JOHNS CREEK, Ga. — Tiger Woods will hold yet another much-anticipated press conference today for all the wrong reasons.
There was a time when Woods appeared at one of golf’s major championships and most of the discussion focused on moving closer to Jack Nicklaus’ record of winning 18 majors or some amazing feat like the Tiger Slam or a fourth Green Jacket or a potential fifth PGA Championship.
Instead, today we’ll want to know what Woods thinks about comments made by his former caddie, Steve Williams, at the conclusion of the WGC-Bridgestone in Akron, Ohio, when he called Adam Scott’s victory “the most satisfying week” of his 33-year career. It clearly was a dig at Woods, who won 13 of his 14 majors with Williams on his bag.
We’ll also want to know about just how he fired Williams. Was it over the phone as Williams contends or face-to-face as Team Tiger insists? Maybe eventually, we’ll get around to asking Woods about his chances of winning his fifth PGA, but that will be more of a courtesy question considering his form has been so poor of late. A victory at the Atlanta Athletic Club would be stunning.
But that’s exactly what Woods needs to do to end the circus that surrounds him: win.
When it comes to Woods, golf didn’t used to be the soap opera it has become. It used to be about records. Now it’s about a sex scandal, injuries, comebacks, caddie firings and he-said, Steve-said. The only way this changes is for Woods to win again, to push his total of major wins to 15 and rekindle the discussion of catching Nicklaus.
That probably won’t happen this week as Woods is playing for only the second time since injuring his knee at The Masters. His rounds of 68-71-72-70 at Firestone last week were good enough to tie for 37th, but he showed more rust than a ’55 Impala.
Curiously, Woods waited until late yesterday to arrive on the grounds of the Atlanta Athletic Club, playing the front nine with Arjun Atwal, who also lives in Windemere, Fla. While Woods’ physical presence might have been late arriving, he certainly was here in spirit as nearly all the pre-tournament chatter has centered on his split with Williams.
Don’t expect Woods to give an elaborate, uncensored response to the Williams rant. It’s not his nature to have an emotional reaction to something written or said. Besides, his agent, Mark Steinberg, has already fired back, insisting Williams was sacked during a face-to-face meeting with Woods on the Sunday of the AT&T National.
This spat with Williams will pass. But Woods’ future in golf is the question that can’t be answered. This is not only his last chance to win his first major since 2008, but he must still earn enough points to qualify for this year’s FedEx Cup playoffs. The top 125 in the points standing earn a trip to the Barclays at Plainfield Country Club in Edison, N.J., in two weeks. He ranks 129th.
This is looking every bit like a second straight forgettable season for Woods. He has gone 20 months without a victory and battled numerous physical and emotional injuries, a stretch of adversity that began in 2009 when his extramarital affairs were exposed.
Williams aside, most of Woods’ peers still speak of him with reverence.
“Tiger was the best player for a very long time and he raised the bar in terms of what everybody else did and everybody else’s preparation and the way they went about tournaments,” said British Open champion Darren Clarke, adding, “He raised the bar for everybody.”
Woods is trying to reach that level again, but only a major victory will get him there. Maybe then we can talk about the golf again instead of the circus that surrounds him.
george.willis@nypost.com