Tiger Woods: A Look Back On 2019 and Forward to 2020

Aug 18, 2019; Medinah, IL, USA; Tiger Woods hits his tee shot on the 5th hole during the final round of the BMW Championship golf tournament at Medinah Country Club - No. 3. Mandatory Credit: Brian Spurlock-USA TODAY Sports

It would be hard to call 2019 anything other than a total triumph for Tiger Woods. The one thing that many people thought would never happen happened — he won another major. His victory in the 2019 Masters tournament is destined to become a “do you remember where you were when Tiger won the Masters?” moment, much like Jack Nicklaus’ legendary 1986 Masters championship.

But a more in-depth look into 2019 will reveal a series of frustrations after that Masters championship. Continued struggles with back pain limited Tiger’s schedule and contributed to his missing the cut in both the PGA Championship and The Open Championship. With a spot in the Tour Championship on the line, Tiger was forced to withdraw from the Northern Trust Championship, the first event of the shortened FedEx Cup playoffs.

He gutted out an excellent performance at the BMW Championship, but given that it was played at Medinah No. 3, a course he’s had success on before, it was ultimately a disappointing T-37 result. That left him on the outside looking in for the Tour Championship, as he failed to crack the top 30 in FedEx Cup points and missed the opportunity to defend his incredible 2018 victory.

Tiger’s withdrawal from the Northern Trust Open prompted concerns from all around the golf world, so it was encouraging to see him able to compete in the BMW Championship the following week. His already limited schedule can barely stand to have any more events shaved off of it: the only non-major events he’s played in since the Masters are The Memorial, where he managed a top 10, and the aforementioned FedEx Playoff events.

In late August, Woods revealed that he’d undergone arthroscopic knee surgery intended to repair minor ligament damage on his left knee. He downplayed its seriousness and maintained that it’s a fairly routine procedure. A quick, full recovery is expected in time for him to play the ZOZO Championship in Japan in late October.

Tiger’s taken full advantage of his post-surgery downtime. He recently announced the publication of his first memoir, cleverly entitled “BACK.” He calls BACK his “definitive story,” saying

“I’ve been in the spotlight for a long time, and because of that, there have been books and articles and TV shows about me, most filled with errors, speculative and wrong. This book is my definitive story. It’s in my words and expresses my thoughts. It describes how I feel and what’s happened in my life. I’ve been working at it steadily, and I’m looking forward to continuing the process and creating a book that people will want to read.”

Aug 18, 2019; Medinah, IL, USA; Tiger Woods tees off on the first hole during the final round of the BMW Championship golf tournament at Medinah Country Club – No. 3. Mandatory Credit: Brian Spurlock-USA TODAY Sports

This statement can easily be taken as a jab at his former coach, Hank Haney, who wrote a tell-all book, “The Big Miss,” back in 2012 that was none too complimentary to Tiger. Jeff Benedict and Armen Keteyian also released a salacious unauthorized biography in 2018 that Tiger elected not to participate in. While he did make his chiropractor available to the authors, that’s as close as they got to official word on Tiger. As a result, they had to rely on interviews with people who were involved in Tiger’s life and career, and analysis of everything Tiger’s ever written or said on the record.

BACK is Tiger’s attempt to take back the narrative of his life and be the one who tells his definitive story. Whether he includes all the details from his notorious scandals and the dissolution of his marriage remains to be seen. Many revelations could be made, but it seems unlikely that the book will contain anything overly shocking. Many people are hoping for something like admission to using PEDs, but that’s probably just a pipe dream. Such a revelation would certainly boost book sales but would unquestionably permanently tarnish his legacy.

Tiger and his girlfriend, Erica Herman, both got good news recently in having their names removed from a wrongful death lawsuit filed by the family of Nicholas Immesberger. Immesberger was an employee of a restaurant managed by Herman and partially owned by Woods, who died in a single-car accident in 2018. While his death is undoubtedly a tragedy, it’s something that Woods and Herman can move on from now that they’re no longer involved in the lawsuit.

After Tiger’s planned competition in Japan in late October, he’ll turn his attention to the President’s Cup and the Hero World Challenge, both of which he’s deeply involved in. He’s the captain of the US President’s Cup team, and there’s still a chance that he’ll choose himself to participate in the event. Perhaps if he plays well and his back doesn’t flare up in Japan, he’ll feel like he is one of the best four options. It’d be hard to argue.

Other likely choices include Rickie Fowler, Patrick Reed, and Tony Finau. A lot of people think Kevin Na should be the fourth choice given his recent success (three wins in his last 30 events), but he’s always been prone to random injuries, withdrawals, and meltdowns. So Tiger has a lot to think about when he’s making his choices.

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The Hero World Challenge is Tiger’s own tournament, held the week before the President’s Cup. It’s a limited-field event with only 18 players participating, and Tiger has won it himself four separate times — albeit on a different golf course than the current location, Albany Golf Course in the Bahamas.

Woods played in the Hero World Challenge in 2018, finishing second-to-last and one of only two players who failed to break par for the tournament. He’s hoping to represent himself better this year.

While he’s eligible for the Tournament of Champions in Hawaii in January, most people expect him to skip it as he did in 2019. Since he hasn’t announced any of his 2020 playing schedules yet, the only certainty is that we can expect to see him at Augusta National in April. From there, it all depends on how his back holds up and how well he believes he can compete.

Whether you’re hoping he’ll break Jack Nicklaus’ record of 18 majors or not, it’s impossible to deny that a Tiger Woods who’s playing good golf and competing in majors makes things much more interesting in the golf world.

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Aug 18, 2019; Medinah, IL, USA; Tiger Woods hits his tee shot on the 5th hole during the final round of the BMW Championship golf tournament at Medinah Country Club - No. 3. Mandatory Credit: Brian Spurlock-USA TODAY Sports

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