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Tiger Woods takes indefinite leave from golf

 
Tiger Woods says he must work on his game and spend time with people “important to me.”
Tiger Woods says he must work on his game and spend time with people “important to me.”
Published Feb. 12, 2015

The soap opera that has become Tiger Woods' life took another shadowy turn Wednesday when he announced he was taking an indefinite leave of absence from competitive golf to work on his floundering game.

Woods has been playing the worst golf of his career, and he withdrew from last week's Farmers Insurance Open with a back injury. But the lack of details about how long Woods will be sidelined — and his comment that the leave is not related to last year's back surgery — created yet another tempest about what is at the root of the exit.

This winter Woods has been altering his swing yet again with another new coach, but his greatest failings lately have seemed to be mental. He has repeatedly flubbed routine shots near the green that were once the strength of his game. Woods has appeared amateurish and confused.

The question raised throughout the golf community Wednesday was whether Woods, once the sport's most steely competitor, was seeking help from a sports psychologist, a swing tutor, a back specialist or all three.

There is a chance Woods' respite will be short. He could resume competing in two weeks at the PGA Tour's Honda Classic in Palm Beach Gardens, near his home. But in the past, Woods has taken extended breaks because it is hard to reinvent or relearn a masterful game quickly. Still, anything longer than seven weeks would mean that Woods would miss the Masters, which begins April 9.

The overarching goal of Woods' career, if not his life, is to exceed Jack Nicklaus' record of 18 major championships. Woods has 14 but does not have a major victory in seven years. He has won the Masters four times.

"Right now I need a lot of work on my game and to still spend time with the people that are important to me," Woods said on his website. "My play, and scores, are not acceptable for tournament golf. Like I've said, I enter a tournament to compete at the highest level, and when I think I'm ready, I'll be back.

"I am committed to getting back to the pinnacle of my game. I'd like to play the Honda Classic — it's a tournament in my hometown, and it's important to me — but I won't be there unless my game is tournament-ready. That's not fair to anyone. I do, however, expect to be playing again very soon."

Woods, 39, has had four surgeries on his left knee and had back surgery in March. He did not play in either the Masters or the U.S. Open last year because of his back issues. He played a limited schedule of events and made it through four rounds of those tournaments less than half the time.

This year he has fared worse.

Though he said his back was recovered at the Phoenix Open two weeks ago, Woods embarrassingly botched multiple chips around the green, sometimes bungling the same shot two and three times. He shot 82, the highest score of his PGA Tour career. He missed the cut.

Last week he played only 11 holes of the second round before withdrawing because of what he termed a stiff back. Woods has withdrawn from three of his past nine tournaments. His best finish is 18th in an 18-man field.

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On Wednesday, Woods was ranked 62nd in the world. It is the lowest he has been ranked since he turned professional in 1996.