It is not just the writers, network analysts and pundits who have sensed that something is amiss in the eyes of Tiger Woods. Players have seen it, too.
Especially ones who have walked a mile in Woods’s spikes.
Sean O’Hair, a rising star who fell off the face of the Earth over the past three seasons, dropping outside the world top 500 at one point, revived his career last weekend with a runner-up finish in Florida. A rival and friend of Woods before enduring a lengthy slump that cost him both his card and plenty of confidence, O’Hair senses they have something in common.
“I think that he’s lost, and the only reason I say that is because I see it in his eyes and I see it in how he’s walking and I see it in how he’s playing, because that’s where I’ve been,” O’Hair said this week at the Arnold Palmer Invitational. “I’ve been living it.”
Woods is an eight-time winner at Palmer’s place but skipped the event this week because his game is a shambles and he did not feel ready to play competitively, even at a venue where he has enjoyed unmatched success.
Woods’s ranking skidded to 87th this week, the lowest since his rookie year. Now the spotlight turns to The Masters on April 9, where he presumably will make his next appearance.
O’Hair, who once was ranked 12th in the world, was playing in Tampa on a sponsor exemption yet nearly won when his birdie attempt on the second play-off hole lipped out.
There is no reason Woods cannot chase off his demons, O’Hair said, if he gets his head straight.
“I think the thing with Tiger is that he’s got to figure out what he wants to do and where he wants to be, mentally, and I think that once he figures that out, he’s going to be able to do whatever he wants to,” O’Hair said.
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