Doubts once again hang over Tiger Woods after he withdraws from two events

PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. — All looked good in the Bahamas two months ago.

The sun was out and Tiger Woods looked healthy, strong and energetic as he made his latest return to the game following two surgeries to his back in the fall. In a mixed bag of results, he made far too many little mistakes but gave hope going forward by making 24 birdies in the Hero World Challenge.

Seven weeks later amid palpable buzz, Woods, in his first PGA Tour event in nearly 18 months, missed the cut in the Farmers Insurance Open but gave no indication that his back was a roadblock in his return to the PGA Tour.

Then he flew halfway across the globe to the Middle East two days later and the winner of 79 Tour titles looked much older than 41, walking gingerly and swinging poorly en route to a first-round 77 in the Dubai Desert Classic. Back spasms forced him to withdraw the next day, with his agent, Mark Steinberg, saying the latest setback did not have anything to do with nerve issues in his back that have plagued him.

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Welcome to the new normal as his future in professional golf was again unknown. Three back surgeries, four operations to his left knee and other numerous ailments, all while living under the burden of pressure and stardom, looked to have taken a lasting toll. It was at Dubai, after all, where Woods said for the first time this year that he’s searching for a swing to alleviate pain in his back.

On Friday morning, as dense fog descended on the Monterey Peninsula and delayed the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, a release by Woods did not brighten the golf world’s day. A different haze has again began to hover over the PGA Tour as Woods announced he would miss his next two starts — next week at the Genesis Open north of Los Angeles and the following week at the Honda Classic in Florida.

“My doctors have advised me not to play the next two weeks, to continue my treatment and to let my back calm down,” Woods said in the release. “This is not what I was hoping for or expecting.”

Woods is expected to make an appearance at Riviera Country Club next week, for the tournament benefits from and is run by his foundation, and said he will determine his playing schedule after his back is reassessed.

All in the golf world hope there is a playing schedule to adhere to.

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While the PGA Tour is healthy with a hearty group of youngsters energizing the game, golf played on the highest level is always better when Woods is playing. He’s ranked No. 674th in the world, hasn’t won since 2013, hasn’t added to his 14 majors since 2008, but is still the No. 1 needle in the game, still the man in front of the largest galleries and the cause for the highest TV ratings.

But can he ever get back to being No. 1, where he resided for a record 683 weeks? Can he ever win again? Will he ever play again?

Age is no longer on his side and the clock is ticking toward Augusta National and the Masters in April. If his doctors give him a thumbs up 15 days from now, Woods would have three tournaments on the PGA Tour to play before heading down Magnolia Lane — the Valspar Championship March 9-12, the Arnold Palmer Invitational the following week and the Shell Houston Open the week before the Masters. Woods has won Arnie’s annual bash a record eight times but would he have enough time to practice, to play, to build up reps and find a rhythm to do battle against the best players in the world?

The fog of doubt is thick.

“It sounds like a broken record but you can only do what your body allows,” Golf Channel analyst Notah Begay said when reached by phone. “ … There have to be new standards established, with practice, travel, fitness, his schedule, pre- and post-round routines.

“There are going to be new norms.”

Begay, who has spoken to Woods since he flew back from the Middle East, said his longtime friend is still determined to push on and play again.

“It’s not a word we used when Tiger was at his pinnacle but he is human,” Begay said. “He’s no different than anyone else who wants to suit up and face the best in the world. He wants to play and he will do everything he can to play at the highest level. And when he can’t do that, he’s disappointed.

“ … In this next phase, he’s searching for a routine, a sequence, where he can find firm footing and go from there.”

PHOTOS: Tiger Woods in 2017