At Least Tiger's Not Writing Poetry Yet...

/

Tiger's pre-Hero World Challenge press conference probably shouldn't have been the shockingly morose affair that it turned out to be given that the legendary golfer signaled some resignation to his back issues by already signing up as a Ryder Cup assistant. (Woods denied the two were connected in his comments today.)

While he's not writing Dear Golf poems yet and he does play a sport more tolerant of old age than just about any other, his comments about not seeing light at the end of the tunnel and all-gravy going forward in the way of success sounded bleak. The assessment by various golf writers suggests a virtual retirement of sorts, and Tiger is certainly laying the groundwork for the need to have an extended absence.

Ron Green Jr. says Tiger failed to deliver an early Christmas present in the way of good news.

It may be too much to call Woods’ self-assessment grim but it’s fair to say it was discouraging.

For several years, we’ve understood that Woods is closer to the end of his career than the beginning, but he didn’t seem so close to the end as it sounded and felt this time.

Alex Myers puts together the seven primary takeaways and says the press conference "was downright depressing at times."

Bob Harig at ESPN.com writes:

Woods, who will turn 40 on Dec. 30, appears to have confronted the possibility that his career could end. He declined to specifically say that on Tuesday, saying instead that his hope is to resume his career and "get after it with these guys."