Tiger Woods turns 40 with his legacy intact

Jordan Spieth, Jason Day and Rory McIlroy are touted as golf’s new “Big 3,” which is only fitting since it will take at least a trio of top players to replace one Tiger Woods.

The ridiculous numbers Tiger put up in his glory days have been somewhat lost in the aftermath of the crowning of Spieth (with two majors and three other PGA Tour titles in 2015) as the world No. 1, Jason Day’s PGA championship and five-time 2015 winning year and Woods’ second straight lost season.

How can one overlook the all-time runner-up in major championships (14 to Jack Nicklaus’ 18), tour wins (79 to Sam Snead’s 82) and most consecutive victories (seven to Byron Nelson’s 11)? Adam Scott offered some perspective ahead of the Hero World Challenge earlier this month when he observed that pups like Spieth were too young to appreciate just how overpowering the 40-year-old former No. 1 really was in his prime.

“I feel so fortunate to have played practice rounds with Tiger at majors in the years 2000, 2001 and really see up close what is the best golf I’ve ever seen ... just head and shoulders above the rest,” Scott said, referring to the years in which Woods achieved the Tiger Slam by holding all four majors at once. “It’s hard to explain to Jordan coming out now how he was just so much better than everyone at that point.

“We’re all quick to forget that sometimes,” he added.

For sure, Woods started only 15 tournaments after his first microdiscectomy on March 31, 2014, and has six missed cuts, two withdrawals and one top 10 to show for his efforts. He seemed to have put his short-game woes and wayward tee shots behind him when he finished T10 at the Wyndham Championship in August.

Then he underwent his third back surgery some nine weeks later and, before his World Challenge event, he sent signals that his career could be over.

“There’s really nothing I can look forward to, nothing I can build towards,” a downcast Woods told reporters. “It’s literally just day by day and week by week and time by time. Where is the light at the end of the tunnel? I don’t know.”

He followed up his press conference -- where he also said he “had a pretty good run” and that everything beyond his 14 majors and 79 tour Ws would be “gravy” -- with a rare, one-on-one interview with Time’s Lorne Rubenstein in which he opened up about his divorce, family and future on and off the course.

In the meantime, commissioner Tim Finchem showed up at the unofficial tour event in the Bahamas and joked that he was happy to find that Woods -- after his grim presser and interview went viral -- was not dead. Finchem also noted that, while he hoped to get his marquee talent back inside the ropes, he was confident that those who grew up idolizing Woods were more than capable of taking the baton.

“As I’ve said before, with Tiger being out, it does open a window to create new stars,” Finchem told reporters. “When Tiger’s actively playing and winning, it’s very difficult to do that, so we need to take advantage of that.’’

So, while Woods impatiently waits to get the go-ahead from his medical team to begin rehabbing from an injury that has provided him with no timetable for when he can begin to practice, let alone play, it seems like a good time to recall Tiger’s legacy. He has, indeed, left behind a huge hole that Spieth et al can only hope to begin to fill.

In addition to his most celebrated numbers, the list of Woods’ achievements includes the following:

Perhaps the most impressive stat Woods compiled was his Cal Ripken, ironman-like most consecutive events without missing a cut -- a sick 142 between 1998 and 2005 that shattered Nelson’s previous mark of 113.

With any member of the “Big 3” -- as well as Rickie Fowler and up-and-comers like Tony Finau, Brooks Koepka, Daniel Berger and Kevin Kisner -- capable of winning on any given Sunday, we’re betting that last mark will stand long after this generation of gifted players gives way to the next -- and the next.