Now the former world No. 1 and 14-time major champion is the one worried and breaking down.
The invincible red shirt on Sundays used to mean something as it found the winner's circle 79 times on the PGA Tour. But now Woods, 38, has a left knee that has gone under the knife four times, a back that was operated on March 31 to alleviate pain caused by a pinched nerve and battles with other assorted injuries, including his Achilles, neck and elbow.
Now the pressure is on Woods as he faces his biggest foe — his health.
He has reached novel territory these days, where he's the one that has to prove week after week that his game and body are in shape. Just a year after he won five times, including The Players Championship, and was voted the tour's Player of the Year by his peers for a record 11th time, Woods is a shell of himself. His best finish in seven starts is a tie for 25th.
His most recent start raised more questions about his future. Woods withdrew Sunday in the final round of a tournament for the second time this season. In the World Golf Championships-Bridgestone Invitational at Firestone Country Club, where Woods has won a record 8th times, he took an awkward stance just outside the lip of a steep bunker on the 2nd hole, then hit an off-balance shot and jumped backward into the bunker and landed with a thud.
That's when Woods said his back started acting up and "spasming." His threshold for pain is well documented, but as he played on, his back and his game only got worse. He chunked his approach on the third hole into a pond. Plunked his tee shot on the par-3 fifth and ended up 65 yards short of the hole that was 200 yards away, and then visited a concession stand with his second shot on the sixth.
After hitting his tee shot on the ninth more than 300 yards, he doubled over in pain. He waved for a cart and said goodbye to playing partner Bubba Watson. In the parking lot, Woods was so uncomfortable he struggled to change his shoes before caddie Joe LaCava drove the two off the premises.
His next start is unknown.
Woods had planned on playing Monday afternoon at Valhalla Golf Club in Louisville, the host for this week's PGA Championship. But he flew to South Florida and will be evaluated and receive treatment on Monday and proceed from there, his agent, Mark Steinberg, said in an email.
Monday also is just 52 days from the first tee shot of the Ryder Cup in Scotland. Woods needed two big weeks to have a chance to make the FedExCup Playoffs which begin in three weeks and impress U.S. Ryder Cup captain Tom Watson enough to be one of his three discretionary picks for the team.
This week ended in a withdrawal. Next week is up in the air. Now Watson's decision is much more difficult.
If Woods does not play this week or the following week at the Wyndham Championship, he will miss the FedExCup Playoffs. And unless he plays a European Tour event, he could go seven weeks without playing.
If he were to play, Woods would somehow need to prove to Watson that he'd be a healthy addition to the Stars & Stripes. Health permitting, that is. Watson announces his three picks Sept. 2, the day after the second playoff event.
In 2010, Woods was in a similar position when he hadn't won in more than a year but did enough to earn one of Corey Pavin's four captain's picks. Woods justified his spot with a 3-1-0 record.
But back then Woods wasn't dealing with a fragile and debilitating back. And it's uncharted territory — not at all like coming back from knee surgery, he said earlier in the week.
"The knee is so much easier to deal with and rehab," Woods said. "This thing is just way different. The people that I've talked to that have had the same procedure, how long it takes them to come back, and most of the people I talked to who have had the procedure have no idea how I'm even back here playing. They just can't understand that."
Woods followed all the protocols and keenly adhered to everything his doctors said as he recovered from back surgery. Since he returned to the Tour, he's cheerfully talked about how good his back felt. After what looked to be a serious setback, however, Woods might be back at square one.
"I hope he's OK. I hope he's able to play next week. I hope it's a muscle and nothing serious because I'm really looking forward to playing with him," said Phil Mickelson, who had his own case to make for the Ryder Cup, shooting 62 on Sunday. He's grouped with Woods in the first two rounds of the PGA Championship. "As much as I love playing with him, playing against him, trying to beat him, we all want him in the field.
"We all want him back. I just hope he's OK." see more www.raghurajcashcode.com
