Is Tiger Woods done playing professional golf?

Compiling a list of the greatest athletes to walk the earth would be a difficult thing to do considering the numerous names that would appear on it. There will be debates, there will be contentions. One name that will not be debatable or contentious though is Tiger Woods.

The Cypress-born golfer entered the sport as a professional at the age of 20 in 1996 and took things to the next level. He has taken 109 professional wins to become the dominant and most easily recognizable name in the elite sport.

Sadly for Tiger, his life and career suffered a major blow on February 23, 2021, when he was involved in a huge car crash in Los Angeles that could have killed him. He ended up suffering multiple fractures in both his legs.

Doubts have been cast as to whether Tiger will be able to play professional golf again and he seemed to confirm it when he recently stated he will only be playing a few tournaments a year. 

"Pick and choose a few events a year and you play around that. That is how I am going to have to play it from now on," Woods told Golf Digest.

"It is an unfortunate reality, but it is my reality. And I understand it, and I accept it."

If one is to take Woods for his words, then this is the end of professional golf for him and that is extremely sad to hear. Should his words however be taken at face value?

One of the things that makes Woods a legend beyond his achievements on the golf course is his ability to bounce when he is at a very low point and odds are against him. Indeed, he has had to face so many unpleasant moments in his life from many injuries that could have ended his career and of course his admission of infidelity in his marriage in 2009 which threatened to derail his reputation as a public figure. The media did not go easy on him and that was probably enough to throw in the towel and give life all up.

That however is not Tiger. He rose above all these adversities and bounced back to make a statement much to the surprise of his doubters. This was illustrated when he won the 2019 Masters, his 15th golf major and first since the 2008 US Open. Eleven years was an awful amount of time waiting. That was also a statement that he was not done yet and it earned him the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest American civilian honor.

It is to this end that Woods should not be written off as though his professional career is over. This might be a new low for him, but for a black man who has risen time and time again to firmly put his name at the top of a sport that is historically and still dominated by white people, there is still something to come.

He recently played at the PNC Championship in Orlando, Florida, where he teamed up with his 12-year-old son, Charlie, and finished second behind the father-son pairing of John Daly. It was the first time Woods appeared on the golf course since his accident and he surprisingly looked competitive.

Not to be forgotten that Woods is still only 45 years old and golf is a sport one can play into old age. This means he still has ample time to break Jack Nicklaus' record of 18 golf majors as he is four short of surpassing it.

Woods admitted he still has a long road to recovery.

"I have so far to go," he said.

"I am not even at the halfway point. I have so much more muscle development and nerve development that I have to do in my leg."

Getting full life back in his legs is the aim. It is pleasing that Woods can play golf again after nine months of the horrific accident. That is a sign he just might be back on the professional tour. Hopefully, that will be the case rather than a premature end to a 25-years-and-counting career that still has a lot to offer.