winning majors" at 40). "Woods will have to change" his game and "become more aggressive," but that doesn't mean it's "time to donate [his] career to Goodwill."


Woods may win again, but he's no longer an "unstoppable force": "Too early to stick a fork in him? Maybe," . But Woods is "not swinging the club well," or putting well, and the guys winning championships these days — Louis Oosthuizen, Graeme McDowell, Lucas Glover — are younger than he is. With 14 majors already under his belt, Woods might still break Jack Nicklaus' majors record (18). But he's not the "unstoppable force" he once was.