London: And there was Ike’s Tree, in a lumberjack’s yard, thinking it would be sorely missed at Augusta. With respect to the old loblolly pine — irretrievably damaged in a recent storm — Tiger Woods’s absence will cast a shadow over the 78th Masters bigger than everything, regardless of breadth of branch or history.
It is not just that Woods will be skipping a major, as he has skipped four before. It is that he is skipping the Masters, the tournament with which he will always be synonymous. To the broadcasters, the media, the fans and the mystique of the event as a whole, he is as important as the azalea, as Amen Corner, as the green-jackets ... The last time the season’s opening major was without him was in 1994, when Jose Maria Olazabal made it six Masters titles in seven years for Europe.
It is no coincidence that during the Tiger era, European shoulders have not donned a green jacket in 15 years. Although it would be a big mistake to ascribe too much significance, in a sporting sense, to Woods being in Florida next week instead of Georgia.
“Who is going to win now?” came the inevitable question in the immediate wake of his withdrawal yesterday. The answer is, almost certainly, the player who was going it win it anyway. Woods has not won at the Masters since 2005. Incredibly, if he returns to Augusta next year, he will not have prevailed on his favoured stamping ground for a decade. And then there is his form. His best finish to date in 2014 in a full-field was a tie for 41st.
In truth, Woods would have seemed more unlikely to win this year than any time since he broke all those records with that 12-shot career-definer 17 years ago. An indicator of this was provided by the shrug of the shoulders in bookmaking ranks. Ladbrokes brought Rory McIlroy in from 8-1 to 7-1, left Adam Scott at 8-1 and moved Phil Mickelson into 14-1 from 16-1.
These are hardly the market moves which follow a calamity. (Although maybe those golf-lovers of Ireland will be minded to empty their wallets. The four majors Woods has not attended have all been won by Irishmen). This indifference from the profiteers which reflect chance will be much the same for the rest of the season.
It was quickly emerging last night that the surgery for which Woods travelled all the way to Utah does not suggest the professional fairways will see him any time soon. Will Hoylake greet its 2006 champion? That must be a toss up, at this moment, but even if he does appear, the Merseysiders should anticipate the redshirted one in a radically different guise.
Woods will come back feeling probably newer than ever, but his standing will seem very old. Young athletes such as McIlroy, Jordan Spieth, Victor Dubuisson and Jason Day are lighting the way to a Tiger-free future, while those such Adam Scott, Justin Rose and Henrik Stenson will have a strengthened conviction that this is their moment.
In this backdrop, Woods’s chase of Jack Nicklaus’s record haul of 18 majors appears utterly forlorn. The likelihood of him succeeding in his lifelong quest was pushed out to 25-1 from 6-1 last night. Will Tom Watson feel so negatively towards Woods? The US Ryder Cup captain will very likely have to pick him as a wild card for Gleneagles, as earning the requisite points will be a huge stretch. And huge stretches are not good for an old man with a bad back.
