Injured Woods still seeking answers
— -- SAN DIEGO -- This wasn't the same anguish that was on his face when he limped off the course in Akron last year, or somehow finished the final round at Doral, or even struggled through his second round at the PGA Championship.
Tiger Woods was in distress Thursday at Torrey Pines, enough to cause him to withdraw from a third tournament in his past nine starts, but not enough to keep him from answering a few questions before getting into a courtesy car and heading for the airport.
These impromptu parking lot sessions are becoming all too familiar with Woods, and there will be many who again wonder if the walk-off had more to do with poor play than it did pain.
Such conjecture is always dangerous -- and frankly a little bit sad -- in relation to one of the best the game has ever seen, a player who at age 39 can't get healthy and therefore is struggling to regain a semblance of the form that just two years ago saw him win five times on the PGA Tour and capture player of the year honors.
At the place where he won his 14th major title on a broken leg in 2008, Woods apparently had his back stiffen during the second of two fog delays Thursday that pushed back his start at the Farmers Insurance Open by more than two hours. And when he finally got on the course, something wasn't right.
"I knew early on,'' said one of Woods' playing competitors, Billy Horschel. "If I didn't see it on 10 [their first hole at the North course], I saw it on 11. Then I asked him when I walked off 12 tee, I said, 'Back hurting you again?' He said spasms. And it was unfortunate.
"He toughed it out a lot more than anyone else, than any other playing competitor. They would have dropped off earlier. But he's a fighter. He wants to get the reps in. He wants to play well, and he kept trying to play through it, hoping it would loosen up, and I think it was getting there and then we had to wait again when we made the turn. It was just real tough to see him walk and even make swings.''
Who knows if Woods could soldier on, finish the round and be OK by the second round on Friday morning? But there was Horschel, once picking Woods' ball out of the cup, another time grabbing his tee for him.
And given Woods' recent history of back problems, including surgery on March 31, 2014, and another back issue in August, perhaps he saw no point. And given that Horschel has absolutely no reason to come to Woods' defense, he seems a far better authority than all the arm-chair observers who want to chalk this up to quitting.
It's true that Woods has now withdrawn from six tournaments in his career due to injury, all since the start of 2010. It's now three in the past two years. And never once was he playing well when deciding to pack it in.
Of course, could the poor play be due to the pain? Woods played far worse last Friday and still finished the worst round of his career, an 82. He played pretty poorly here a year ago when he needed to hole a 10-footer on the final green at Torrey's South course to shoot 79.
Over the years, Woods has grinded out his share of lousy rounds. So we are going to give him the benefit of the doubt when it comes to pain, injury and when to say enough is enough.
"It's tough to see,'' said Rickie Fowler, who also played with Woods. "I dealt with some back issues and a lot of guys have dealt with injuries out here. It's hard to play when anything's hurting. Golf may not be an impact or contact sport, but the body takes a beating.''
At this point, Woods needs to play. And he knows it. So for him to quit at a place he loves, where he's had so much success, makes little sense -- unless he felt he couldn't go or could do further damage.
Those questions will remain unanswered for now, his 90-second media scrum not allowing enough time for such queries.
But Woods is making it difficult to feel optimistic about his future. He has made swing changes again, and it will require time to take hold. Although he's showing progress with his long-game swing, his short game is a mess and he needs to work out those issues.
And yet, the hours of short-game work necessary takes a toll on the lower back. So does Woods forego practice to let his back mend? Well, he needs the work. But if he puts in too much time practicing, does he risk more back problems?
Around it goes.
For what it's worth, Horschel has seen progress. He played with Woods in December at the Hero World Challenge and spent considerable time with him on the driving range Wednesday morning.
"I have a better eye than what you all do,'' Horschel said when questioned about Woods' game. "I've seen what his swing has become and I think it's a lot better. It's tough to describe how spasms are. ... When you take it back and you're coming down with spasms and you block it or you flip it. ... It's tough, see.
"He couldn't swing the way he wanted to. ... I saw it at his event [the World Challenge] on Saturday, he was deadly sick and he played really well, he hit it really well, so I knew he was not that far off. I still don't think he's that far off.
"I think it's just some more reps and some more time practicing and getting it to where he feels a little bit more comfortable.''
Of course, he needs to be able to practice to be competitive, and you can't do that if you are injured. Woods hit just a single fairway Thursday and actually did well to play 10 holes in even par before a double bogey at the 11th. He decided to withdraw on the next green.
He has now played 11 worldwide tournaments over the past year, having withdrawn from three, missed the 36-hole cut in three and the secondary cut in another. That means he has completed 72 holes just four times over the past year, and his best finish was a tie for last in the 18-player World Challenge.
Will he back OK to play the Honda Classic in three weeks? Does he add another tournament somewhere if he does not qualify for the WGC-Cadillac Championship, which now seems highly unlikely? Is it even realistic to think he will be competitive by the Masters, the tournament he said is the ultimate goal?
The year's first major is still nine weeks away, the questions and doubts continuing to linger.
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