Why Tiger Woods Should Retire from the Game of Golf

APRIL 2016- As the 2016 Masters golf tournament gets under way today, all eyes will be on the young studs Rory McIlroy and Jordan Spieth as they look to build on their excellent professional golf resumes. However, the one force of golf over the past few years, Tiger Woods, will not be participating in this tournament due to health issues and offthe field troubles.Woods, who has won a total of 15 major PGA awards, still will not be able to catch golf legend Jack Nicklaus’s record of 18 majors won. A majority of America would like Tiger to call it a career and retire from the game of golf. I am among the majority. Here are reasons why Tiger Woods should retire from playing golf:

1. Relationship problems

Tiger Woods, at one point during his professional career, was married. Now, he’s a single father. Tiger Woods, for a short time, dated Olympic Women’s skier Lindsey Vonn. Presently, the two have moved on. Now, Tiger has only his children(and some real close friends) to lean toward for love and support. Back in 2009, Woods was accused of cheating on his then-wife. She soon after filed for divorce.

2. The Thanksgiving Night Car-Crash

Back on Thanksgiving night 2009, “Tiger Woods’s meticulously crafted image was shattered in a single- car accident outside of his home in Windermere, Fla. The wailing of Woods’s mother, Tida, is audible in the background of the frenzied 911 call… ‘What happened?’”(Sports Illustrated, 2016, p. 28) It would be the beginning of many catastrophic events for the champ. Since that fateful day, Woods hasn’t been the same, physically and mentally.

3. Health concerns

Since his last PGA Tour major win in 2008, Woods has gone cold. Part of the reason is his inability to stay healthy on the golf course. “Woods hasn’t teed it up at a Tour event since last August, and after enduring three back surgeries in 19 months, there is no timetable for his return”(Sports Illustrated, 2016, p. 28). But he has also suffered, throughout his playing career, a torn ACL, a broken finger, and many other disabilities.

4. Level of competition

While Woods continues to rehab from injury and deals with other personal issues, the golf world is underway with the 2016 Masters Tournament. Young players such as Jordan Spieth andRory McIlroy seem to have taken over as ambassadors for the sport. Both have won major tournaments in the past, and they can only get better from there. Even if he comes back 100 percent healthy, Tiger would have to overtake these fine twenty-plus year-old golfers in order to remind the world why he still is the best at what he does. Easier said than done. The only professional golfer that is either at or past the age of Woodsand is still competing is left handed veteran Phil Mickelson.

Tiger Woods is a legend in the sports universe, and his name should be right up there with the other great champions of all time: Tom Brady, Kobe Bryant, Derek Jeter, Wayne Gretzky, Jack Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer, andRoger Federer. The recent controversies and health deficiencies, however, will still be attached to his once untarnished reputation. He needs to talk it over with himself and his close friends about the possibility of retiring. At forty years of age, he is no longer the young dominant golfer making positive headlines. Think about the present AND the future, Tiger. Don’t keep dwelling in the past!