A Grip on Sports: Tiger Woods didn’t wave goodbye to golf, only to an era he dominated

A GRIP ON SPORTS • Tiger Woods slowed down. But he did not stop. Not on St. Andrews’ famed, and symbolic, Swilcan Bridge. That will come in two decades or so. That’s when he will wave goodbye to the game like Arnie and Jack did. But Friday’s slow stroll across golf’s oldest bridge was illustrative in its own way. It was a passage into another era of the game.

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• Golf is about its history. And its current players. Has been for almost two centuries.

Old Tom Morris begets Young Tom. Harry Vardon begets Frances Ouimet. Bobby Jones begets Ben Hogan. Sam Snead, Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicklaus and, more than two decades ago, Tiger Woods.

A long line of the best players playing the best golf on the best courses. Then they shuffle off the stage, having paved a path for the next generation.

Arnie was the first of the modern television age. When he crossed Swilcan Bridge, the ancient stone structure on The Old Course’s 18th hole, for the final time, he stopped. Turned this way and that. Waved. Soaked in the noise. Allowed for a thousand pictures.

Jack did the same when he made his last visit. Both of those GOATs were 65, their playing careers complete.  

Tiger is just 46. His career isn’t over. But watching him limp his way this week around the course where golf began, it’s hard to say he’ll ever cross Swilcan again with a chance to win. Injuries, crashes, surgeries, age. They have robbed him of his power. His touch. His presence. They have, as well, destroyed his chance to build on a legacy that seemed destined to end with no debate about his status as the game’s greatest. Ever.

But there is. The accomplishment golf values most, heck, the accomplishment Tiger values the most, will elude him. He will never catch Nicklaus’ record of 18 majors. He may heal up enough to grab one more, but with the depth of the talent roaming courses like Augusta and Pebble Beach and Muirfield these days, Tigers’ aches and pains make winning three more seem impossible.

He’ll have to be content with being the Sandy Koufax of golf. Not the all-time greatest but the best – by a large margin – for a concentrated period. A period that stretched, for him, from 1997 to 2008. He won 14 of his 15 majors in that decade-plus, held all four titles at one point and seemed to tower over the sport like a living, breathing Statue of Liberty.

But even statues break down. Despite constant maintenance, Tiger has broken down too. Part of it was self-inflicted. Part from events outside his control. But it’s happened. Thursday, when he shot a six-over 78, he seemed out of sorts. Friday he just seemed out of gas.

The walk down 18, however, revived him. The noise from the crowd. The acknowledgment from his fellow competitors. The history. The moment was prelude, not an end. But the end will come. It always does. And some day, whether it be the next time the Open comes to St. Andrews or the time after that, Tiger will walk that walk one last time. He’ll stop on the bridge, like Arnie and Jack and Tom Watson did before him, and he’ll survey golf’s oldest domain.

It won’t be his anymore. But it was. Once. It will be someone else’s then.

That’s just how the game works. Its tradition walks on. And never stops for a last look.

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WSU: Yahoo has a preview of Washington State’s upcoming football season. … Elsewhere in the Pac-12 and college football, realignment continues to lead the news. Jon Wilner answers questions in the S-R, including the likelihood of the Pac-12 and Big 12 coming together in a couple years. … Stewart Mandel sees it as a pretty simple proposition, actually. … Which conference has the upper hand? … The sky isn’t falling, not even at Oregon State. … Arizona State welcomes a new class to its athletic hall of fame this weekend.

Gonzaga: There is one way the West Coast Conference is leading college sports. And it’s important. … Former USD coach Sam Scholl has found a new job.

Indians: A six-run sixth inning lifted Eugene to an easy 9-1 victory over visiting Spokane.

Golf: Blake Snyder shot a 63 in the Rosauers Invitational Open’s first round and leads by one stroke. … We covered Tiger Woods’ exit above. The winner of this British Open is going to shoot an incredibly low score as the weather has stayed mild in Scotland.

Track and field: The World Championships got underway in Eugene, with medals being awarded and prelims being contested.

Mariners: The M’s won their 12th consecutive game, this one 8-3 at Texas. Ryan Divish invokes the memory of Dave Niehaus in describing the victory. … Julio Rodriguez put the capper on Robbie Ray’s win with a grand slam. Seattle will have to share his talent with the country, a la Ken Griffey Jr. … Cal Raleigh has returned from the minors as a different hitter. … Will Seattle ever lose again? (Spoiler alert: Yes.) … If it doesn’t, it will make the playoffs for sure. … J.P. Crawford was out of the lineup once more.

Seahawks: Bobby Wagner may be working in Los Angeles these days but he still calls Seattle home.

Sounders: Seattle needs a steadier effort against Chicago to get out of its funk.

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• We have already written our Sunday piece. As long as news doesn’t interfere, we’re going to reminisce a little. The subject? Sorry, no hints. Except to say it concerns baseball. Until later …