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Woods back from four-month absence

By Mike Dudurich for The 4 min read
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Did you miss Tiger Woods during his four-month absence from golf?

Or did you miss the memory of Tiger Woods, the most dominant player in the game for over a decade?

Much has been written and said about how much the game missed Woods and his presence during the time in which he had back surgery, a microdiscectomy, and then went through the recovery process.

And yes, casual golf fans stayed away from their televisions in droves during the Masters and U.S. Open because Woods always created a buzz and those casual fans were attracted to that buzz like moths to a light.

But surely golf fans couldn’t have missed the Woods who was absolutely horrible from the beginning of the year until he hobbled off the Blue Monster at Doral with pain radiating down his legs?

The obvious answer to that question is no. The non-traditional casual fans Woods has brought to the game have a limited interest in the game itself. Limited, in fact to the tournaments in which Woods is in contention or is beating the field senseless.

The subject of Woods, his impact on the game and how he might do in this week’s Open Championship at Royal Liverpool came up Tuesday during a break in the action in the final round of the Falling Rock Classic at Nemacolin Woodlands Resort.

I stepped up on a tee where three players were waiting to play and one of them asked how I thought Woods would do this week. I said I didn’t think he would do much of anything and another one said, “Ya know, I really don’t need Tiger Woods to be in a golf tournament to enjoy it.”

And that’s the great divide that exists in the game today. People involved in the golf business and real fans appreciate the game. Casual fans, the ones brought to the game by Woods, have done little for the game other than spike TV ratings when Woods plays.

Remember when Woods began his domination of the game as the 1990s came to a close? There was a great deal of talk about how he would bring many people into the game, help it grow at a time it needed a boost.

Well, as we are reminded on a regular basis, the game not only hasn’t grown, but is in decline in terms of participants, amount of play and the number of facilities still operating.It can’t be denied that Woods moves the needle on the PGA Tour, even as an unknown quantity like he was this week in the Open Championship. Those who said, including Woods himself, that he showed up to win just like always were being delusional.

Tiger Woods at his best couldn’t play two competitive rounds and expect to be a real threat in a major championship, even though he’s done remarkable things through his career. He seemed to prove that by posting rounds of 69-77-73.

So for all those who missed Woods the last four months, he’s back. But you may still have to miss him for a while because the chances of him being the guy fondly remembered for winning five times in 2013 are not very good. At least in the near future.n n n

If you haven’t played or seen the Mystic Rock Golf Course at Nemacolin Woodlands Resort in Farmington recently, you’re missing out on something good.

The condition of the course was really top-notch this week and it’s just a really good look these days.

Part of that is the natural maturation of the course, built in 1992 by world-renowned course architect Pete Dye. But Brian Anderson and the staff at the resort have put in a lot of work and that work is paying off.

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Do you have an interesting story about your club or course or an individual who has done something special, let me know. Send your story ideas to mike.dudurich@gmail.com.

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Mike Dudurich is a freelance golf writer and also hosts The Golf Show on 93.7 The Fan, Saturday mornings from 7-8 during golf season.

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