Tiger Woods is all but done with golf.
The man intimated as much himself in advance of the Hero World Challenge, featuring 18 of the world's top golfers, to benefit his foundation.
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Woods revealed he had to have a third procedure on his back, just days after his second microdiscectomy surgery to repair a pinched nerve in his back. He lamented having no timetable for his return based on his injury, according to multiple media reports.
"There is no timetable for this (recovery), and that's been the hardest mindset adjustment is that I don't know. So where is the light at the end of the tunnel? I don't know, so that's been hard," Woods said, according to USA Today Sports.
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But one of his old rivals, David Duval, may have been clearer about Woods' future.
Duval was one of the game's better players, having won 11 PGA Tour events from 1997-99, then breaking through at a major with a victory in the 2001 British Open. But back issues soon surfaced and derailed his career. In 2003, Duval played 20 events and had a year's earnings of $84,708, according to PGATour.com. He enjoyed a brief renaissance in 2009 and 2010, earning nearly $1 million in the latter year. Now 44 years old, he played in six events in 2015, making two cuts.
That doesn't seem like the kind of future Tiger would want.
"A less encouraging comparison is David Duval, another former No. 1 whose back injury led to a precipitous decline in the early 2000s," The Wall Street Journal reported. "Duval, now an analyst for Golf Channel, said even after the injury healed, the fear of hurting himself again created bad habits that wrecked his swing."
"You make so many moves to keep playing," Duval said. "You're ingraining a motion that is poor. That leads to bad play, which leads to a deterioration of confidence. It's a tough cycle."
That seems to characterize Woods' 2014 and 2015 seasons, when his atrocious play was compared to that of amateurs. Either Tiger senses his day in the sun as ruler of the golf world is likely over, or his doctors have already told him privately not to expect any miraculous recovery in his back.
"I've had a pretty good career for my 20s and 30s," he said, according to USA Today Sports. "For my 20 years out here I think I've achieved a lot, and if that's all it entails, then I've had a pretty good run. But I'm hoping that's not it. I'm hoping that I can get back out here and compete against these guys. I really do miss it. I miss being out here with the boys and mixing it up with them and see who can win the event. That's fun.
"But if that's not the case anymore, then I'll find other avenues, that being growing my foundation, golf course design or other projects I have going on right now that will certainly take up more of my time."
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