Tiger Woods’ rapid descent blows Greg Norman’s mind

Tiger Woods’ dizzying drop from the top of the golf world to last place on the leaderboard and 62nd in the world golf rankings has many Eldrick observers’ heads spinning, and Greg Norman’s is one of them.

The former world No. 1, who woke up Monday on the lowest rung on the OWGR ladder he’s ever owned since he was a rookie in 1996, carded a third WD in his last eight starts when he retired from last week’s Farmers Insurance Open with tightness in his lower back. It remains to be seen when -- as well as if -- Woods will return to competition from his latest setback, but it was the state of Tiger’s short game that had Norman’s brain exploding.

“He was a brilliant short-game player,” said Norman, who also held the top ranking at one time. “For that to fall off a cliff as quickly as it has is mind-blowing. I’ve not seen that in any other athlete.”

Woods returned to the unofficial Hero World Challenge in December from a lengthy hiatus to rehab his surgically repaired back. While pundits overwhelmingly lauded his “new/old” swing, they were shocked by Tiger’s abysmal performance around the greens that included nine chunked attempts.

After finishing in a tie for last on his former home course of Isleworth, Woods made his 2015 PGA Tour debut at the Phoenix Open. There, late last month, he posted a career-worst 82 and missed the cut and once again struggled mightily with his short game on his way to a second consecutive DFL.

Then came the torture at Torrey Pines, a venue on which Tiger had won eight of his 79 tour titles, including his last major (2008 U.S. Open), but where, in 2014, he posted his first-ever 54-hole MC. This time, though -- even as Woods skulled and stubbed his way through just 11 holes of the opening round before the obligatory “I’m done” handshakes with his playing partners -- what Woods’ ex-coach Hank Haney, Golf Channel analyst Brandel Chamblee and others have termed the “chipping yips” were the least of Woods’ worries.

Norman gave a nod to Woods’ failure last week to fire up his glutes, but he wondered, as have many others, if Tiger’s issues were more hard-wired than that.

“You can see the physical side of it about where his weaknesses are and what he’s doing wrong but I think it’s more deep-seeded,” opined Dr. Greg. “I think it’s deep inside his head and maybe deeper than that.”

How much deeper, Norman did not elucidate.