THE HUMAN SIDE OF TIGER

Tigers Woods has seemed most human when he has failed. When his marital infidelities were exposed. When he suffered injuries that kept him from the game in which he has defined excellence for so long.

Perhaps time and life itself have cracked that exterior. Woods gave a glimpse of his interior on Tuesday at TPC Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra, where he will play in The Players Championship beginning Thursday.

He acknowledged being an emotional wreck, suffering from a lack of sleep over the last three, emotionally-charged days.

Sunday marked the ninth anniversary of the passing of his father, Earl, who put a golf club in his hand when he was barely past infancy. And Sunday marked the announcement of the end of his 2 ½ year relationship with skier Lindsay Vonn.

The weekend, he said, was “just brutal on me,” mostly because of his remembrances of his dad. The breakup, he continued, “just adds to it.”

At 39, and struggling with back problems that have taken his golf game down to mortal levels, he has let us know he is not a robot. He would like to think that after a solid performance at the Masters, he’s getting back to where he wants to be on the links.

“I’ve got my body in the shape I need to have it in, and (with) a full practice schedule, everything is full go,” he said. “Making my way up from where I’m at is just going to take consistency. I need wins in there, but being consistent every time I tee it up (is important). It’s something I’ve done when I’ve made my comebacks before.”

He seems ready to commit again to being a full-time player. He announced that after this week he will play the Memorial in late May, the U.S. Open in June, the Greenbrier and the British Open in July and the Quicken Loans in Washington, D.C., from July 30-Aug. 2.

Golf is better for that. And for having a human Tiger in the field.
 
 
Post By: Larry Weisman, a longtime sportswriter for USA TODAY, blogs for Twistity.com. Follow him on Twitter @MrLarryWeisman .