• It took 20 years for Tiger to miss three cuts at the majors. Now he’s missed three in a row, and four out of the last five 
• That grotesque world ranking, currently 278th and destined to plummet far below 300 over the next month, does not lie 
• Like Elvis in the years when he became a gross imitation of his former self, Tiger can still draw a heck of a crowd  
• But when when he speaks after tournaments these days he leaves reporters shaking their heads in wonderment 

By

Derek Lawrenson for The Mail on Sunday

Published:
15:17 GMT, 15 August 2015

|
Updated:
04:38 GMT, 16 August 2015

Like so many who are down on their luck, Tiger Woods retreated to a sports bar to drown his sorrows. His own bar, as it happens.

It opened for business last Monday close to his home in Jupiter, Florida and when it was planned its owner probably had evenings of celebration in mind when he returned from tournaments. The first week might even have been chosen to coincide with the US PGA Championship, with Tiger no doubt envisaged in the thick of things come the weekend at the event he used to own. Instead, his plan for the first Saturday night was to pull up a bar stool and watch.

Sporting images don’t come much more poignant than that.

Scroll down for video 

Tiger Woods missed the cut in the third successive major for the first time in his career on Saturday

Woods finished on four-over par, two strokes outside the cutline at the US PGA Championship 

Woods has missed four cuts in 2015 and has only mustered two top-25 finishes from 10 starts

No jokes, please — at least he made it through to the weekend at the season’s final major. His fleeting appearance lasted all of 60 minutes as he completed the formalities of his second round, held over from the previous evening because of a vicious storm that blew through the region.

Like Elvis in the years when he became a gross imitation of his former self, Tiger can still draw a heck of a crowd.

Making it to the Wisconsin wilderness by 7am is no mean feat but the sell-out audience knew Woods would be done before the normal working day began, and so thousands packed the grandstands over the closing holes. ‘It’s supposed to go right,’ said Woods plaintively at the 15th, as his putt for a par went left. Yet another bogey, and with it any hope of making the halfway cut had gone.

It took 20 years for Tiger to miss three cuts at the majors. Now he’s missed three in a row, and four out of the last five. Not just missed them either. That grotesque world ranking, currently 278th and destined to plummet far below 300 over the next month, does not lie. Woods is down to compete at this week’s low-key Wyndham Championship in Greensboro, North Carolina, an event he has never even contemplated competing in before.  

It’s the place where the rank and file go to find their game and the desperate in their last-ditch efforts to make the four lucrative FedEx Cup play-off events that follow. The perfect stage, then, you might think, for this Tiger. ‘I’m just going to sit back and go through it with my team, what I need to do, and whether it’s the right move or not,’ he said. ‘We’ll decide in the next couple of days.’

If they decide against playing, that will be it for Woods as far as this PGA Tour season is concerned. The top 125 compete in the first FedEx event and Woods is so far off the pace, in 186th place, only a win in Greensboro would gain him a place. Another graphic example, therefore, of how far he has fallen. 

When he speaks after tournaments these days he leaves reporters shaking their heads in wonderment. ‘I’m pleased at the way I’m starting to hit the ball,’ he said. ‘To have the control that I need, that’s starting to come back, and that’s nice. The confidence is growing quickly. That’s the fun part. I just need to get more consistent.’

More realistic might be a better shout.

Woods takes off his cap to salute the galleries on the 18th hole after another jaded performance

Woods is a shadow of his former self as his form of the course continues to plumb new depths

Woods watches an approach shot to the fourth as the 14-time major winner struggled once again

Woods is not done for the year. He has a contractual obligation to play in the PGA Tour season opener for 2015-16 in California in October. He’s also playing in Mexico and his own event in the Bahamas. And when all that’s done, he will turn 40 at the end of December.

At least on the last two holes, he left his audience with a fleeting reminder of the Tiger of old. Freed from any pressure of trying to make it through to the last two days, he struck a fine five-iron to the difficult par-three 17th and rolled in the 20ft birdie putt. At the daunting 18th he followed a good drive with a solid iron into the middle of the green and two-putted for par. He tipped his cap to his loyal fans.

‘What am I going to do now? I’m going back to Florida and go to my sports bar to watch the leaders play. How about that?’ he said. 

Tormented by his play on day one, Woods reacted furiously to one more putt that came up short and spoke the words that summed up the feelings of virtually everyone who follows sport. ‘What the f*** is wrong with you?’ he asked, rhetorically.

Sadly, we seem further than ever from discovering the answer. 

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