Jul 18, 2015 5 min read

Tiger Woods is a middle of the pack hack.

That’s what ESPN golf analyst Paul Azinger called him during coverage of the first round of the British Open. The actual quote was, “It’s hard to watch the greatest player of this generation be a middle of the pack hack.”

Azinger may have been trying to be nice by saying it’s hard to watch, but he probably wasn’t speaking for most of the people who play, cover and follow professional golf.

As I write this, Woods is trying to finish his second round and well on his way to missing the cut. He was 21-over par for his last 45 holes in a major tournament.

It’s dangerous to write off a once in a generation player in any sport because their otherworldliness could very well mean they have the ability to overcome the odds and be great again.

But Tiger’s game needs drastic improvement to reach mediocrity. He’s really been bad for a while. Going into the British Open he was ranked 241st in the world and was averaging 73 strokes per round.

That’ll get you a 1 or 2 handicap at your local country club, but it won’t get you enough prize money on the PGA tour to pay your expenses.

Talk to guys who covered Woods over the years and you will find that many, if not most, don’t find it hard at all to see him becoming a hack.

Woods was never a very popular guy on tour – not with his fellow golfers or the media who covered him.

A Hall of Fame golf writer, who has been covering the PGA since the early days of Arnold Palmer, told me two years ago most of the players on the tour felt Woods’ decline couldn’t happen to a more deserving guy.

And regardless of what the golf media say publicly, as much as they appreciate what Woods has done and could still do for the sport, it’s safe to assume they don’t find Woods’ fall hard to watch at all.

Woods was always fun to watch even if it never looked like he was having fun playing. Jordan Speith, who’s trying to win his third-straight major tournament this weekend, has already smiled more in post-round interviews than Tiger smiled in his entire career.

Woods will always be mentioned in the same breath as Nicklaus, Palmer, Player, Watson and Hogan, but he stands alone as the guy who, while he was the face of golf, would throw his clubs and drop F-bombs on the course.

Tom Watson played his last 18 holes at the British Open on Friday and got the proper send-off from the crowd as he crossed the famed Swilcan Bridge at St. Andrews.

With the way Woods’ career is going now and with his lack of friends in the golf world, it’s hard to imagine him having a moment like that 25 years from now.

Jack Nicklaus, who is back to being the indisputable best player in history, is also universally regarded as one of the nicest, classiest, most gracious players ever.

In any sport.

At his age, he probably appreciates that more than his accomplishments on the course.

There are, no doubt, still millions of golf fans out there who would like to see Tiger Woods become Tiger Woods again for no other reason than their appreciation for greatness.

Woods has sunk so low even the media, who were turned off long ago by his lack of cooperation and surliness, would be fine with a miraculous return to his old self because it would be a great story to cover.

But you know who would really like to see Tiger come roaring back to the top of the golf world? Nike.

How would you like to have $50 or $60 million in endorsements riding on him for the next several years?

• No Pirates minor league prospect should be considered untouchable if another team is offering a player who could help them win a division championship.

• If NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell reverses himself and lifts Tom Brady’s suspension, his next move should be a resignation. He would be worthless.

• Ever heard of IGF-1? According to Victor Conte, former owner of the infamous BALCO, it’s becoming the new PED of choice among athletes. He said it’s being “widely used” by elite athletes and it’s undetectable.

• Clueless, corrupt politicians in Wisconsin, including GOP presidential candidate Scott Walker, who sells himself as a fiscal conservative, approved a plan to steal $450 million from taxpayers to pay for a new building for the Milwaukee Bucks. And in St. Louis, clueless, corrupt politicians are scrambling to come up with a plan to take enough money from taxpayers to prevent the NFL from moving the Rams back to Los Angeles. And the beat goes on.

John Steigerwald writes a Sunday column for the Observer-Reporter.