Where's Tiger?

I miss Tiger Woods.

I miss the days when we strictly talked about his golf game and not his divorce or his off the course, umm, activities.

I miss the days when discussions about what was wrong with Tiger centred around an injured knee or a fractured leg, not about his inability to enlighten foreign press on things in his personal life.

I’m not by any means condoning the actions that led to his precipitous decline, but regardless, my interest in Tiger the man, husband and father doesn’t measure up to my interest in Tiger the golfer.

And I don’t think I’m alone; people love dynasties, and ever since he made his PGA Tour debut at the Greater Milwaukee Open all those years ago, there’s been no better dynasty than that of Tiger Woods.

His recent play, however, is not befitting of the ruling emperor he once was, but is rather more pedestrian.

(It may be the ultimate poetic justice that he now looks like a regular human being on a golf course after the depth of his inability to act like one off it came to light.)

Granted he has finished in a tie for fourth in both of the major championships thus far, but Tiger is held to higher standard.

And besides, outside of those two tournaments he really has been a middle-of-the-pack player.

Consider his scoring average of 71.19—just .03 better than Tour average.

A year ago his scoring average of 68.05 led the Tour for the eighth time.

But the thing is, we know the ability is still there.

At least, it can be as it was on the back nine of the third round at the US Open when Tiger looked like, well, Tiger—the fist-pumping, pin-seeking, scoreboard-assaulting version we’ve come to expect.

His big problem at this point is consistency and if it continues that way, then perhaps he is just like the rest of us.

And maybe that only makes it worse.