August 2014 - Page 2 of 2 - Minnesota Physical Medicine Blog

Tiger Woods felt fine physically during his opening round at the PGA Championship today, but his golf game wasn’t up to par with his body as he shot a first round 74 to finish Thursday at +3.

After his exit at the Bridgestone Invitational last week, many wondered if Tiger would attempt to play in golf’s final major. Woods arrived to the tournament Wednesday morning in time to get a practice round in, telling reporters after the round he felt “pain-free.”

“I felt pretty good about how I played and the shots I hit,” Woods said of Wednesday’s practice round. “I have to get used to how this golf course is playing.”

Woods looked a little flustered by the course on Thursday, shooting +1 on the back nine and +2 on the front. Currently he sits nine strokes behind Lee Westwood and Kevin Chappell, who both carded an opening round 65.

Back to His Back

Woods opened up about the back injury he suffered at Bridgestone during Wednesday’s press conference. He said he jarred his back when he stepped into a bunker and displaced his sacrum bone.

“Yeah, basically when I landed in the bunker, my sacrum went out,” Woods said. “So pinched the nerve, and hence the spasm. My physio put it back in, and we’ve just been treating it.”

Woods added that he still needs to build strength in his ailing back.

“My physio is here,” he said. “If it does go out, he’s able to fix it. One of those things, again, I still need to build strength, still continue to get stronger. Just going to take more time.”

Woods also noted that his sacrum issue was unrelated to the microdiscetomy operation he underwent on March 31 to address a pinched nerve.

“It was a different pain than what I had been experiencing, so I knew it wasn’t the site of the surgery,” Woods said. “It was different, and obviously it was just the sacrum.”

Woods said he took anti-inflammatory medication prior to his practice round, but he didn’t take any pain meds or receive a cortisone shot. He’ll try to end up on the right side of the cut line when he tees off Friday at 1:45 pm ET.

Related source: ESPN, USA Today

Tiger Woods is an excellent athlete who has strived to stay in the best of condition, but unfortunately he is no longer in his prime. To be a top-notch athlete, one needs to be able to perform without distraction and have a perfectly tuned body. Tiger is no longer 25 years old and in perfect health. Today, there are many professional golfers who are younger and in better health. A 25-year-old Woods may be better than a 25-year-old Rory McIlroy, but Woods doesn’t have the luxury of a time machine. The injuries that Tiger has had are not going to heal perfectly and his performance is clearly in decline.

Tiger Woods is now 38 years old and he is certainly past his prime. Woods has had significant knee surgeries and recently underwent a Microdiscectomy for a lumbar disc protrusion in his back. The body and all its parts age and show signs of wear in everybody. Typically by the age of 30, there are often subtle changes in the spine and joints as we stress them. The cartilage in the knee joints can show changes, and in the spine the discs bulge, tear, and show degeneration. By age 40, everyone has different signs of deterioration throughout the body. The design of the body is such that we can do most activities well until about age 40. 150 years ago, it was typical that people would die due to trauma, disease, infections, or even heart problems by age 40-50 years. Today, we are outliving the design of our body since we have better medical care.

The difference between amateur and professional athletes is the level of perfection they achieve in their sport. Physically, to achieve that level of perfection, everything in the body must be in perfect shape. A slight abnormality in the body sometimes can be compensated for, but often the level of ability is diminished. Today, the difference between the best athletes and an average athlete is the ability to do everything in a sport without compromise. Tiger’s back and knee injuries are forcing him to compromise. Tiger may be able to golf and occasionally win, but he will not be a future force and consistent top contender.

PGA Championship in Doubt

Woods was forced to withdraw from last week’s Bridgestone Invitational after suffering another setback with his surgically repaired back. The injury occurred as Woods took a step into a bunker on the 9th hole, and he withdrew from competition shortly thereafter. Some speculate that Tiger only withdrew because he was out of contention and didn’t want to jeopardize his chance to play in golf’s final major of the year this week at the PGA Championship, but his absence from the course Tuesday shows that something is clearly wrong with Woods.

Woods’ agent said the 38-year-old was at his home in Florida resting, but Tiger’s caddie went to the tournament to scout the course in case he decides to play, so there’s still a chance the 14-time major winner will chase another tour victory this week. We should know more about his status by the end of the day Wednesday. We’ll provide an update once more is known.