Tiger Woods acknowledges ‘sun is setting’ on his career, says Notah Begay

Tiger Woods, who is “on the couch” recovering from his most recent back surgery as his U.S. compatriots prepare to take on the Internationals in next week’s Presidents Cup, knows full well that the end of his Hall of Fame career is in sight.

With no timetable for when — or if — he’ll be able to rebound from a second microdiscectomy, NBC/Golf Channel analyst Notah Begay III said on Wednesday that his close friend had no illusions about his future.

“I think he has a clear understanding of where he’s at in regard to his career,” Begay said of the former world No. 1 who has plummeted to 299th in the rankings. “The sun is setting.”

Such a statement, which Begay made during a teleconference promoting the biennial competition that will take place in South Korea starting on Oct. 8, should come as no surprise to anyone who has a passing knowledge of Woods’ recent struggles on the course and in the OR. Still, to hear a Tiger intimate say such words out loud was jarring, even though we are all aware that the 14-time major winner will be 40-plus before he swings another club in competition.

Woods announced last month that his recovery period would force him to skip the PGA Tour’s 2015-2016 season-opening Frys.com Open, Bridgestone America’s Golf Cup, Hero World Challenge, and to delay his return to the circuit until sometime next year. Many in golf circles believe he came back too soon from the back operation he had in March 2014, and his poor record that featured six missed cuts and two withdrawals in 15 events since the procedure would probably attest to that.

Though Woods has admitted in the past that “Father Time is undefeated,” no athlete willingly limps into retirement.

“We never want to admit [our careers are over],” said Begay, who won four contests in his time on tour. “It’s just the competitive aspect of every athlete — you always look at the beginning of your career but you never want to see the end.”

Woods, who appears to acknowledge precisely what his status is inside the ropes, was also not ready to hang up the spikes just yet.

“He’s very fair about where he’s at with his career and his body,” Begay said. “He’s certainly not going to go down without a fight, without trying to do everything he can to get back to world-class level.”

Recognizing that regaining the form that put him just three tour wins behind Sam Snead’s all-time record of 82 might not happen, Woods has assumed the role of mentor to many in the generation of golfers who grew up idolizing him.

Woods played practice rounds with top-ranked Jordan Spieth before the U.S. Open at Chambers Bay. After Jason Day asked Begay to help him establish a rapport with Woods, Tiger has taken the reigning PGA champion under his wing.

“They communicate consistently,” Begay said. “I don’t know how much input or feedback that Jason got from Tiger as he was trying to pursue his first major championships but I know that Tiger was extremely happy … to see [Day] achieve that level of success.”

All of which leads to the recent news that Woods had agreed to work with captain Davis Love III at the 2016 Ryder Cup if he does not make the team.

“He’s sort of been put, whether he wants to or not, in sort of a leadership role with regard to [the Ryder Cup task force] just because of his accomplishments in his career,” said Begay, who believes his former Stanford teammate would be “a great assistant captain.

“He’s the type of player that thinks things through very methodically,” he said. “When it comes to individual match play in singles, there’s nobody better.”

As a vice skipper, Woods could share his knowledge with younger players while contributing to a blueprint for other grizzled veterans who don’t qualify for Ryder or President Cup teams and are “segueing into the latter parts of their careers.”

That was the model the Europeans have so successfully adopted, Begay noted, with former captains and players helping out in whatever capacity necessary.

“If we could see some of these older players that are moving on and maybe won’t make the team do that,” he said, “it would be really good for the younger guys.”

So, here we are, staring at the end of Tiger Woods’ career. As tough as it is for Woods’ watchers to come to terms with, imagine how it must be for the man himself, as competitive an athlete as there has ever been. It must have been especially difficult for Woods to put the clubs away so soon after his best performance (T10 at the Wyndham Championship in August) since back pain dropped him to his knees and he finished T2 at The Barclays in 2013.

Begay confirmed as much.

“He’s sore,” he said about Woods’ condition, post-surgery. “He’s taking it really easy and he’s giving it a little extra time to heal up before he starts his rehabilitation. He’s just spending a lot of time at home and going to soccer games and watching [his children] Sam and Charlie play their fall soccer.

“It’s hard,” Begay averred. “It’s a challenge to be on the couch, but you’ve got to do what you’ve got to do.”