It was a real blow for The Masters when Tiger Woods announced that he would be missing the first major of the year after rupturing his Achilles.
Heading into 2025, many fans were hoping that Tiger Woods would be able to play a lot more after a difficult time in the majors the previous year. The Masters saw the only made cut of the 15-time major champion’s season, as he missed out on the weekend at the PGA Championship, the US Open and The Open Championship.
TGL also gave viewers hope. While Jupiter Links struggled, Woods’ swing looked impressive, and he seemed to be moving fairly well considering the punishment his body has dealt with over the years.
Unfortunately, the ruptured Achilles looks set to end Woods’ year. And with that, it is difficult not to wonder whether the 49-year-old’s career at the very highest level has come to an end.
Brandel Chamblee expresses Tiger Woods concern after latest injury
If Woods can catch a break and perhaps play a little more, then his body may reach a level of fitness where him breaking down becomes less and less frequent.
However, speaking on The Skip Bayless Show, Brandel Chamblee admitted that he is starting to lose belief that Woods will be able to come back and compete in the biggest events in the future.
“I just don’t see a way to do it. For all his ability to do things that nobody else can conceive of, he can’t do the simplest of things, which is walk around a golf course for 72 holes. He ends up hobbled. He ends up walking and invariably you end up in an awkward stance, invariably the wind blows and it gets cold. He has this sclerotic body now where if it is not perfect, 85 degrees and humid, it does not feel good and does not look good. He can still swing a golf club beautifully and hit some amazing shots, but when the ball is way below your feet or way below your feet or one foot is in a bunker, you look at it and think he is going to wrench something here and inevitably he does,” he said.
Chamblee makes a controversial claim about Tiger Woods’ career
If Chamblee is correct, then it will be time to start reflecting a little more on the unbelievable career Woods has had. Had injuries not become such a significant part of his life from 2008 onwards, he would have surely surpassed Jack Nicklaus‘ record of 18 majors.
However, it looks almost impossible now for Woods to win another major, let alone the three which would bring him alongside Nicklaus.
And with that, Chamblee believes that there is an uncomfortable truth about Woods’ career which needs to be discussed.
“I would say he is the most underachieving in the history of the game. The way I get there is – I can think of no other golfer who left 10 to 15 major championships on the table. Who left 30 to 40 regular tour events on the table. Of course, he is the greatest player of all time but he is also the most underachieving,” he claimed.
“When you look at the time he spent in the prime of his career, not injured but dismantling and then rebuilding a golf swing, only to arrive back at the exact same place where he started, at the expense of two years of time and that win percentage. He did it in late 97 all through 98 and half of 99. He did it again at the end of 2002, 2003 and 2004. He did it again in 2010, 11. At the expense of time! And then when you factor in the injuries. When he won the US Open in 2008 we were on the set and all of us up there, and we had numerous guests come up, all asking the question where is Tiger going from here. Nobody guessed beneath 20 majors at the end of his career. It was 20, 25 majors – of course you would! And over 100 tour wins.
“So it is still a debate, a lot of people think Jack Nicklaus is the greatest player of all time, I say it this way. Jack had the best career in terms of major championships. Tiger played the better golf. Which would you rather have? Jack’s record is ungodly, 18 majors and 19 placed second place finishes. But Tiger had a better win percentage and won by wider margins. The fact he didn’t get done what we all thought he was going to get done, I think that is part of genius. Genius is mercurial and impossible to figure out and Tiger was nothing if not a genius.”
Obviously, it appears to be a real criticism of Woods to say that he is the most underachieving golfer to have ever played the game. But it is also a compliment – not that Woods would necessarily see it that way – because he reached a level where he should have rewritten all of the record books.
It is dramatic to say from Chamblee. But 72-hole golf tournaments are such a fair assessment of a player’s ability, both physically and mentally, so some of those names who traditionally come up as underachievers perhaps never had the gear they needed in the first place.
Woods probably had more gears than anyone else who has played the game. And in Chamblee’s mind, the fact that there is a debate to be had over whether Woods or Nicklaus is the greatest is a sign that Woods did not hit the heights he should have done.
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