This week’s Sports Illustrated cover is focused on the upcoming Master’s at Augusta National. The cover, shows one Tiger Woods, with his back to the camera, and the cover simply says “back.” When I first saw this, all I could bring myself to think was “back? Really?” Now don’t get me wrong, I regard 1996-2008 Tiger Woods as a top-five athlete, ever. No one was more dominant, no one could command a crowd and instill fear into his opponents like that version of Woods. But 2009-2013 Woods? Unhealthy, inconsistent and has clearly lost his mojo since his ability to pick up Applebee’s hostesses was taken away from him.
Woods has had a decent run in 2013, getting his number one ranking back, and telling the world what to do with themselves in his Nike ad that screamed “I’m rich, I win golf tournaments, I do what I want, your life sucks.” But is Woods back? In a word, no. The Woods we knew that dominated cannot exist anymore, he was so far advanced beyond everyone during that time, that he couldn’t help but obliterate second tier competition. But now, we are dealing with a generation that has grown up playing golf specifically designed to beat Woods, and even though he might be healthier than the previous couple years, Woods thrived on knowing he was infinitely better than you, and that simply isn’t the world he plays in anymore.
When Woods was last “back” Blackberry was considered a cutting edge smartphone, “Anchorman” was only four years old, and we all still considered Britney Spears certifiable, that’s the era Woods could dominate. But now, back isn’t good enough, you’ve still got to win Majors, and until that Woods is back, everything else is just wanting to see something you know you’ll never see again.