Grieving is an extremely personal process.
So it would be highly presumptuous to think anybody knows what Tiger Woods is going through since his father, Earl, died May 3.
Woods was very close to his father, calling him his “best friend.” The last year was difficult for Woods knowing his dad was terminally ill. The ordeal and the aftermath must have taken their toll.
Yet having said all that, it is surprising Woods didn’t enter the Memorial this week. It had been speculated the world’s No. 1 player would use Jack Nicklaus’ tournament to jump back into action and get ready for the U.S. Open in two weeks.
Now Woods is looking at going into Winged Foot without having played a competitive round since the Masters, the longest layoff of his career. Of course, Woods could enter the Barclays Classic next week in Harrison, N.Y., which is just down the road from the Open venue. But that would be a departure from his routine because he usually doesn’t play the week before a major.
Assuming he sits out next week, Woods will have to deal with several major distractions at the Open. There will be a steady flow of players coming up to him to offer condolences. Also, because he hasn’t conducted any interviews since his father’s death, he’ll be asked repeatedly to describe his emotions.
It won’t be easy.
And Woods will have to shake off the rust on a Winged Foot course that could be one of the toughest Open layouts in years.
Woods could have answered the questions and shaken all the hands by playing the Memorial. Even his close friend John Cook thought he would be on the first tee Thursday at Muirfield Village.
“[I’m] maybe a little bit [surprised],” Cook said on “PGA Tour Sunday” on USA Network. “I thought he would want to get all of the stuff out of his system. The attention, the condolences. Get to the U.S. Open fresh and ready to go.”
Nicklaus obviously wanted Woods to play in his tournament, but he understands his decision. In an eerie coincidence, both men lost their fathers when they were 30 years old. Charlie Nicklaus died of a heart attack in 1970, when Nicklaus was at the height of his game.
“I can’t second-guess him,” Nicklaus said. “I had a similar feeling. I played three weeks to a month afterward. I skipped the next couple of tournaments after that. Then I felt like I needed to get back and play. [My father] would have wanted me to play.”
Davis Love III says Woods initially will have to battle his emotions once he does resume play. Love’s father, Davis II, died in a plane crash in 1988.
“[Earl] made Tiger believe, and I think that’s a sign of a great motivator and a great teacher,” Love said. “That will always stay with him. Obviously, Tiger is going to be in the same boat as me. Every time he goes to play golf, he’ll think of his father. That’s not going to change. It’s going to be hard for a while, but it’ll also be a positive down the road.”
Woods already has taken a look at Winged Foot, taking a scouting trip there last weekend.
The course is playing tight, and the rough is supposed to be diabolical. Winged Foot might not be a good fit for Woods if he is not hitting it straight off the tee.
Finding his game after a 10-week break also will be difficult, but Woods does have a track record of playing well after a layoff. After under-going knee surgery at the end of 2002, he came back and won his first tournament in 2003.
This year Woods skipped the season-opening Mercedes to be with his father. After an extended break, all he did was win the Buick and then Dubai back to back.
No matter the circumstances, Cook believes his friend will be prepared when he arrives at Winged Foot. “Tiger does his own thing,” Cook said. “Like he said, `When I play again, I will be ready to play, no doubt about that.'”
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esherman@tribune.com
